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"Rail unreliability hurts public transportation as a whole"
Image: Sonja Rode/Light Catch.Sommer welcomes the fact that politicians want to strengthen the railroads and introduce the "Deutschland-Takt" by 2030. But the current "rail" system is already unable to cope with the increase in performance to date, and to an "increasing extent, construction and maintenance work is affecting operations," the paper says. In order not to aggravate the situation further, but to allow it to return to normal, a reduction in rail services "should not be taboo for a limited time." With "priority," it should be clarified which network loads are "actually tolerable for stable and punctual operations" and which reserves are needed to be able to operate reliably and on time again. For the experts, "the question must be allowed whether it can be done" to achieve the targeted doubling of demand in a relatively short time in view of the currently unacceptable quality. What is needed, they say, is the "systematic derivation of measures throughout the entire transport system," including individual transport, in order to achieve the demand target for rail transport. "The target of doubling rail traffic requires an analysis of the entire system of public and private transport," Sommer says.
Punctuality: the trend is downward
Instead, the railroad publishes unacceptable figures on punctuality with "now well-rehearsed routine," abandons previously set punctuality targets and announces noticeable improvements, but these fail to materialize for the passenger. Less than 70 percent of arrivals are on time, according to the railroad's latest data, Sommer says. Trains with six-minute delays are considered unpunctual. "The trend is downward. A sustainable improvement does not seem to be in sight," the paper says. In addition, the punctuality value for the individual train says nothing about the punctuality with which the passenger reaches his destination if he misses the connection to another train or to the streetcar and bus.
Increasingly long check-in times at stations
In addition to resource problems, the experts cite the ever longer handling times for trains in stations as a major reason for the unpunctuality. The longer handling times are not only a consequence of the increasing number of passengers, but also of vehicle technology and design, they say. The experts raise the question of whether the railroads take sufficient account of the fact that, thanks to an end-to-end barrier-free system, there are always people traveling who need more time to get on and off trains because of their age or mobility impairments. Another question is whether the socially and politically desired increase in bicycle traffic, which leads to more bicycles being carried on trains, has been sufficiently taken into account. Offers such as Rail&Fly and the increasing demand for air travel mean that more and more travelers are carrying large pieces of luggage.
The weakest link in the transport chain influences the customer's choice of transport mode
The unreliability of the railroads has an impact on the entire public transport system. This is because the weakest link in the transport chain is decisive for the customer's acceptance of public transport and his choice of transport mode. It will take considerable effort over the years to stabilize or improve the situation, he said. The contributions that technological change can make to this should not be overestimated.
The paper of the Public Transport Working Committee (ÖV) of the Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV) can be found here:
Contact:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Sommer
University of Kassel
Department of Transport Planning and Systems
E-mail: c.sommer[at]uni-kassel[dot]de