On Tuesday, everything at Deutsche Bahn suddenly came to a halt when a malfunction occurred during scheduled maintenance of the outdated GSM-R railway radio system.
All train services were stopped, and thousands of passengers were left stranded overnight because control centers and train drivers could no longer communicate with one another.
The extreme summer heat has brought even more trouble. With temperatures at times exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), tracks and switches become highly prone to faults. In recent years, air-conditioning systems on trains have also frequently failed.
As a precaution, Deutsche Bahn is already offering customers the option to cancel tickets for travel up to June 30 free of charge. This has never happened before. Yet the current problems are only the tip of the iceberg.
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Only 60% of long-distance trains are on time
Anyone in a position of authority at Deutsche Bahn has long needed, above all, one quality: the ability to show humility and acknowledge mistakes.
“Deutsche Bahn is facing the greatest crisis in 30 years,” said then-CEO Richard Lutz in Berlin in March 2025, taking stock of the situation. “In key areas, we are far from what we set out to achieve and what our customers expect of us.”
When Lutz said this, 62% of long-distance trains were still arriving on time. Over the course of 2025, that figure fell to 60% — and even this statistic is artificially inflated. When a train is canceled, which happens often enough, it’s not included in the count. Nor are trains that end their journeys prematurely, meaning they abandon their journey before reaching their final destination. A train is considered delayed once it is six minutes late.
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After eight years at the helm of Deutsche Bahn, Lutz was replaced by Evelyn Palla as CEO last October. But the problems have not only persisted; Palla now faces even greater challenges.
By 2030, the railway aims to achieve a punctuality rate of 69–72%, rising to 80% by 2035.
“We are saying goodbye to unattainable promises,” Palla said this week after a supervisory board meeting in Berlin. “We are focusing on realistic goals and facts.”
The railway’s largest construction project, “Stuttgart 21,” is being delayed for the ninth time. The megaproject was originally scheduled for completion in 2019; it’s now looking more like 2031, and costs have more than doubled.
At the Bundestag’s Transport Committee on Wednesday, Palla spoke of incorrectly laid cables, an emergency power supply that cannot be approved and problems with digitalization. Other projects are also proving more difficult than expected.
Who is responsible?
To understand the reasons behind the mismanagement at Deutsche Bahn, we need to go back several decades.
After German reunification in 1990, there were two railway systems: one in the former West Germany and one in the former East. Both were state-owned operations running at a deficit. They were merged into Deutsche Bahn, which remained a state-owned company.
Initially, substantial funds were invested in individual high-speed lines intended to connect both parts of the country. However, much of the network remained at what was already an outdated state. Even today, there are sections of track across the country where rails, switches and signal boxes date back to the 19th century.
Nevertheless, Deutsche Bahn was expected to operate profitably, like a private company. A stock market listing was even planned for 2008.
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To prepare the railway group for investors, manager Hartmut Mehdorn was brought in. He imposed cost-cutting measures and focused on returns.
Under Mehdorn’s leadership, Deutsche Bahn drastically reduced its workforce, including in safety-critical areas such as operations and maintenance. It sold off real estate and assets. Necessary investments in tracks, signal boxes and bridges were either eliminated entirely or reduced to a minimum, as they would have been expensive in the short term and promised no quick returns.
Instead, Mehdorn invested in what was seen as the lucrative international logistics sector. But the plan didn’t work. Deutsche Bahn was valued lower than expected on the financial markets, and then came the 2008 financial crisis then intervened. The stock market listing was halted.
Decades of renovation ahead
What remains is a debt-laden company with an enormous need for investment. Deutsche Bahn’s network spans some 33,500 kilometers (20,800 miles) of track. Parts of it are so worn out that disruptions and failures have become part of everyday operations.
Even the railway chiefs who followed Mehdorn were able to do little to change this fact, simply because the necessary funds were lacking. Political priorities favored the car and the expansion of road infrastructure, leaving the railway at a disadvantage.
The railway’s main problem is that the need for refurbishment has now grown so vast that it will take many years to resolve the most serious issues. In addition, much of the existing infrastructure can no longer be repaired, as it is unsuitable for the digitally controlled rail operations that are set to become the standard.
In many places, demolition and reconstruction are unavoidable. Forty main lines, essential for operating a high-performance rail network, have been selected for the largest infrastructure project in the railway’s history. By 2030, around 4,200 kilometers of track are to be affected.
The problem is that each of these lines must be completely closed for several months, while rail operations must, of course, continue. This is only possible via long detours, often adding 60 to 90 minutes to travel times. At the same time, the already overloaded rail network will come under even greater strain.
Things will get worse before they get better
The first lines have already been completed: After a six-week delay, the 280-kilometer Berlin–Hamburg line reopened on June 14. However, it still faces restrictions: trains must travel more slowly than they otherwise could. As a result, journey times are extended by nearly 30 minutes.
From October onward, the Berlin–Hanover connection is set to undergo refurbishment. It, too, will be completely closed, adding a further 60 to 80 minutes to travel times.
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By 2030, the railway radio system — which was responsible for the total shutdown on Tuesday — is set to be upgraded to the 5G mobile standard. Other EU countries have long since moved away from 2G technology.
One can only hope that, alongside the upgrading of internal communications, communication with customers will also be brought up to a higher standard. At present, most travelers receive only scant information during disruptions. Even at stations, there is hardly any guidance available — and certainly not for travelers from abroad, unless they speak German.
This article was originally written in German.
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