DB delays caused by faulty infrastructure up by 40%

Between 2025 and 2026, Deutsche Bahn train delays caused by faulty infrastructure increased by 40 percent. The rail company says passengers should expect delays to get worse before they get better.

DB renovates, but delays get worse

Head of the infrastructure division at DB InfraGo, Philipp Nagl, has told ZEIT that train delays caused by crumbling infrastructure increased by 40 percent in 2026 so far.

“Extreme temperatures damaged the infrastructure and prevented quick repairs,” Nagl told the newspaper. “If you look at Germany as a whole, the switches, overhead lines and signal boxes are currently still breaking down faster than we can repair them.”

One case in point is construction work on the line between Berlin and Hamburg, which began in August 2025 and was scheduled for completion by April 30, 2026. However, extreme winter weather in January froze the ground, preventing construction workers from laying new underground cables. The route resumed full service in June.

Deutsche Bahn began a large-scale refurbishment of the country’s track network in 2024. Since then, the rail company has intermittently closed important rail corridors for renovations, sometimes closing multiple routes at once. During these closures, trains are diverted, often adding to journey times and causing delays.

When the refurbishment project began, then-Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz told passengers they could expect punctuality to improve with every refurbished corridor. Two years into the refurbishment project, the opposite has proven true.

In 2023, only 65 percent of long-distance Deutsche Bahn trains arrived on time. In 2024, the same figure fell to 62,5 percent and in 2025 to 60 percent. According to the latest figures, in September 2026, just 54,2 percent of long-distance trains were on time.

Passengers will start to see improvements in 2029

Lutz’s successor, Evelyn Palla, has already warned passengers that, while widespread renovation is underway, they shouldn’t expect better punctuality soon.

Now, Nagl has provided a bit more information on when that could happen. “We’ll start to see the benefits once we’ve finished the really tricky refurbishment work,” he told ZEIT.

This includes renovations on the Berlin-Hanover line, scheduled for completion at the end of 2027, and the Hamburg-Hanover line, scheduled for completion in 2029.

“Then the major routes will be complete. And trains will run more punctually again throughout Germany,” Nagl said.

The Federal Ministry of Transport has currently set a target of 70 percent punctuality on long-distance services by 2029.