German railways started to be late more often

German state transport company Deutsche Bahn (DB) acknowledged an increase in systematic freight train delays between January and June 2021 compared to the first half of 2020 in a report. During the reporting period, only 71% of freight trains in Germany arrived on time, compared to 80% in the same period in 2020. Freight train congestion and arrival delays are most acute in North Rhine-Westphalia and along the Rhine Valley near Duisburg, home to the EU’s largest steel mills operated by Thyssenkrupp, according to the European Railways Network. As the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing sources, German industrial companies, including Volkswagen and steelmaker Saarstahl, are already suffering from DB disruptions, which provides much of the transportation of iron ore, coking coal and sheet steel. According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, the reason for the situation is extensive engineering work in modernizing the railways, as well as a shortage of machinists and rolling stock. Against this background, DB gives priority in the schedule to passenger trains, which aggravates the situation in freight transportation.