SBB organises new replacement trains amid intolerable Deutsche Bahn delays

Due to consistent delays at Deutsche Bahn, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has stepped in to organise replacement trains on a major route between Switzerland and Germany. The two will collaborate on providing a backup train service, should the original DB train be delayed.

Stuttgart-Zurich train is delayed far too often, SBB confirms

In a statement, SBB noted that InterCity (IC) trains “between Stuttgart and Zurich are currently not running reliably enough”. “Construction sites, disruptions, and high line utilisation are currently causing increasing delays and cancellations of international trains,” the company explained.

Since mid-June, Deutsche Bahn has been carrying out major construction work on the Gäubahn, the line connecting Stuttgart with Singen and Schaffhausen. Despite reducing the number of IC trains that run during the peak of the work, the last weeks have seen even more frequent delays and disruptions.

SBB and DB to run replacement trains from Schaffhausen to Zurich

Therefore, from July 7, SBB and Deutsche Bahn will run a replacement service on the Swiss section of the route, between Schaffhausen and Zurich. This train will be used if the incoming IC train from Stuttgart is heavily delayed.

The service, which will utilise a Deutsche Bahn train and workers from Switzerland and Germany, aims to provide residents of Zurich and Schaffhausen with a “reliable connection” between the two Swiss cities. Unlike Deutsche Bahn trains that arrive in Basel late, the delayed IC trains will still be allowed to run to Zurich, even if the replacement train is being used.

“SBB and DB are working hard to improve the situation for all travellers and increase the quality and reliability of connections. They will jointly monitor the situation over the coming weeks to assess whether the measures taken are having the desired effect,” SBB concluded.

Vital rail repairs in Germany causing major disruption

The news highlights an ongoing struggle within Deutsche Bahn. Only 62,5 percent of its ICE and IC trains arrived on time in 2024, with many of the delays blamed on undermaintained and unrepaired tracks. Deutsche Bahn has since published a 110-page report on how it plans to improve delays, and is due to spend 45 billion euros on updating and repairing tracks.

In the short term, however, this construction is creating disruption and worsening the delays that the work is designed to solve. Some notable examples include disruption to the line between Basel and Frankfurt this April, and the planned nine-month closure of the main line between Berlin and Hamburg.