3 ms·

That's exactly it, it's not the new top speed they need, they lack efficiency. And it's not just Deutschebahn. For example BVG, who runs busses and U-bahn in Be

That's exactly it, it's not the new top speed they need, they lack efficiency. And it's not just Deutschebahn. For example BVG, who runs busses and U-bahn in Berlin is even less reliable.

simianwords 1y ago
I think higher speeds can help efficiency. For example it can help catch up a train that has been delayed.
- pixelfarmer 1y ago
  It can, but it requires the track to be free in front of it and being allowed to go at the required speed to catch up.
  - simianwords 1y ago
    Yes but it’s a strictly better situation to be in although your point is valid.
    - eptcyka 1y ago
      Do you imply that trains would normally run slower than what they can safely achieve?
      - simianwords 1y ago
        i don't know where i implied that but it is well known that this is the case in order to give buffer time.
      - Brian_K_White 1y ago
        Everything always runs at 80% down to even 50% for normal 99% of the time operation. Not just trains, everything.
        Propelloni 1y ago
        What was the old chestnut? A traffic jam is a highway at 100% capacity? Something like that, can't remember who said it. Niels Pfläging perhaps?
      - tonfa 1y ago
        With clock face scheduling (like in CH and planned for Germany) they very much do since schedules are optimized to align with periodicity. On some Swiss lines it's fairly common to have trains recover their delay at departure (which also avoids cascading impact). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock-face_scheduling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock-face_scheduling
- microtonal 1y ago
  West European rail is very full, so rail use is carefully coordinated, since trains of vastly different speeds (e.g. ICE vs a regional train) use the same tracks. If an ICE is, say, 15 minutes late, they cannot just drive faster to catch up. The schedule went on, and at that point there may be a much slower regional or intercity train on the same trajectory. This is why ICE delays tend to cascade. It starts with a short delay, the ICE gets stuck behind a slower train, increasing the delay, etc. The solution is better maintenance of tracks and trains, adding more rail capacity, adding redundancy, etc. Of course, these are all much more expensive than an ICE speed experiment for PR.
  - prmoustache 1y ago
    If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. Most time I got annoying delays when I was living in Switzerland was because of a "personal accident" which 99% of the time meant someone had deliberately jumped in front of a train.
    - detaro 1y ago
      It of course happens in other places too, but the Swiss are somewhat standout in how much they have their other operations in order. It's funny in a sad way that international connections into Switzerland actually get limited because the Swiss don't want other operators fucking up their internal schedule constantly.
    - adev_ 1y ago
      > If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. [...] Switzerland SBB/CFF and the German DB can not be compared, not even from far. The Swiss trains are amongst the best in the world in term on punctuality. Delays barely exceed few minutes most of the time. Every connection is scheduled to be done < 5min. The usage is smooth like butter and It works like a Swiss clock. At the opposite, German trains in the eastern part are barely on time and give you an almost Soviet experience for the regional one: The trains are old, poorly maintained, like the track itself and the service suffers of it. The only place in Western Europe I experienced train to be worst than in Germany is currently in Hungary where there were actual soviet trains. Even the freaking French SNCF with their legendary strikes tend to be more punctual than the DB.
- attendant3446 1y ago
  I was late to reply, but as others have noticed, delayed trains can't always "catch up" with the schedule. ICE trains can accelerate to 405 kph, but regional trains using the same rail can't.
- holowoodman 1y ago
  Higher speeds reduce efficiency. The most efficient use of the tracks would be to limit all trains to the speed of the slowest train that travels a route. Then you can have minimal distances between trains. Also, faster trains are less fuel-efficient, quadratically with speed. So a slowdown would help the environment and the throughput. The only thing it wouldn't improve is passenger happiness ;)

That's exactly it, it's not the new top speed they need, they lack efficiency. And it's not just Deutschebahn. For example BVG, who runs busses and U-bahn in Berlin is even less reliable.

simianwords 1y ago

I think higher speeds can help efficiency. For example it can help catch up a train that has been delayed.

pixelfarmer 1y ago
It can, but it requires the track to be free in front of it and being allowed to go at the required speed to catch up.
- simianwords 1y ago
  Yes but it’s a strictly better situation to be in although your point is valid.
  - eptcyka 1y ago
    Do you imply that trains would normally run slower than what they can safely achieve?
    - simianwords 1y ago
      i don't know where i implied that but it is well known that this is the case in order to give buffer time.
    - Brian_K_White 1y ago
      Everything always runs at 80% down to even 50% for normal 99% of the time operation. Not just trains, everything.
      - Propelloni 1y ago
        What was the old chestnut? A traffic jam is a highway at 100% capacity? Something like that, can't remember who said it. Niels Pfläging perhaps?
    - tonfa 1y ago
      With clock face scheduling (like in CH and planned for Germany) they very much do since schedules are optimized to align with periodicity. On some Swiss lines it's fairly common to have trains recover their delay at departure (which also avoids cascading impact). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock-face_scheduling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock-face_scheduling
microtonal 1y ago
West European rail is very full, so rail use is carefully coordinated, since trains of vastly different speeds (e.g. ICE vs a regional train) use the same tracks. If an ICE is, say, 15 minutes late, they cannot just drive faster to catch up. The schedule went on, and at that point there may be a much slower regional or intercity train on the same trajectory. This is why ICE delays tend to cascade. It starts with a short delay, the ICE gets stuck behind a slower train, increasing the delay, etc. The solution is better maintenance of tracks and trains, adding more rail capacity, adding redundancy, etc. Of course, these are all much more expensive than an ICE speed experiment for PR.
- prmoustache 1y ago
  If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. Most time I got annoying delays when I was living in Switzerland was because of a "personal accident" which 99% of the time meant someone had deliberately jumped in front of a train.
  - detaro 1y ago
    It of course happens in other places too, but the Swiss are somewhat standout in how much they have their other operations in order. It's funny in a sad way that international connections into Switzerland actually get limited because the Swiss don't want other operators fucking up their internal schedule constantly.
  - adev_ 1y ago
    > If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. [...] Switzerland SBB/CFF and the German DB can not be compared, not even from far. The Swiss trains are amongst the best in the world in term on punctuality. Delays barely exceed few minutes most of the time. Every connection is scheduled to be done < 5min. The usage is smooth like butter and It works like a Swiss clock. At the opposite, German trains in the eastern part are barely on time and give you an almost Soviet experience for the regional one: The trains are old, poorly maintained, like the track itself and the service suffers of it. The only place in Western Europe I experienced train to be worst than in Germany is currently in Hungary where there were actual soviet trains. Even the freaking French SNCF with their legendary strikes tend to be more punctual than the DB.
attendant3446 1y ago
I was late to reply, but as others have noticed, delayed trains can't always "catch up" with the schedule. ICE trains can accelerate to 405 kph, but regional trains using the same rail can't.
holowoodman 1y ago
Higher speeds reduce efficiency. The most efficient use of the tracks would be to limit all trains to the speed of the slowest train that travels a route. Then you can have minimal distances between trains. Also, faster trains are less fuel-efficient, quadratically with speed. So a slowdown would help the environment and the throughput. The only thing it wouldn't improve is passenger happiness ;)