High product quality is one of the most important prerequisites for implementing our Strong Rail strategy. The greatest levers for improving product quality include a high level of punctuality, the use of modern vehicles, reliable and comprehensive customer and transport information, the quality and reliability of the services offered, and appropriate travel and transport times. That is why we continually invest in our fleet and infrastructure, and optimize cooperation with our suppliers and sector partners. We are also intensively exploiting the opportunities of digitalization.

Improving punctuality is particularly important as it is the key factor influencing customer satisfaction and therefore makes a positive contribution to meeting our customer needs, also in the context of increasing mobility needs.

Only if our transport services are provided in a sustainable manner with a high degree of punctuality will passengers use rail transport over the long term, thereby guaranteeing that a sustainable transport transition will be successful. Punctuality is also the key factor in the stability of production systems. In the long-distance and freight transport sectors especially, delays lead to impaired vehicle and personnel cycles, which in turn have a negative effect on maintenance delivery. This ties up the capacity and resources that are urgently needed for the desired growth in traffic in both passenger and freight transport. From an economic point of view, a high level of punctuality also minimizes the risk of contractual penalties in contracted local passenger transport as well as compensation via passenger rights in long-distance passenger transport.

The importance of punctuality is also demonstrated by the fact that it is a determining factor in the amount of the variable remuneration received by executives.

Improving punctuality requires continuous internal management on the basis of number of delays and additional key figures, which take into account network capacity and availability among other factors. To measure punctuality, we compare the target arrival time to the actual arrival time for every train/bus journey. A stop is rated as on time if the scheduled arrival time is exceeded by less than six minutes in passenger transport or less than 16 minutes in freight transport. We use a punctuality rate to summarize the arrival of trains/buses on schedule or up to the defined maximum delay. Punctuality data is recorded daily and made available to managers and employees together with the other management key performance indicators. The performance is compared with the targets derived from the strategy in order to identify negative deviations but also positive developments in a timely manner.

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To measure punctuality, we compare the target arrival time to the actual arrival time for every train/bus run. We summarize the arrival of trains/buses on schedule or up to a defined maximum delay in the punctuality rate.

2023 was a year of major challenges in terms of the quality and punctuality of rail transport in Germany. Despite great efforts on the part of rail transport and rail infrastructure companies, punctuality in rail passenger transport has declined further. The reasons for this development were:

• Poor condition of facilities
• Intensive construction activity and unstable construc­tion planning processes
• High network utilization
• Lack of robustness in the system
• Tense personnel situation

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In 2023, DB Group initiated and implemented a large number of measures to improve and/or stabilize the quality of operations. These measures often only take effect in the medium to long term. In addition, the impact of measures that have already been implemented is partially overcompensated by the negative structural effects.

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