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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#621

Post by db48x »

gmueckl wrote: post #440
db48x wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. An Amtrak train would just stop at the next convenient road crossing, if there were really something preventing them from stopping at the scheduled station. Most Amtrak stations don't even have staff, or any way to prevent people from coming and going, so this would most likely involve construction on the station platform itself. That’s fairly rare but the last time I took the Zephyr headed east there was…

I don't understand ome detail of this story: Amtrak platforms are about 110cm high. That's more than waist high for most people. So how do you let people get on and off at a grade intersection instead of at a platform?

Lol, most Amtrak platforms are at track level! I think the cars are 8” above track level, not waist high.

Every car has a metal step that will be placed in front of the door by the attendant.

Edit: Oh, except for a few lines on the East Coast where the trains are only single–level. Those are 48” above the top of track.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#622

Post by jasonvorhe »

scotty79 wrote: post #435
this_user wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> you were just implementing the rules, and you cannot be held accountable That kind of explains why they tried to pull it of at Nuremberg. And why some nazis that weren't sentenced internationally got good jobs in post-war Germany. For Germans they weren't really at fault if they were just following procedures.

That's not the main reason though. The reason the denazification was mostly a sham is because a lot of federal positions required good contacts and experience in that field and you couldn't find anyone qualified who wasn't in the party. Based not just on first hand accounts on the family side but also lots of research. A lot of higher ups also were well connected so they got an already short conviction halved to released early in order to get a position in the government.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#623

Post by garbagewoman »

krisoft wrote: post #560
potato3732842 wrote: post #535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Yes. That is a good reason to not stop without a platform. But I tell you one even better. Look at the layout of the Troisdorf station. There are tracks with platforms, and there are through tracks. The trough tracks are surrounded by live tracks on both sides. If the train stops there, unlocks the doors, and somehow coaxes the people to climb down those people are immediately on a live track. To get off of it they…

> Just let the people who are actually there and can actually see the situation use some judgement. Okay. But we are beyond that. The people who were there handled the situation and we both seem to agree that they didn't handle it well. We just seem to disagree how they should have handled it differently. Your proposal is that they should have dumped people on the tracks. My proposal is that they should have done mor…

Wait, are you saying you did?

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#624

Post by kyleee »

ajb wrote: post #512
ben_w wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had something similar from Nuremberg to Suhl and accidentally ending up in Bad Kissingen for a bit. But I don't think DB is unique in this weirdness. Back in the UK, I think something similar happens on routes going past Gatwick; I've only heard English announcements on that train despite the airport being one of the ones serving London. Plus, one time I was on a work trip to Liverpool (via London), and somewhere aro…

What language would you pick first, if you're going to add non English to London trains? The problem with UK announcements is that they are piped to multiple places in the station, which is all hard surfaces and produces lots of reverberation and echo. This often makes them hard to understand even for natives. Also there are some stations with really terrible old speakers , such as horn speakers.

Arabic?

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#625

Post by Etheryte »

dpacmittal wrote: post #490
mystifyingpoi wrote: post #308

The term "kidnapped" is kinda over the top, but I can understand the author. I've travelled with Polish trains a lot when studying, and there were a few situations like this. Especially frustrating, if the train stops because of "some issue" while you can literally see the platform 200m away. No, you can't get out and walk the track (which will be guaranteed to be empty, because well, the train is broken) and take a…

I don't think it's safe if the track is electrified

Electric trains don't get power via the tracks like that, they use power lines. Metros are a different matter, but that's not what the article is about.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#626

Post by rendall »

pama wrote: post #523

Totally reminds me of Manhattan subways deciding to skip 6 stops after making some static noise on the speakers that nobody understands, and leaving you on a station that you have to pay reentry fee to go back the five stops you overrun (or run the lottery of staying for longer in case the next stop has an easy transfer.) Hopefully some day these absurdities of modern life will be fixed.

That reminds me in turn of a joke we used to have, that the afterlife is being on a subway car with constant, unclear, but important announcements. Maybe this stop is heaven, maybe hell, maybe nirvana, maybe oblivion. There's no way to tell. Getting off at the wrong stop would be catastrophic. So, you remain, forever, riding in this afterlife subway car.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#627

Post by 1718627440 »

hylaride wrote: post #395
PurpleRamen wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Some cultures are more sticklers for creating and following rules and bureaucracy than others, though. A good example: Here in North America I'll jaywalk without a thought if there's no traffic. In Germany, you'll get grandmothers calling you a child-killer for setting a bad example if you did the same. Another example: Both France and Germany spend roughly the same amount (in raw Euros) on their militaries. France (…

Note that what is eschewed and illegal is crossing at a traffic light when it is red. Just walking 50m away and crossing there is fine.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#628

Post by ragall »

microtonal wrote: post #26
101008 wrote: post #10

I know the author mentioned this, but I just got nervous imagining this as a tourist who doesn't speak German at all. This shouldn't be like this. Why they don't help at all? It's also funny considering how here in South America we look at Germany trains (and Switzerland trains) as always on time, and the best train system, etc. But I am sure if this happens here it would be on the cover of newspapers.

It's also funny considering how here in South America we look at Germany trains (and Switzerland trains) That's very outdated, DB has been terrible for a long time though. Switzerland is still the best though. Here are some stats for 2025: https://chuuchuu.com/2025wrapped Since you have to scroll down quite a bit to get the list of most reliable European trains (with percentage on time): 1. Switzerland 97.8% 2. The N…

I gather that this is an average of all trains. In Italy, the high velocity train are quite punctual, but the slow regional trains drag the average down.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#629

Post by garbagewoman »

elygre wrote: post #392
PaulRobinson wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're touching on points that Ayn Rand touched on in Atlas Shrugged , which as it happens uses the dynamics of the running of a railway as a metaphor for organisational incompetence and which opens on a scene of railway workers refusing to take initiative and following policy blindly. Where she started to go a little weird is she thought anyone who had an idea had the right to just go do that, and society can go han…

Your quote is missing a crucial bit. The full quote is «we're not registered to do so, so we are on the wrong tracks ». You were supposed to take the last exit, to be on the local road instead of the highway. No, we cannot let you off on the highway. We are not allowed to stop here. There are no stops. We wait for another exit. Sorry.

Was that the situation?

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#630

Post by garbagewoman »

SoftTalker wrote: post #543
i_am_a_peasant wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh. don’t remind me. my fiancée and I live in different cities in Germany. the train ride is 5 hours. but it has been 15h in the past just because DB is DB. and the only thing we got for it was like a 10 eur discount voucher. 10 hours of my life partner’s time is worth a lot more than 10 eur. i have cussed them and their mothers countless times, DB is a garbage transportation company owned and ran by garbage people.

Sounds like Amtrak in the US, except here you get no compensation at all. And I've always been told how great the European railroads are.

Europe is a big place
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