German Railways pays 197 million euros in compensation for delayed and cancelled flights

The German railway company “Deutsche Bahn” recorded a significant increase in the value of compensation it had to pay due to delays and cancellations of flights during the past year.

The company, owned by the German government, explained in a statement that it paid about 197 million euros last year to affected passengers, noting that there were about 6.9 million compensation requests submitted to service centers, compared to 5.6 million requests in 2023, for which the company paid compensation worth 132.8 million euros at that time.

The company reported that 80% of the delays last year were due to outdated and overburdened infrastructure, indicating that compensation is provided to passengers for train delays without conditions, while the value of compensation increases with the increase in the duration of the delay.

More than a third of Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains arrived late last year, with 37.5% arriving at stations more than 5 minutes and 59 seconds late, compared to 62.5% arriving on time, the company’s highest delay rate in at least 21 years.