DB trains are increasingly late reaching the Swiss border. If the delay is more than 15 minutes, the train loses its slot for onward travel in Switzerland. Passengers are at a disadvantage.
Basel (dpa / lsw) – Deutsche Bahn customers are not only spoiled for travel to Switzerland by frequent delays. You often have to accept additional changes because the delayed trains do not go to their Swiss terminal station as planned, as the Swiss Federal Railways SBB and Deutsche Bahn confirmed to the German Press Agency. They then end in Basel, and travelers have to transfer to Swiss trains.
According to DB, the Swiss section of the ICE 71, which actually runs from Hamburg to Chur, has been completely canceled until further notice. The train, which is scheduled to arrive at Basel SBB station at 12.55 p.m., will remain there to be available as a replacement train for other DB trains that are very late, said a DB spokeswoman for dpa.
With such replacement trips, DB primarily fulfills its obligations to passengers who want to get on in Basel and leave on time. Passengers on delayed trains usually continue their journey after changing trains with SBB. The good news: you can rely on Swiss trains. In October, 91.1 percent were less than three minutes late, and 98.9 percent of connections were made.
“The punctuality of the international trains running from Germany from the north via Basel to Switzerland has decreased in recent months,” said an SBB spokeswoman for dpa. Most recently, only 40 percent arrived with a maximum delay of five minutes. According to the SBB, 20 percent of German trains in Basel are delayed by more than ten to 15 minutes. Travelers report frequent delays of an hour or more.
“If an ICE arrives at Basel SBB more than ten to 15 minutes late, it loses its slot,” said the spokeswoman. After all, the delay also affects passengers in Switzerland who want to use the train between Basel and Zurich, for example. Therefore, the SBB replaced the delayed train in domestic traffic with its own wagons. The delayed DB train then ends in Basel SBB.
In the case of very long delays, it could happen that Deutsche Bahn lets the trains end in “Basel Bad” “so that they can start their return journey on time,” said the SBB spokeswoman. Basel has two train stations that are about three kilometers apart: Basel Bad and Basel SBB. “Travellers then have to change to the S-Bahn, tram or bus to get to Basel SBB.” Only from there does it continue to Switzerland. This has happened once or twice a day for the past few weeks.
Deutsche Bahn admits problems. One regrets “the operational situation in cross-border traffic between Switzerland and Germany”. From the winter timetable (December 11), the ICE 72 and ICE 75, which actually run between Hamburg and Chur, will no longer run in Switzerland, as the spokeswoman says. Travelers then have to change trains in Basel. The DB wants to have a replacement train available all day. “In addition, the extensions of three ICE services (ICE 73, ICE 272/292 and 4) from Zurich to Chur or vice versa planned for the timetable change cannot be offered on weekends for the time being,” said the DB spokeswoman.
