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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#151

Post by rixed »

larnon wrote: post #87
em500 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd reverse the question ask why Germany (or any other country where English is not an official language, and does not majorly rely on tourism for income) would provide any public information in English? Commercial services can choose to do so a matter of self interest, but why would state financed services?

Because the State wants to attract well educated international workers to fix it's failing economy?

A "well educated" international worker willing to relocate in Germany would probably learn the language.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#152

Post by [deleted] »

SpaceNugget wrote: post #148
johnisgood wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unpopular opinion: you should learn the absolute basics of the language used in the country you are travelling to. Seriously? That unpopular? Lmfao.

Going from the Netherlands to Budapest I started my journey with Deutsche Bahn. My train also did the split in half and go different directions trick. Was I supposed to learn Dutch, German, and Hungarian in order to buy my train tickets?

[deleted]

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#153

Post by nephihaha »

reddalo wrote: post #42
junon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

German trains do typically announce in English. If they don't, that's the exception. Just ask around. Most people here speak English and will be able to repeat what was said, especially if they're under 40 or so.

> Most people here speak English Germany is the country where I found the highest number of people not being able to speak English, even people working in accomodation! French people probably know English but they refuse to speak it; Italians don't know English that well, but they try their best using rolling R's and gestures. (I'm a bit ironic)

[flagged]

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#154

Post by accountofthaha »

adammarples wrote: post #122
accountofthaha wrote: post #79

I am never taking the train in Germany or through Germany again (or through Belgium, for that matter). The experience is consistently bad. NS, DB, and NMBS all perform poorly. Train travel itself has become unreliable and frustrating. Ever since I got my car, the difference in freedom is obvious. I do support having basic public transport and solid bike infrastructure for young people, but once you’re 25 or older, th…

I thought in Germany you got unlimited train travel for €58?

Not for ICE, the only train worth getting for me. Also I don't live in Germany, in the Netherlands. Trains are expensive. Even though I live in the Randstad, near big cities, I don't have any good public transport here. It's just not worth it for me.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#155

Post by nephihaha »

graemep wrote: post #54
hexbin010 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why they don't help at all? If it's anything like the UK, the staff have incredibly secure jobs and recently secured some good changes to their working conditions/pay. It's probably not in their contract to announce in other languages, so they do exactly what their contract says

I have found station and train staff in the UK to be very friendly and helpful. They do have very good pay (drivers can earn as much as some airline pilots) and a very good pension scheme on top of that.

I wish I could say the same. UK trains are so unreliable and expensive I barely ever use them.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#156

Post by throw-the-towel »

hdgvhicv wrote: post #118
djoldman wrote: post #57

> I was trying to travel 35 kilometers. I was now 63 kilometers from my grandmother’s house. Further away than when I started. Oh boy. There's something deeply human about the frustrations of state institutions and bureaucracy. From the linked article: > How are train cancellations and delays compensated when traveling with the Deutschland-Ticket? > In the event of a delay of at least 60 minutes at the destination st…

Planes have never diverted people to the wrong country. It’s always state institutions.

Here's just one example of planes doing exactly that. https://dailynewshungary.com/wizz-air-tirana-podgorica-fligh...

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#157

Post by amtamt »

Way back in 90's, when I arrived on an Indian Railway station about 10 minutes before the train's scheduled time, I was pleasantly surprised to find the train at the platform.

Only when I checked the passenger reservation list, I found this was train from yesterday, late by 23:50 hours.

(for the curious... No, I could not get my reserved birth and had to travel on unreserved ticket, but at least I reached destination on my planned time.)

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#158

Post by nephihaha »

a2fz wrote: post #63
huhkerrf wrote: post #4

DB is continually the worst train experience I have in Europe. I have never been on a train in Germany that's on time or that stops at the right station. Several times I've had to find someone young (and who speaks English) and say, "I'm just going to follow you to the next train." I've been told that the UK is worse, but I don't have much experience with it outside of Eurostar.

Passenger rights are very good in the UK. It's easy to claim Delay Repay, where you get 25% refund after a 15 minute delay, 50% refund after 30 mins and 100% refund after 60 mins. Other train operators are obliged to help you get where you need to go if the company you intended to travel with has cancelled your trains, or you've missed a connection due to a previous train you were on being delayed. I've had the last…

Yes, you'll get a refund. But that isn't much use to you if you need to be in a certain place at a certain time.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#159

Post by manarth »

stevage wrote: post #75
modo_mario wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It's really not too much to expect a train going to the airport to make important announcements in English.

And French, as Germany is adjacent to France.

There are train connections to Scandinavia, so let's add Swedish, Danish and Finnish.

Also Dutch and Polish to accommodate the other adjacent countries.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#160

Post by sho_hn »

nephihaha wrote: post #114
stevage wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really not too much to expect a train going to the airport to make important announcements in English.

[flagged]

It's still an expectation I have, even as a native German speaker. I work for a well-known German company (our storefronts are sometimes called "the German embassy"), and our day-to-day business language at work is ... English. We hire from all over and want people to be able to get around effectively. This is infrastructure. Make it work.
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