German rail network did not get worse in 2024, says DB report

An annual report by Deutsche Bahn has found that the German track network did not deteriorate further in 2024, the first time the rating has not worsened since it was introduced in 2021.

DB track quality is improving slightly 

According to Deutsche Bahn’s most recent Network Status Report, the state of Germany’s crumbling track network did not get worse in 2024.

The report’s findings mark the first time since 2021, when the annual status report was first introduced, that the track rating didn’t see an annual decline.

The report rates the network from one to five, with one assessing the track to be in “mint condition”, three “mediocre” and five “deficient”. The 2024 report revised the track’s rating from a 3,03 to a 3,0.

Why is the track network not getting worse?

Deutsche Bahn cited the outgoing SPD-FDP-Green coalition government’s 20-million-euro investment in the country’s rail network during 2024 as the main reason tracks didn’t further deteriorate.

More specifically, a six-month-long renovation project on the Riedbahn track between Frankfurt and Mannheim significantly improved services.

“Now it’s important to stabilise these funds in the long term, then we can accomplish a real turnaround,” Philipp Nagl of DB subsidiary InfraGO told the Redaktions Netzwerk Deutschland. 

As part of their recently announced coalition agreement, the incoming CDU / CSU-SPD government has promised a “medium-term and fundamental train reform”. 

Reforms will include “reorganising [Deutsche Bahn’s] supervisory and executive boards”, continuing to renovate “Hochleistungskorridore” (high traffic routes), as with the Riedbahn, and accelerating track electrification.

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