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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#371

Post by PurpleRamen »

Zealotux wrote: post #221
BloondAndDoom wrote: post #131

I feel like we lost humanity somewhere in modern world. I grew up in 3rd world country and if this were to happen, train would literally stop somewhere, anywhere. (With the assumption it’s safe from crewing into another train). But the idea that you go 55 minutes just because of policy; and skip 15 stations is crazy to me. Again with the assumptions that it can safely stop somewhere for 5m and I’m pretty sure the ans…

I worked for a massive German company you heard of, this sounds more like the typical German philosophy of strictly following the process -- as absurd as it might be -- and refusing to take initiative for anything that is not explicitly defined as one's responsibility. As a French, the culture shock was brutal and I never really got around that work attitude. I went through a similar issue back when I used to take a…

The general reason is, the rule exists for a reason, and the "low worker" does not understand the bigger picture, so you should follow it blindly before doing something harmful you can't foresee. It's not always working well, but to be fair, also not always bad. Knowing how much you can stretch the rules can be an art which takes a long time to acquire.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#372

Post by grishka »

As a Russian, this is such a bonkers idea to me. I only took a Deutsche Bahn train once so far. It got delayed 20 minutes. When I complained about it on social media, I was told something like "what do you mean, it arrived and took you where you wanted to go".

Russian trains only get delayed if there's something seriously wrong. Like an accident or an act of sabotage because of the war. A month or so ago, a Sapsan train from St Petersburg to Moscow broke down en route. People had to wait for hours to get out. It made big news. As far as I can tell, this is a weekly occurrence in Germany.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#373

Post by dale_glass »

sva_ wrote: post #313
pjmlp wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, although quite often they forget not everyone speaks German. I once had a bit of Schadenfrunde while travelling in Netherlands, having the conductor telling us to switch trains in Dutch, and all my German fellow travellers wondering what it was all about.

How dare they speak their own language in their own country on a regional train

I think you still should be able to expect a bit of accommodation on trains that cross country borders or go to airports.

The EU makes travel between EU countries as easy as travel between US states. You can just get on a train from Germany to Spain without any prior planning.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#374

Post by darubedarob »

BloondAndDoom wrote: post #131

I feel like we lost humanity somewhere in modern world. I grew up in 3rd world country and if this were to happen, train would literally stop somewhere, anywhere. (With the assumption it’s safe from crewing into another train). But the idea that you go 55 minutes just because of policy; and skip 15 stations is crazy to me. Again with the assumptions that it can safely stop somewhere for 5m and I’m pretty sure the ans…

He has a loaded lawyer and is not afraid to use him. The world is filled with economic traps like this. All the economic advantages gained by the commoner, would unravel by one risk of harm coming for the driver and the company.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#375

Post by darubedarob »

rjzzleep wrote: post #354
svara wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as DB goes, I'm pretty sure it's mostly an issue of systemic technical and consequently social collapse. The system runs beyond its limits and consequently the culture collapses because the people inside learn they have no agency. The German rail network is quite good on paper, with dense and high frequency connections even to relatively remote locations. But keeping that functional (particularly with constant…

The German rails network went downhill when they decided to socialize the losses and privatize the profit. Failure is blamed on the grunt workers, which are absolutely not interested in taking responsibility as a result of this. The fact that there are rotting railways everywhere and the DB waits until it gets so bad for cities to step in and take over part of the cost is a wonderful example of this. The new ICE's sp…

Add to that the transport buisness beeing marginal to the company who is mainly a immo speculation company trying to sell the strips of inner city land they hold.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#376

Post by prmoustache »

encom wrote: post #321
prmoustache wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being under any obligation doesn't mean it is not a sensible a courteous way to do. You like it or not, english has become a defacto common international language. While I speak 5 languages and try to learn some basic words of the local languages of any country I visit out of courtesy (how to say hello, bye, thank you, ask where are the toilets, etc), I wouldn't expect any traveller to know enough to understand t…

>common international language Not nearly as much as people on the internet seem to think. In large parts of Europe, speaking english will get you absolutely nowhere.

Near international airports and capitals usually yes you can usually get help in english accross europe, at least enough to get basic help and instructions.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#377

Post by MaKey »

sauercrowd wrote: post #98
tirant wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you took the S1 S-Bahn. Yes, it always splits in Neufahrn. Part of the train goes to the airport, the other section to Freising (a cute University city, by the way) That is indicated on the platform screens before getting on the train. It tells you which part of the train goes where so you know which wagon to take. I found it also not very intuitive first time I took it. But hey, when travelling there’s alway…

Strong disagree. For most parts travelling is a non-event these days. A train that splits, on the way to the airport where there will be a lot of non-german speaking people, and for some reason only shows it on the platform is insane. Having a train that splits on that route is already bad enough, but you HAVE to emphasize it on the train. I know that I need to pay attention to this, because I've grown up with DB pul…

There are announcements inside the train. Nowadays also in English.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#378

Post by trinix912 »

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.

Where I live the bus drivers that drive the bus from the capital to the airport barely speak the local language, let alone English.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#379

Post by apexalpha »

mcv wrote: post #370
jansan wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Germany in 2025 it got worse with only 55% of trains being on time (defined very generously as being less than 6 minutes late).

I find this figure absolutely baffling. How can you run a train system with half of all trains being late?

Someone has never been outside the Western world, lol.

In many countries the train comes when it comes and goes when it can, regardless of any fictional like schedules.

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