Increased capacity and extended rail replacement services: eurobahn expands timetable offer

Düsseldorf, 13 May 2024 - Following the timetable changes to some lines (RB 65, RB 66, RB 67, RE 78 and RE 82) in the East Westphalia and Teutoburger-Wald-Netz, eurobahn is expanding its rail replacement service from 13 May. This is eurobahn's response to demand and criticism from the region, which is in close dialogue with the public transport authority NWL. With an additional express bus between Bielefeld and Detmold, passengers will have a fast connection without intermediate stops and thus a connection to long-distance services in Bielefeld.

THE ADDITIONAL RAIL REPLACEMENT SERVICE:

• Detmold - Bielefeld express bus: every hour between 9.35 a.m. and 8.35 p.m., every 35 minutes.
• Bielefeld - Detmold express bus: every hour between 7.40 a.m. and 7.40 p.m., every 40 minutes.

eurobahn already reacted in a different way on 29 April and increased the number of vehicles deployed on the RB 72 line between Herford and Paderborn. In order to cope with the increased passenger volume, eurobahn is deploying trains that can carry twice as many passengers. More than half of the journeys now offer 300 or 360 seats, compared to 180 previously.

"We are doing everything in our power to get our passengers to their destination. We are constantly reviewing the feasibility of expanding the capacity of our trains and adapting the rail replacement service. With the express bus in the Lippe district, we want to make our passengers' journeys even quicker and easier to plan under the current circumstances," says Karsten Schulz, Technical Managing Director at eurobahn.

Timetable change target achieved
Due to an acute shortage of staff and high sickness rates, eurobahn had to adjust its timetables on 8 April. Specifically, the RB 65, RB 66, RB 67, RE 78 and RE 82 lines in OWL and TWN are affected. Since the timetable change, the company has been able to significantly reduce unplanned train cancellations from over 10 percent to 1.7 percent*, according to an evaluation by the public transport authority NWL. Thanks to the timetable changes, eurobahn is now only experiencing a few staff-related cancellations on the affected lines. The measures can therefore be considered a success, as the basic service currently available to passengers is reliable and predictable. The lines that are not directly affected by the timetable changes have also seen significantly more stable operations due to fewer cancellations.

* The evaluations relate to the period from 8 April 2024 to 28 April 2024 and include the lines directly affected by the timetable change as well as all lines belonging to eurobahn in the TWN and OWL networks.