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Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

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Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#871

Post by lostlogin »

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?

As someone travelling for the first time in a while - Wise has changed travel for the better, and dramatically.

Managed 2 weeks in the UK without touching cash and the transactions between currency were inexpensive and quick.

Massive fan.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#872

Post by lostlogin »

eldaisfish wrote: post #405
Freak_NL wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Is it though?

Why should anywhere cater to my failure to learn their language and systems? It’s nice if they do but I don’t expect it.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#873

Post by lostlogin »

tuetuopay wrote: post #400
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…

This is pretty common in other countries. I almost got screwed multiple times by SNCF (french trains) where they don't announce which half of the train goes where on the speakers. Even in the official app, it's buried deep: for some reason, it's under "Travel Details" and not "Train Details". It was partially on me because there are assigned seats and carriages, but I was late and had to jump in the train. But still…

> Travel Details

Where the train is going being a ’detail’ is completely hilarious.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#874

Post by pimeys »

ivan_gammel wrote: post #484
em-bee wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

germans don't use credit cards. finding an automated ticket machine thst handles credit cards would be extremely rare.

Starting in 2026, support of digital payments is mandatory in Germany for all types of businesses. DB has been card-friendly for a long time.

Yeah and already in 2025 it's quite common to be able to pay with a credit card in bars and restaurants too, which was almost unheard of a few years back. Of course these machines break all the time, and suddenly the business can only take cash. This seems to be a very specific problem that only happens in Germany.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#875

Post by lostlogin »

user34283 wrote: post #744
britzsquad wrote: post #666

For my job, I travel all over Germany very often. I take the car, train, bus, or sometimes even the plane. The train is the most comfortable means of transportation in Germany. Of course, there are delays, and sometimes mistakes happen that result in very long delays. But where doesn't that happen? I find traveling by car to be the worst. How many times this year have I been stuck in traffic jams for several hours wi…

Where doesn't that happen? In any neighboring country, where punctuality is at like 74-99%, depending on the country. The DB is at 48.5% (Oct 2025) to 60% (2024 avg).

Where are you getting those numbers? Thats impressively terrible.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#876

Post by stefanlindbohm »

hopelite wrote: post #799
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 "competit…

Competition on the railways is mandated through EU law.

Most regional services are tendered to the (in theory) best operator. The details on how, both which governing body organises the tender and whether the trains are branded by the region or the operator, varies across Europe. In Germany, these contracts are operated by a mix of DB, foreign state-owned operators and private operators. DB sells tickets for all region-organised trains regardless of who is the current operator.

Most countries have decided to have no or limited tenders on long-distance trains. In Germany, government support is prohibited for long-distance.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#877

Post by lostlogin »

stingraycharles wrote: post #422
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…

My favorite part of German work culture is watching an excel sheet together and going over the numbers. My actual favorite part of German work culture is that meetings always have an agenda, that part is a delight when doing business with German customers.

I toured a German Siemens factory and was startled by the unfamiliar safely culture.

Big bits of equipment moving around fast and limited guard rails.

The culture of taking personal responsibility is vastly different to where I’m from.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#878

Post by hexbin010 »

RadiozRadioz wrote: post #860
bradley13 wrote: post #857

Reminds me of my time in Scotland. I commuted by train, and they published stats that showed my route as 95% on time "excepting conditions outside our control". In the year I was there, the train arrived on-time exactly once. Apparently very little was under their control. They did occasionally announce the reasons for delays. Two that I remember: "Leaves on the track" in Autumn, what a surprise. "The wrong kind of s…

The leaves are actually a big deal because they get crushed into a slippery film that stops the wheels making good friction with the rails. Occasionally you will see specialised debris-removal vehicles moving along the tracks and spraying them

> The leaves are actually a big deal because...

Because of the substandard, cost-cutting line-side vegetation mismanagement coupled with the NIMBYs and save-the-planet warriors getting up-in-arms. Plus high wages making proactive vegetation management not cost-effective due to the extent. Network Rail is well aware of the issue but due to budget cuts, can't do much.

Behind every excuse on the railway, if you peel back just a tiny bit of the layer, you'll see the real reasons. In the UK it's usually "we need to spend that money on the NHS and welfare" and "ROSCO profits are not put back into the railway"

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#879

Post by selfmodruntime »

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…

That fucking Sbahn is the bane of the existence of many tourists. It happens so much that there‘s now a bus line from those cow fields to an airport. You will be late.

Re: Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn

#880

Post by selfmodruntime »

mrbombastic wrote: post #438
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…

This just happened to me a couple days ago trying to get from Luxembourg to Heidelberg, got on what I thought was the right train at a transfer but was apparently the wrong half, announcement only in German, rushing to find a spot for luggage in packed train and getting scolded by various Germans and we missed it. 3 hours of travel to end up back in Luxembourg and we got a very expensive rental car to get to our next…

Ir you download the Deutsche Bahn App, chances are about 50% that it will tell you if your platform changes. Better than nothing.
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