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Around 4.9 million passengers travelled on long-distance trains in Germany over the Christmas holidays, the country’s national rail operator Deutsche Bahn told dpa on Friday.<\/p>\n
This was 8% more than during the same period last year, it said.<\/p>\n
It evaluated booking data for the period from December 18 to December 28.<\/p>\n
Germany’s InterCity Express (ICE) and InterCity (IC) trains were booked to 60% of their capacity during the period, it said.<\/p>\n
“My special thanks go to the colleagues who worked around the clock over the Christmas period to ensure that our passengers reached their destinations safely,” Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance travel manager, Michael Peterson, said.<\/p>\n
Christmas traffic on the network was surprisingly smooth and punctual, the operator added.<\/p>\n
On December 24 and 25, 80% of long-distance trains arrived on time, a spokesman confirmed.<\/p>\n
This is significantly higher than the expected annual punctuality rate of 65%.<\/p>\n
“Even on the days with the highest number of passengers, December 20 and 22, there were no significant restrictions,” the company said.<\/p>\n
Deutsche Bahn said it expects that the lower volume of construction work and freight traffic, which uses the same tracks as passenger trains, during the holiday period contributed to this.<\/p>\n
It added that new trains have allowed it to expand seating capacity on long-distance trains this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n