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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#611

Post by silversmith »

bcye wrote: post #186
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…

Splitting trains is a quite common thing in Germany (though more long distance) and communicated in the official app. If third party apps don't show that information that's on their part. Usually it's also said after departure inside the train by the conductor, though maybe just on long distance trains.

Are we really living in a world where you need to have the official app - any app! - to ride a train?

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#612

Post by deepsun »

niemandhier wrote: post #426

It’s a system run at the absolute border of what is possible and that was designed with the “just enough” philosophy in mind. You cannot add a stop if the rails are single track and the next train is just behind you. If you do said train will be delayed, will not be able to switch tracks at its final destination ( since it has a hard slot for that) and errors cascade. It’s the best possible train system, given how li…

As someone said during COVID supply chain disruptions: when a system is very optimal it becomes fragile.

So probably they need to add more parallel tracks, unused most of the time.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#613

Post by nephihaha »

School-Cotton wrote: post #456
nephihaha wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

If you visited Japan as a tourist, I believe you learned enough to say hello, ask someone where your hotel is, and so on. I don’t for a second believe you learned enough to understand arbitrary train network change announcements. Unless you spend years studying the language before visiting any country as a tourist, which would be absurd.

No, I didn't learn vast amounts of Japanese, but I did learn phrases and the kanji for various destinations. It sped things up. I did not stand around and speak English to people slowly and expect them all to understand.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#614

Post by ragall »

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?

Lots of people use Amex in Europe. It's very popular as a business card.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#615

Post by nephihaha »

rplnt wrote: post #245
nephihaha wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Honestly, it should be an obligation. DB should make it one for themselves. DB carries millions of people a year that do not speak the language. Important information like route changes should be available to them. English just happens to be the most likely language to be understood at least enough to ask staff/other passengers as to what is going on.

I'm a native English speaker. It is not their obligation to provide everything in English. It is arrogant for someone like me to presume it should be.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#616

Post by nephihaha »

gadders wrote: post #39
nephihaha wrote: post #2

DB is a lot better run than British trains... My God. Twenty minutes late is normal in the UK.

That happens very infrequently on my commuter service in the UK. I'd say not more than once every couple of months, normally due to someone committing suicide in front of a train.

I stopped travelling by train because of it. I live near a station and can see services have become far more infrequent, so there is that too.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#617

Post by potato3732842 »

nephihaha wrote: post #609
potato3732842 wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We live in a society where being the victim of verbal abuse or harassment or various isms and all sorts of other petty things confers legitimacy and power upon one's opinion. There's a subtle difference. Thankfully it seems to be waning slightly.

No, I don't mean that at all. I've had to complain about things before and they accuse you of shouting (when you're not). They almost want people to swear, and rile them up, because that gives them the excuse to do nothing.

You're reading way too much into my use of the word "opinion". It's just whatever side of whatever the issue is be it customer service ad Burger King or some arcane discussion about compilers.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#618

Post by CaliforniaKarl »

zahlman wrote: post #537
rvba wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prepaid gift cards (please note: those are not store issued) dont have chips and it is sometimes a problem to use them. But I doubt someone would buy a plane ticket with them.

A gift card isn't a credit card, though... ?

You are likely thinking of branded gift cards that are specific to one store (or one grouping of stores). An Apple or Target gift card, for example.

There are also gift cards that are credit cards. Or, really, debit cards. See “open-loop cards” at https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/more-than-you-want-to...

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#619

Post by crossroadsguy »

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…

So true. Another third worlder and it's still the same. On the interesting side, if they didn't stop we would make sure a coach or two (empty of course) experiences some arson or fractures. From major to minor depending upon how pissed the locals were. No, I am not condoning it course. Trains should not be burnt. Buses are a different story though. (That included not stopping even after the "chain pulls" :P)

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#620

Post by 1718627440 »

wolframhempel wrote: post #516
tdullien wrote: post #495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The privatization of the train system in Germany was a particularly insane disaster that is only now, 30 years later, being undone/repaired. If you look at an org chart of the DB these days, the most fascinating part is that DB consists of almost 600 separate corporate entities that are all supposed to invoice each other. Speaking with insiders, it appears that when the privatization happened, the new corporate struc…

It was a privatization in name only. The German state held 100% of its shares since the beginning. As such, it might have no longer been subject to the state specific demands of hiring etc. - but instead found itself in an uneasy tension as the only supplier of services to an entity that was something between a customer and a shareholder. Which brings up an interesting question: How do you structure something with a…

> It was a privatization in name only.

Not, that "insight" again. Yes it was privatized and yes it is still completely owned by the state. "Privatization" is a term of art (in German) that refers to the corporate structure not the ownership. There are also public corporations in Germany, that are fully owned by random people: e.V. = registered association.

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