Swiss authorities demand Stuttgart-Zurich connection be cut due to DB delays

Authorities in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen have written an open letter to Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) demanding that the Stuttgart-Zurich connection be split into two parts, so that delayed Deutsche Bahn trains don’t disrupt the route within Switzerland. 

Deutsche Bahn delays disrupting SBB trains again

In an open letter to SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot, the canton and city of Schaffhausen, as well as members of parliament, called for “immediate action” on the problem posed by Deutsche Bahn’s frequent delays and cancellations, SRF reports.

Specifically, it has demanded that SBB split the connection between Zurich and Stuttgart into two parts: one route from Stuttgart to Singen, and another from Singen to Zurich via Schaffhausen. That way, the canton writes, Schaffhausen residents can be assured of having a reliable, punctual connection to Zurich, without having to rely on Deutsche Bahn’s notoriously unreliable service. 

In the letter, Schaffhausen said that the situation had not improved despite repeated requests and commitments from SBB. “The canton of Schaffhausen is no longer willing to be fobbed off with promises of future improvements," the canton wrote. SBB has yet to respond to Schaffhausen’s demands. 

Not the first DB services that SBB has cut

Schaffhausen is not the first Swiss canton to make such a demand. SBB has already cut two Deutsche Bahn connections through Switzerland: since April this year, connections from Hamburg and Dortmund have been terminating in Basel; anyone who wishes to continue their journey from Germany to Zurich or Interlaken must change to an SBB train. 

So far this year, approximately 60 percent of Deutsche Bahn trains have reached their destination on time, SRF reports. Deutsche Bahn defines “on time” as arriving within six minutes of the scheduled arrival time. Compare that to SBB’s punctuality record of 94 percent (and, for SBB, a train is counted as delayed if it arrives three or more minutes late).

Deutsche Bahn has long been starved of government funding, with passenger services in decline as a consequence. A "restructuring" at Deutsche Bahn started with German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) firing DB CEO Richard Lutz. 

Schnieder has now appointed Evelyn Palla to the CEO position and unveiled a plan to improve Deutsche Bahn punctuality to 70 percent by 2029. This is actually less ambitious than the previous government goal of 80 percent punctuality in the immediate future and a long-term goal of 90 percent punctuality.

This article was originally published on IamExpat in Switzerland.