Deutsche Bahn’s delays are catching up with them: in 2022, the international company paid out a record number of refunds to dissatisfied passengers. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz has doubled his paycheck and union salary negotiations lie on the near horizon.
2022 was a record-breaking year for Deutsche Bahn, but not in the ways that one might hope. Last year saw Europe’s largest rail company report its worst delays in 10 years and now, the corresponding record number of refunds has been revealed.
Delayed or cancelled trains led to Deutsche Bahn issuing 3,8 million refunds in 2022. This figure amounted to an eye-watering 92,7 million euros in refunds over the year, 54,5 million more than in 2021, according to the Rheinische Post.
But according to the Bahn, frequent cancellations and delays aren’t all to blame for the more than doubling of refunds issued. A jump in passengers after regulations to prevent the spread of coronavirus were relaxed is also responsible for the rise, as well as the fact that passengers have been able to submit a refund application online since June 2021, a spokesperson told Rheinische Post.
So far, 2023 is also off to a rocky start for Deutsche Bahn, with punctuality rates already significantly lower than those of the early months of 2022. Only 71,8 percent of trains that ran between January 1 and February 9 managed to pull into the station on time, or with a delay of no more than five minutes and 59 seconds.
All this said, Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz isn’t letting the figures rain on his parade. In the same week that he acknowledged considerable room for improvement when it comes to the company's track record on punctuality, Deutsche Bahn announced that Lutz had more than doubled his salary to 2,24 million euros.
News of Lutz’s bonus comes not just to the backdrop of disgruntled passengers waiting on cold platforms but widespread dissatisfaction among workers about conditions at Deutsche Bahn. The end of March saw Bahn workers take part in a nationwide transport strike in Germany, which halted all long-distance trains and public transport on March 27. Demanding a 10,5 percent pay increase in line with inflation, workers at Deutsche Bahn and ver.di representatives will re-enter into negotiations with the international employer after Easter.
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