Spilling Beans: Deutsche Bahn's Plan to Keep Passengers in the Loop About Delays
- German Railways plans to enhance communications on disruptions
Kicking it old school
Complaining about missed stops, delayed trains, and track changes - Deutsche Bahn is hell-bent on making its customers less grumbly about such hiccups. In a world where everything runs smoothly, passengers give the information system a whopping 2+, according to Daniela Gerd tom Markotten, Board Member for Digitalization and Technology at Deutsche Bahn, at a recent shindig in Berlin.
"But let's be real, during a snafu, passengers are still gr umbling." At that point, the rating drops by a whole grade. The goal? Achieve a "good" rating in the face of calamity by 2027. It's all about timely updates.
"Don't miss the bus"
Take a gander at a missed stop: Until the end of 2024, Deutsche Bahn considered it smooth sailing if they informed passengers about a missed stop 11 minutes before the scheduled stop in long-distance traffic. But now, they've bumped it up to a cushy 60 minutes.
"It's only as good as the data it rides on"
Having our noses pressed against the glass waiting for an increment in delay predictions is a thing of the past. The predictions are now updated every two minutes if an ICE or IC is delayed at the station. This also happens along the journey in long-distance traffic, and for regional traffic soon as well.
"But wait, there's more"
The updates are only as good as the data bath Deutsche Bahn can take at its interfaces. This poses a problem because they're not the only ones playing in the sandbox - their competitors play a significant role, especially in local traffic. Adding to the drama, there are some ICEs where real-time information can't even grace the screens because the trains are simply too outdated.
Deutsche BahnDelaysBerlinMissed stopsDigitalization
Reading Between the Lines:
Although Deutsche Bahn hasn't unveiled specific plans for improving timely updates on disruptions and missed stops through digitalization and real-time data by 2027, there are broader trends in the rail sector that hint at how they're hopping on the digitalization train.
- Rail Freight Digitalization: DB Cargo, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, is getting down with digitalization and automation in rail freight transport, suggesting similar technologies may be implemented for passenger services [2].
- Infrastructure Modernization: Deutsche Bahn is playing a part in the modernization of German railway infrastructure, which includes digitalization to boost efficiency and capacity. This boost could involve enhancements to data management and communication systems for passengers [1][2].
- Europe's Embrace of Digital Railways: The European rail sector is stepping into a more digital future, adopting Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) to say goodbye to old-school systems like GSM-R. While not explicitly mentioned for Deutsche Bahn, these trends suggest a wider commitment to digital technologies that could facilitate better communication about disruptions.
In essence, it's plausible that Deutsche Bahn's digitalization efforts align with broader European rail trends, improving the way information about service disruptions flows.
- Deutsche Bahn is focusing on improving its community policy regarding delays, especially in long-distance traffic, by updating delay predictions every two minutes and informing passengers about missed stops 60 minutes in advance.
- As part of a broader move towards digitalization in the rail sector, Deutsche Bahn is working on modernizing its infrastructure, possibly including enhancements to data management and communication systems for passengers, which could facilitate better communication about service disruptions.
- Deutsche Bahn's competitors play a significant role in local traffic, which poses a challenge for Deutsche Bahn in terms of collecting and utilizing real-time data effectively, a key component of their digitalization strategy for improving communication about service disruptions.
