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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#791

Post by pm3003 »

I've seen this in the same region, possibly on this exact line last year. I was going from Paris to Copenhagen, managed to have only 5 hours of delay. The return journey took 30 hours more and I could only get one hotel night reimbursed.

I changed my ticket to get a French train as soon as possible.

Other survival story: I lived in Northern Germany in the late 2000s as a young exchange student. Almost all the DB lines in the region would go through a particular railway node where, almost every Friday, someone (probably an evil reincarnator) would commit suicide, blocking the whole region.

My reflex: so as soon as the train would stop, I'd get out, get a taxi, then convince 4 other people to go to Hamburg or even Hannover with me, sharing the cost.

Never regretted.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#792

Post by yeputons »

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.

Happens regularly. And if you don't have a visa for the new destination, well, too bad.

E.g. on December 20 a WizzAir flight 4768 was diverted to Thessaloniki (Greece) instead of its destination Skopje (North Macedonia): https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/WZZ4768/history/2025... . Those with Schengen visas (or appropriate passports) got a bus to Skopje. The rest allegedly waited for three hours and then got returned to Cyprus (EU, but not Schengen), but to a different airport (Paphos instead of Larnaca). So if someone had a car left on Larnaca's parking, too bad.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#793

Post by exabrial »

I had a 10am international flight to the US out of Munich. I boarded the train at the central station at 7am.

At 8:15 they dropped us off several stops away from the airport, claiming this train could not continue because it was so delayed. So we hung out in the country...

I finally go to the airport at 9am, rushed to the gate, but they people manning the counter had left (it's usually the flight attendants that man the counters I guess). I called the airline to try to get someone up there, but after waiting 45min on hold the flight had boarded and it was too late.

also, whatever jackass put ellipsis "..." substitution on the Munich flight board because "H32" or whatever was too long to fit into to their div and they couldn't bear messing out their UI, needs a flogging. The UI on the flight board is completely useless, but OH does it it look pretty

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#794

Post by pm3003 »

vander_elst wrote: post #720
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…

In general the S-Bahn in Munich is a massive s*t show I can report more info about this if needed. However, in the S1 going to the airport (the train you took) it is quite well described that the train splits and it's both on German and in English.

The Munich S-Bahn is usually a delight compared to the Paris suburbian RER.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#795

Post by didntknowyou »

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 think most humanity left when corporates began to dominate industries and everyone just had to follow rules and structures

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#796

Post by insane_dreamer »

Can someone explain why, with Germany's reputation of being so well organized, great engineering, great manufacturing, they can't get the trains to run on time? It should be like Switzerland and instead it's like Italy. Doesn't compute for me.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#798

Post by [deleted] »

tim333 wrote: post #305
sajithdilshan wrote: post #223

Unfortunately nowadays traveling with DB has become a game of Russian roulette. If you get lucky the train arrives at the destination ahead of time and if you're unlucky most probably a delay of 4+ hours and missing your connecting train. The main reason for this is lack of competition for DB in Germany. I used to date a guy who works at infra department in DB and based on what he told me, I couldn't believe how inef…

In the UK the railways used to be kind of bad in the nationalised British Rail days. People moan about the current privatised rail but it mostly works.

[deleted]

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#799

Post by hopelite »

amai wrote: post #764

The title should be changed. It should be: "Kidnapped by National Express". Because the train mentioned in the article is not operated by Deutsche Bahn, but by National Express, see https://bahn.expert/details/RE28521/j/20251224-a0049123-9494... National Express is actually a subsidiary of the British train operator Mobico Group: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Express_Germany

Would you happen to know if they would be using their own branded/livery trains, or would they be using DB trains, or maybe just DB cars pulled by a British locomotive?

It just raises so many questions in my mind that of all entities, a British train operator would be operating a train that is bounded within the German rail system.

My first thought is that it's some kind of counter-union effort through fake "competition" by bringing in foreign, private operators into the network.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#800

Post by pm3003 »

avidiax wrote: post #713
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 was imagining something more Kafkaesque. There are some transit systems that have transfer only stations. If DB dropped you off at such a station, and then cancelled the only trains leaving that station (due to weather, holidays), I'm sure you could end up spending Christmas there, and you'd be entitled to €3.75 compensation.

Almost had this somewhere in Northern Germany in early december.

The train stopped at "Kuhdorf", as the author says, at 10:30pm. The driver told us he couldn't continue because "the track was wet" (in Northern Germany in december, how unlucky!) and to wait for "replacement circulation" (usually buses or trains).

The driver then left the train. In fact he had reached his hometown and exceeded his work quota because of the delays.

Like the fabled German roadworker and the (more frequently observed) Krampus, the DB replacement bus is a fairy tale creature.

The passengers got out and forced the driver back into the train and he drove us to the terminus then took a taxi back to said Kuhdorf.

On the nightbus home a class of French highschool girls elected me the best-looking man in the bus (they thought I didn't understand) so I went back home with a smile.

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