German auditors find "serious problems" in Deutsche Bahn renovations

Deutsche Bahn's long-distance trains were slightly more punctual in October compared to the previous month, according to the company. The punctuality rate for high-speed trains reached 56.2% in October, a mere four percentage points higher than in September. Despite this improvement, the railway still falls short of its own targets, with chief executive Evelyn Palla setting a minimum goal of 60% for the year. The railway remains far from achieving this target.

October's delayed trains were largely due to numerous construction sites and disruptions at major traffic junctions and main routes. Additionally, there were a high number of technical malfunctions. A train is considered late if delayed by six minutes or more; departure cancellations are not included in these statistics. Instead, they contribute to the overall passenger punctuality, which measures the percentage of passengers arriving at their destination punctually, with a maximum delay of 14 minutes and 59 seconds. In October, this figure stood at 62.3%, also just four percentage points better than in September.