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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#401

Post by martin-t »

ffuxlpff wrote: post #125
Svip wrote: post #83

> The train starts moving. The driver announces there are “issues around Bonn.” He does not specify what kind. No one asks. We have learned not to ask. This is one of those issues I keep mulling about; it seems train operators (and airliners for that matter) tend to avoid being technically specific about operation problems, and just say "problems" and - if they are kind - where the problem is. And I cannot decide whe…

By always talking only about non specified "problems" and getting people not to expect any further information it is easier to hide when it's a suicide.

Sometimes the train conductor will admit it or you can tell because the reason they give is different each time.

I find it stupid, it is what it is, just say it. This double speak serves no purpose.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#402

Post by akudha »

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 feel like we lost humanity somewhere in modern world

I feel the same. It is easier to hide behind rules, regulations, bureaucracy etc. Not saying we should stop following rules, but using a bit of common sense and having a bit of compassion would go a long way.

I also remember reading about a train that Japanese railways kept running, just for one kid, she took the train to school. They kept it running until she finished school, just for her (I know, someone is going to point out the inefficiency, cost etc about this story, but that is a separate conversation). I suppose stories like these are going to become rarer and rarer as time goes by, as everything has to be "efficient" and everyone has to follow some "rules".

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#403

Post by this_user »

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…

So much in German work culture - and also culture in general - is about covering your own arse. If you follow the procedure, even if the outcome is disaster, you are not at fault; you were just implementing the rules, and you cannot be held accountable. It's the fault of whoever came up with the rules, except that is usually not a single person, but some amorphous entity that ran through some decision making process years in the past. So, no one is really at fault or can be held accountable.

It's always some magical higher power preventing you from doing the sensible thing. One favourite excuse is insurance liability. We can't do the sensible thing, because the insurance wouldn't pay if something bad were to happen, even though the odds of something bad happening are virtually nil.

You can also observe this in German politics. "Oh, we absolutely cannot do because the rules won't allow it." Well, you could change the rules, but then you would have to take some actual responsibility, and we can't have that.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#404

Post by thisislife2 »

modo_mario wrote: post #53
indiantinker wrote: post #17

DB is weird. They seem to make their own rules and then run the game and “dont tell the rules to anyone”. I was on my way to catch a flight from Munich to my home (Madrid). I didn’t knew that apparently at one point the train splits into two parts and the front part goes to the airport and the other part just goes to the nearby cattle farms and comes back in 3 hours. Google Maps - No idea Citymapper - what? English a…

[flagged]

In India train announcements in stations are made in the regional language, English and Hindi.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#405

Post by eldaisfish »

Freak_NL wrote: post #301
xenocratus wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We took that train, realised when we got to the other end of the line that we hadn't gotten where we expected, then turned back to the place where it separates. Waited for the next advertised train to airport (it's signalled on the electronic board as two separate entries; yes, it says "board whatever carriages for airport, and the rest for ...", or at least I assume it did, as it was in German of course; but again,…

American Express I get. No one uses that in Europe. Visa and Mastercard debit cards are what everyone uses and they work in all German ticket machines. You weren't trying to use a credit card where you? What language do you expect the Germans to use?

For a train going to an airport, English.

This is the norm around the world, especially with complicated situations like a train splitting in two.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#406

Post by abigail95 »

saagarjha wrote: post #240
abigail95 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is my time less valuable than an ambulance or doctor? You have to make a lot of assumptions and normative judgements for that to be true, which I reject. Morally DB (through the driver) is the one lying and saying things like "cannot stop". They don't want to stop - that's different. They've already broken the social contract, I'm free to do the same.

Why not shoot the driver and take control of the train?

The ad absurdum of this situation would be DB escalating it into a full on hijacking scenario where they run the train in a loop, forever claiming the train cannot ever stop.

In that situation - you do what is necessary to stop the train, because nobody else will, which might involve killing the driver.

The reason you don't jump straight to shooting the driver is that doesn't achieve your goals. There is a long list of things to do before needing to kill anyone, so do those first.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#407

Post by Ekaros »

apexalpha wrote: post #319

I once took the train from Berlin to Netherlands. Just after Hannover but before Dusseldorf and such the train stopped: fire next to the tracks. Honestly, not DB fault this time. Luckily DB trains have a restaurant/cafe in them. I went to get some food but the man behind the counter told me it was closed. I asked him how since he was the seller, he stood there, there was power and internet. What's the problem? Well,…

Sounds extremely reasonable to me. Not all people want to work extra hours for free.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#408

Post by kmeisthax »

Flatterer3544 wrote: post #209
larnon wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Problem is that failing to communicate will lead to huge productivity holes, so to "fix it", either the natives need to learn a non native language or the incoming immigrants need to learn the native language.. So, attracting the international workforce to come Germany vs being able to fully utilise them are completely different ballparks..

This is Germany we're talking about, right? Something like half the population already speaks English to some degree and that is specifically concentrated in the part of the country that is already highly educated and would be working with those immigrants.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#409

Post by mcv »

manarth wrote: post #117
cowl wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

rerouted? it was a completly different destination, much further than he was originally. there is nothing "noone can do" about stupid burecracies like "can't stop at this station because we are not registered". First they had time to register the stop when they changed the itinery, Second if they failed that somehow, and most probably because of "there was no manual how to do it", in a sittuation like these, stupid r…

The key explanation for failing to stop at the station is that the train was on the wrong track . > "Apparently we were not registered at Troisdorf station, so we are on the wrong tracks" Many stations have a 4 track system: a left track and right track which are adjacent to platforms, and 2 tracks in the middle, which are designed for non-stopping trains. If the train was on the middle track, stopping would introduc…

Lame excuse. There has to be a better alternative than to take them an hour in the wrong direction. Stop and shunt to the right track. Stop at one of those other 15 stations they skipped. But the best would be to simply avoid these kind of unnecessary errors in the first place.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#410

Post by mikkupikku »

aziaziazi wrote: post #184
larnon wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because even in countries less developed(by western standards), there are more English announcements, so visiting tourists can also use the public transport. This isn't lack of speaking the language as well, it is more about not wanting to speak another language because "In Deutschland muss man Deutsch sprechen." It is reaching French level of racism at this point. Funny for a country that wants to attract so many in…

This assume that a country should please english-speaking tourists but not everyone speaks that language. Here our perception is biased because we're in a english-speaking-forum. Tourism isn't a central concern for many people/countries and not supporting it is a valid choice. > French level of racism Racism really ??? As a Parisian I'll struggle to make tourists feel unpleasant but I assure you there's absolutely no…

France can be afforded such idiosyncrasies because the French are generally rational thinking people, not clockwork slaves to a bureaucratic machine like Germans are made to be by their culture.
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