As fun as the trip was in the end, Niclas Füllkrug’s decision last Sunday to leave Hanover a day earlier for the team camp in Herzogenaurach, around 450 kilometers away, had a serious background.
“I had hoped that it would be a bit more relaxed because I have a bit of respect for Deutsche Bahn,” reported the German national striker. But because several trains were cancelled, “our train was double or triple full and I also went on a school trip. It was fun.”
At least Füllkrug reached his goal. The players, coaches and officials of the Swiss national team – the German team’s third group opponent – also hope so. The Swiss will make their first appearance on Saturday in Cologne against Hungary. They will travel by train from Stuttgart, where they have moved into their European Championship quarters. The Swiss are used to high standards, their railway company SBB has a 92.5 percent punctuality rate, although a train that is three minutes late is already considered unpunctual. “We hope,” said Pierluigi Tami, director of the Swiss national team, “that Deutsche Bahn will show its best performance at this European Championship.”
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It is not just the Swiss who are hoping for this. Other participating teams are hoping for this too – and not least the many football fans who will be making their way to the ten venues every day from Friday, when the European Championship begins in Munich with the match between Germany and Scotland (9 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker).
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In addition to the plane and the car, the train is considered the main means of transport that will take fans from A to B. Deutsche Bahn is one of the official partners of Euro 2024. The question is, will it also be a reliable partner – and will it be able to cope with the rush of fans?
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Many construction sites, a shortage of skilled workers and, not least, strikes in rail transport have caused repeated restrictions for rail travellers across Germany in recent months. Trains have been cancelled or arrived late at their destination. Last weekend, there were disruptions to rail traffic across Germany due to the damage caused by flooding in southern Germany.
Now the railway is making a statement. “At the start of the European Championships, most of the main long-distance routes will be fully open. Only between Nuremberg and Würzburg will there be restrictions as a result of a massive landslide. The damage to the railway embankment is so great that the repair work will not be completed until the end of June at the earliest. This will extend the journey time on this route by around 30 minutes,” said a DB spokeswoman in response to a request from WELT.
24,000 trains in local and long-distance traffic during EM
Even if storm damage is limited to a specific region, there can be nationwide effects, particularly on long-distance routes. “For example, our trains and our employees may not be at their scheduled locations due to storm damage. In these cases, it may take some time until everything is back on track,” added the DB spokeswoman.
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Deutsche Bahn has sold almost 100,000 fan tickets and around 25,000 fan BahnCards nationwide, plus another 4,000 fans from other European countries who have opted for the EM Interrail Pass.
During the tournament, Deutsche Bahn will be offering around 24,000 trains a day nationwide for local and long-distance travel. They are said to be prepared – during the European Championships there will be 10,000 more seats in IC and ICE trains than usual on match days.
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As far as the problem of punctuality is concerned, the DB spokeswoman pointed out that travelling by train is the same as travelling by car: “If you travel with a little time in advance, you will arrive at the stadium more relaxed. This way, fans can also enjoy the football atmosphere in the match venues. Regarding punctuality, it must also be said that only around two percent of trains are more than 60 minutes late. If a long-distance train is late, it is on average around nine minutes late.”
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In mid-May, Paul Goodwin, co-founder of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, advised his fellow countrymen to arrive early for the European Championship matches. “Leave the pub a little quicker, give yourself a little more time. The last thing you want is to arrive at half-time,” Goodwin said.
The fan representative expects 40,000 Scottish supporters to travel to Germany during the European Championships – on Tuesday there was even talk of up to 200,000.
For journeys within Germany, they are often dependent on the train. Last year, more than one in three long-distance trains operated by DB was delayed by at least six minutes. Those who miss a connection because of a delay often arrive at their destination much later.
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Michael Peterson, DB’s long-distance transport director, recently referred to the statements from Scotland in a press conference on the European Championships: “The Scottish fans’ association is leading the way and advising its people to take an earlier train. This was reported in the media as a ‘warning’. I think that, on balance, this is very sensible advice for a major event that attracts millions of people,” said Peterson.
And he also pointed out that a time buffer should be planned: “No football fan gets in the car four hours before kick-off if the journey is expected to take four hours. You plan a buffer. The same principle should also apply to the train.”
