German railway records fewer passengers, lower freight transport numbers in H1 2024

Germany's railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) recorded a six percent drop in long-distance train passengers in the first half of 2024, compared to the first six months of the previous year. The group's freight unit also saw a ten percent drop in tonnes of transported freight, largely because of lower production in energy intensive industries and therefore lower transport demand, according to DB's half-year results. "Unprecedented extreme weather events have stretched the rail infrastructure, which was already in need of modernisation, beyond its limits, and worsened the operational and financial situation in passenger and freight transport," DB head Richard Lutz said. However, the Deutschland Ticket, a monthly subscription ticket that allows holders to use regional trains across the country, had a positive impact on regional travel, with about six percent more passengers using regional trains than in the same period in 2023.

"The figures published today are bad news for climate protection," Greenpeace's transport expert Marissa Reiserer said. "Transport must be shifted to the railways, especially on long distances - but the poor state of the railways in particular is provoking the exact opposite."

German rail transport has long come under criticism, with less than two thirds of long-distance trains reaching their destination on time in the first half of the year. Delays during the recent UEFA Euro 2024 championship highlighted the inefficiencies in the rail system, with a recent report saying that the planned measures are inadequate to improve quality. Trains are central to Germany’s plans to reduce transport emissions – passenger numbers are meant to double by 2030 compared to 2019 figures.