Despite numerous construction sites and the sabotage attack on Deutsche Bahn, their long-distance trains were somewhat more reliable in October. 63.2 percent of the ICE and IC trains reached their destination without major delays, as the group announced on Friday. That was about as many as in September (62.8 percent), but significantly more than in August, when almost every second long-distance train was delayed.

Nevertheless, the current punctuality rate remains a long way from the former 80 percent target for this year, which Deutsche Bahn conceded early on.

A train is considered late in the statistics if it arrives at its destination with a delay of more than six minutes. Train cancellations are not taken into account.

This year, many construction sites combined with high demand are the main reason for the many delays. At the beginning of October, train traffic in northern Germany came to a complete standstill for several hours because unknown perpetrators had switched off an important communication system of the group. Train cancellations and delays in all long-distance traffic were the result. It's still being investigated.

Punctuality figures for Deutsche Bahn