German train stations don't all suck

[@pelegsap]

People who lived in Germany their entire lives don't have the best of perspective in this regard imho. Germany has an excellent public transportation system when compared to most of the world. It doesn't mean that there's nothing to strive to: there's a lot to improve. But native Germans tend to really underestimate the public infrastructure here.

[@toffeeFairy]

Well, but it got worse, of course peoples would be annoyed by it then.

[@Rico-oz4ct]

yes but I still prefer people complaining constantly about DB to accepting it in the state it is right now.

[@kidaria1333]

True. It maybe is not so perfect like back in the days bbut no one in europe is better expect switzerland and swiss train system recives more financial help in comparison.

[@MartinBrenner]

Many European countries have good public infrastructure. The Netherlands and Switzerland are probably best which is a bit unfair since Germany is so big and the network complex. Spain and France have the best long distance network due to the way the population is spread over these countries and also usually have good commuter train networks in the population centers. Eastern European countries have adequate and usually cheap trains and public transport in cities which can be a bit daunting to use.

[@toffeeFairy]

@@MartinBrenner how has Switzerland an advantage, did you miss a the mountains and lakes you have to go around, under or over? Also Germany has a higher overall population density than Switzerland. Meaning in terms of size it even has the theoretical advantage

[@not-a-theist8251]

I like trains

[@leogronung3146]

I like turtles

[@susanne5803]

I like trains, trams and subways. I don't like busses.

[@kaengurus.sind.genossen]

@@susanne5803 trolley buses are ok

[@ThePixel1983]

Do you know Geoff? 😁

[@susanne5803]

@@kaengurus.sind.genossen Nope. Not for me. I like the way any type of transport drives on tracks. I go by bus - I just like it much less. Where do "O-Busse" (Oberleitungs-Busse) still go in Germany?

[@GeorgiaOverdrive]

Deutsche Bahn reduced its rail network by 6,500 kilometers since its "privatization" in 1994. The main problem with our railroad network is that it was so heavily neglected from an investment standpoint.

[@barvdw]

It had reduced its network a lot more before that, in the 60s to the 80s, with the exception of the former DDR Reichsbahn where much more was kept in place. Line closures happened all over the world, regardless of their form of ownership. Heck, they still happen, in France, a number of regional (main)lines are threatened with closure, Spain often closes old lines when a parallel HSL opens, heck, in Moldova, the state-run railways went bankrupt a few months ago and stopped overnight, and only now, some Ukrainian(!) trains to Chisinau are resuming service. Meanwhile, a number of regional lines (re)openened in NRW, Hesse and Rheinland-Pfalz, Saxony is contemplating reopening a number of their closed lines, etc. There's a big backlog of work that needs to be done, but the picture isn't as bleak as you paint it.

[@GeorgiaOverdrive]

Plus the only shareholder of DB AG is still the Federal Republic of Germany.

[@SarykMoBa]

@@GeorgiaOverdrive But dont you dare to call them 'Bundesbahn', you could geb some very angry looks from the conductors.

[@imaginareality]

I'm a bIg fan of trains and public transport in general and I share your conclusion: It's not perfect but it's extremely important and valuable for our society.

[@Peaceful_Rayne]

"AND REPLACE THEM WITH LEGO!" That made me giggle

[@maximilianwimmer627]

we did that in Frankfurt, too. Now we replaced the modern-looking LEGO with old-fashioned looking LEGO.

[@stroke_of_luck]

This strikes me as heaven! In Oregon there are only stations in Portland, Oregon City, Salem, Albany, Eugene and Klamath Falls near the California border. There are only eight trains a day between Portland and Eugene. Two trains a day between San Diego and Seattle. Bus service is even spottier. America went ga ga over cars with freeways everywhere with multiple lanes. Here in Oregon the creation of I205 created such an outcry that we have fewer freeways than most places. But there are still car centric roads. The problem is everyone agrees that *OTHER* people need to drive less….. but I still need to be there in a hurry. Which means that all those people are clogging up the roads. All those other people clogging up the roads meant I could go the 4 miles to work 10 minutes faster on my bike than I could on my car

[@xijinpingpong4426]

In Germany, it is way more reliable to drive with the car to work than taking the train (my personal experience). This would probably also be true for the USA, if it had more infrastructure for public transportation. When you drive a normal car and take care of it, it is very unlikely that it will fail as often as the train doesn't come. Roads are also more convenient than rails: It is often no problem, if a road is blocked at on spot, but it is a huge problem when the rails are blocked.

[@ManOfTheWeek596]

In my experience it's the other way around, small stops are usually the more clean and larger one are way dirtier

[@paxundpeace9970]

Small stops don't have much chance to get dirty.

[@holger_p]

It correlates to the number of passengers.

[@kidaria1333]

You cannot generalise. It depends a lot of the individual area and region. Same with punctuality. For example the high frequented NRW routes are often more late and get easily in chaos because so many trains and more complicated logistic, wheres the long routes starting in munich bavaria - hessen - lower saxony till hannover (and from there the split to hamburg and bremen) are not often late because not so much stopps, less crowded overall and longer parts where they can speed up and gain time back even when they had been late.

[@stevensiegert]

In our municipality we have small stops and the big stop on the train station.

[@namewarvergeben]

I still wish that Germany (and maybe even the rest of Europe!) could implement a ticketing system like the Dutch OV-Chipkaart. Maybe even make them compatible across Europe. Basically it's a little credit-card-type-thing that lets you check in and out of any train, bus, tram, metro, commuter ferry...anywhere in the country. No need to pre-order tickets, no need to fumble with the ticket machine while your train is already rolling in. No need to deal with countless different regional and mode-specific ticketing systems. Just check in, go where you want to go on whatever route will get you there, check out at the destination, automatically pay one price for the trip. (and for those who don't want that, "traditional" tickets are still available)

[@rubenvo3627]

for regional service that might work but long-distance trains simply operate differently and are subject to other kinds of demand. Regular tickets make the most sense for them and online booking is really easy in Germany

[@leDespicable]

Deutsche Bahn makes far too much profit with their inconsistent pricing of ICE tickets for them to ever want to implement an easier system like the Dutch one...it's sad, but we'll probably not see something like that in the foreseeable future.

[@rubenvo3627]

@@leDespicable but it makes total sense to price tickets higher the closer the train´s departure is away. This is just regular free(-ish) market stuff

[@MyFabian94]

Deutsche Bahn is stuck in the worst kind of way inbetween being an Amt (a Gevernment Institution) and a Private Company. They are cutting Cost by reducing Quality, Quantity and Local availability of Services while increasing Prices. It seems almost as if they keep the old Ticket Structures to justify the continuing process of self-disestablishment by pissing people off and neglecting Passenger Interests. Almost like the US, where Passenger Rail Services barely exist outside the New-England States, when the Rail System once was the thing that made the Western States possible in the first Place. During the Corona Pandemic the DB has behaved, at least in my View, criminally negligent by reducing Train Car count during the Soft Lockdowns, leading to more overcrowding than usual in many Places.

[@imaginareality]

Ireland has a similar card for public transport in its cities (and some other buses) and I now that I'm back in Germany, I miss the convenience of travelling that way.

[@Dave_Sisson]

Rewboss does an editorial. I whole heartedly agree and personally I don't own a car. But that's easy for me living in Melbourne, a city of over 5 million people with the biggest tram network in the world. It's much harder to rely on public transport in rural areas.

[@markovermeer1394]

This week, I used 10 different German trains in the West of Germany. In general, the smaller stations have too narrow platforms. The ends of the platforms are usually in bad shape. The large stations mostly desperately need paint and modernization. Along the tracks, you see too much material which should have been cleaned-up by the rail workers. But: although the infrastructure needs attention: the trains are usually excellent.

[@JanHouben]

I was waiting for the All The Stations tune 😁. Seriously, Geoff's videos are really interesting, and i also like channels like Not Just Bikes. so it would be really nice to see those kind of topics from a German Point of view Every now and they. but I also enjoy your videos on German politics and current affairs!

[@marlenrichter2295]

I thought about starting with all the stations Saxony and then you notice just how many stations we have in Germany.

[@qwertyTRiG]

RM Transit is a good channel for public infrastructure practicalities. It has a very different tone to the rail enthusiast videos I also watch.

[@WurstCase]

Thank you for your comments on the absurdity which is "car-centric cities" that have been planned and built in past decades. I completely agree with you on that. Regarding your comments on getting better transport by generating higher demand, that is one side, I think. Most people will always choose the method of transportationen that seems most convenient to them or simply the quickest one. A good example of that is that people in the Netherlands or Kopenhagen mostly do not choose to take the bicycle for most journeys because the prefer the bicycle as such or try to move more sustainable, but simply because most times it is simply the quickest and/or easiest way to get from A to B there. In Germany and other countries it unfortunately still often quicker or at least more convenient or safer (although sometimes only subjectively) to go somewhere by car than by bike. In cities (even in Germany) where there were experiments with free local public transit, it can be observed that people *will* take the bus, tram or train instead of their own car if that is the mode that seems best to them.

[@philiplawton]

Creating demand is one side, but Government can help by making car-use really expensive and difficult, especially in cities: removing car parking space, taxing petrol, etc. etc. People choose their mode of transport based on many factors, and if it becomes simply "not worth it" to keep a car, then people won't.

[@Soordhin]

Indeed, there has to be a multi pronged approach: Use public transport, vote those into power that want to improve it and the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians and move away from the awful concept of a car centric city.

[@trazyntheinfinite9895]

The netherlands are a tiny fleck. I certainly will not go from Berlin to Konstanz on a bike. Nor will i carry all the stuff for my aunt into public transport.

[@Astro_Guy_1]

9:04 that honesty and humour is why you are one of my favorite channels! Also makes me learn alot about my neighbour country! - liebe Grüße aus Österreich!

[@moropikkuu]

Ahh, the sweet voice of Ingo Ruff at 1:20.. a must in german regional trains..

[@moropikkuu]

Also, nice reference to Geoff Marshall.. maybe time for a collab? :)

[@Amccordford]

Living in the US, this video was fascinating. It reminds me of how my grandmother would travel from West Michigan to Detroit to visit family when she was a teenager. When I was a teen in the 90s, the rail station through my little town (huge compared to yours!) had been closed for ages and the train ran through the every day at 3pm. In the Naughts/early Teens they pulled out all the railroad tracks. Now there’s no possibility of revitalizing train use as a method of getting around. There is pretty much no public transportation around here. We have a small bus service that is more like a communal taxi service, you have to call for it to pick you up and you can schedule pick ups ahead. It makes regular stops at the Walmart south of town twice per day, once to drop people off and once to pick people up. If you don’t get picked up, you’ll have to find a raise some other way because they don’t pick up out there outside of those two times because it’s outside their very small coverage area.

[@uncinarynin]

Yay trains. The Desiro Classic on Kahlgrundbahn looks very familiar, the ÖBB 5022 units used east of Graz are almost the same (the seats have been improved a bit and there are ticket machines inside).

[@flodnak]

It looks like the station at Dettingen, like many mid-sized and larger stations, used to have an apartment above the ticket hall/waiting room for the station manager and family. Most of those stations no longer have full-time staff, let alone enough to need a manager, and even if they did, an apartment above your job is no longer the perk it once was. So, even less reason to keep the station building open.

[@nikoskavoori163]

Thats why stations used to look so nice back then, they were both peoples homes and workplaces, with the people gone the graffitist and vandals rule. One only has to go a little east to place like Czech Republic or Hungary where the railways haven't been become completely soulless to see what nice local stations look like.

[@jonistan9268]

Ah yes, he mentioned Geoff Marshall and the view counter shows that.

[@tzarcoal1018]

My Parents (as many people in Germany) are super pissed that all the smaller stops have no longer buildings included they now just have the platform, some benches, a shelter and maybe a ticket machine. I am more positive about it....it is just fit for the 21th century, we have to do some compromises, to increase the competitiveness of rail and i rather see the closure of some buildings that nobody really needs anymore, than the closure of entire lines. I gladly pay taxes to finance railway infrastructure, there are overall economic ( an ecological )benefits that come with having good rail infrastructure, but i don't like the idea that DB is burning through more budget than necessary, so reducing stations to the minimal as a cost saving measure is fine in my opinion.

[@weetikissa]

Yes, more train content! Also bike content would be dope too.

[@Sporadic_Si]

I heavily utilise the trains when in Germany. Especially in the Black Forest where you get unlimited use of public transport when you check in to places like hotels. The general cost is also much cheaper even for last minute travel. The whole system makes me smile. Its mostly enjoyable and with double decker trains what's not to like? Oh there was once a delay I incurred travelling from Koblenz to Cologne, but that's another story :-)

[@vexivaabmc9053]

I come from Unna and although there are 24/7 security guards at the train station, everything is dirty but tbh the security cares about nothing

[@rodrigogirao8344]

0:16 Australian viewers must have chuckled at that.

[@NickRaven]

Oh this is nostalgic. I was born in Landstuhl and we spent a number of years in Oberusel going to/from Frankfurt where I attended Frankfurt Elementary. We took the U-bahn frequently and if we transferred to the S-Bahn, that was a truly special day out. These stations remind me so much of those from when I was there.

[@gerryphilly53]

I fully agree with your observations about the need for excellent public transport. There is no feasible way that sufficient automobile infrastructure could be built while maintaining viable, inviting cities. “Car culture” (as we call it in the US) must yield its primacy in urban planning so that the actual activities that sustain a society can function.

[@downhilltwofour0082]

Excellent video and i totally agree with your observations on transportation!

[@mrscruffy8045]

I just took my first long range ride in decades, today. From a village close to Hamburg to Siegburg near Bonn. It was only €30, for ~500km or ~300miles, in 5 and 1/4 hours, just two train changes and all the comfort and punctuality one could wish for. It am truely impressed and it´s a far cry from how it used to be like 25 years ago. I really have to give a shout out to the Deutsche Bahn! Good work, ye all! So unfair, that we only ever get to hear of DB, when something goes wrong! It´s come a loooong way and it goes almost unnoticed by those not using it. Fliegen ist NICHT schöner!

[@nikosjk1]

The editorial makes me very happy and I fully agree (well except I'd go further and say there is something wrong with cars). So often I hear people saying they would use public transport if this and this was done, but as you said without the demand then will these improvements ever come? Personally, as long as I am in Germany I plan never to own a car, 20 some years of living in the US was enough Autogerechte living for me.

[@Jules_Diplopia]

More about the castle... I am playing Going Medieval, and it could offer inspiration. Oh and I love the last station pictured. Not because of the trains or the station buildings, but because of the complex track layout... yes I am a bit weird.

[@redzone1899]

Um das Jahr 2005 wurde die Eisenbahninfrastruktur der Odenwaldbahn mit erheblichen finanziellen Mitteln modernisiert. Seither haben sich die Passagierzahlen verdoppelt. Fahr die Strecke einfach mal ab Hanau ab. Nebenbei: Gleis 106 & 104 sind inzwischen in Hanau auch renoviert, Gleis 103/102 ist gerade im Bau. Am Fahrstuhl ist man aber noch dran. Braucht halt alles seine Zeit bei uns...

[@jasontrebilcock6496]

Couple of random thoughts. 1. I'd be one of those that is a fan of train videos...but, I'm also subscribed for all of your other content as well. 2. Now that you've taken a brief look at the "terrible" stations...and the "not so terrible" stations, I can only imagine that sometime down the road you'll take a brief look at the retired/abandoned stations (I know I keep an eye out for them whenever I'm in Germany...I know there are a few in the area of Munich...and not so many around Stuttgart...those being the two main cities where I spend my time when in Germany.) 3. Speaking of Stuttgart (and trains/transportation), I'd be curious to see/hear your take on Stuttgart-21. I know that there are a lot of strong feelings against the project. Personally, I'm in the wait and see camp...though, my inner 6-year-old is fascinated with both construction and trains...so, it's very interesting to follow its progress.

[@nixcails]

German stations I've been to on S-Bahn, Regional Express, Interregio and IC/ICE are usually pretty good. The HBF in major towns and cities are often the focal point of their kreis (district) with fantastic facilities for travellers and other users. I have never been to a bad station on the DB network. Sure some city stations could be a bit cleaner and suffer from graffiti tags and some rural stations lack facilities. But generally the service is mostly reliable (on time or only delayed by a few minutes) and usually there is at least a shelter and a ticket purchasing facility (normally a machine)

[@johncrwarner]

As a user of the railways in Germany it generally runs well and properties are maintained I saw analogies to your stations in our local area though we do have the Ruhr to Berlin route running through many stations so there are ICE, IC, RE and RB services juggling for slots Interesting problems have been when something catastrophic happens DB do tend to go very quiet and the information gets very thin on the ground. I was travelling to Berlin and the power lines went down south of the station We have a local train that is a junction with other ICE and IC trains so we hopped on but the guard was telling folks this train would not get them to x effectively turning them away when they likely could have used the train to get to the next hub. We travelled in an empty carriage to that hub and caught an onward train.

[@yunyo1983]

Those "Lego-houses" don't look so bad in my opinion, I have seen much worse.

[@LHA321]

I'm not sure about the fourth track, but they are extending the platform in Dettingen right now. Which is good but the construction noise is a bit annoying since my work place is only about 20 meters away from there. :D

[@holger_p]

Unfortunatly, after renovations all stations look the same, they loose their character, to know where you are, you have to read the signs.

[@NajwaLaylah]

There seem to be a lot of really nicely fitted and visually designed German train stations coming up again and again on Wikimedia Commons-- for what that's worth.

[@lotter4390]

That last point, I couldn't agree more. Its truly a shame that cars, especially here in the US, have really influenced city design in such a way that discourages people from walking, taking a train, and incentivizes getting a car. I live in Portland, Oregon and their intercity transportation system is good for a west coast city, so I can get away with traveling the metro area without worrying about a car if I am willing to travel twice as slow as a car would. But to travel outside the city is a different story in many cases. One of the reasons I have thought about moving to Europe is on this issue actually, so I don't have to commute by car without much trouble. I do hope rail and other forms of public transit have a comeback.

[@thekejofglory]

I live in the Philippines and I was in Germany from late June to early July. The train system is to die for! Of course, Germans deserve better and I even experienced the infamous Deutsche Bahn delays on the ICE (got delayed by 1 1/2 hrs, I think), but I'll take it over what we have here in Manila. I came back to Manila with a growing commuter transportation crisis and I really miss the S/U Bahns as I maximized the €9 Ticket to criss-cross Berlin and even go to Poland via the train to Frankfurt (Oder).

[@thedudeinthehat]

Great series of videos and thought provoking. I live on the other side of Aschaffenburg (Dammbach Tal) and the removal of a valley train like you showed means options now are limited to buses to Elsenfeld or Ab. I reckon e bikes or a game changer as people can make longer jaunts to jet to a rail hub and increase usage. Still with covid I don't see a return to 2019 usage just yet.. Sadly

[@TheKartoffel101]

Could you do a video about the Stuttgart 21 Project?

[@neamupanselutelor7309]

Hello rewboss, I hope you see this comment:) I love videos about all the kinds of rail transport, be they trains, trams or metros. But one thing that especially makes me love a video is maps. I love maps, diagrams and visual representations.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

@RMTransit interesting point of view at some small train stations and services across the pond

[@jamesharrison2374]

Big fan of trains, and have well used them and public transportation on my last two visits. Believe I was in Your town many years ago, there was a model RC store if I am remembering correctly, to pick up a used motor they were selling.

[@thecockerel86]

Second video that I've watched on this channel. I completely agree with your sentiments about public transport. Subscribed (thereby proving your final point), even though I know this channel isn't primarily about public transit.

[@EdEditz]

I love these videos. Gives me some insight in how the neighbours are doing. (I live in the Netherlands) ^___^

[@fabricio9294]

I think the government should improve the public transport network regardless of if people are using it or not. And when the structure is better (for example serving those small towns in the middle of nowhere) people will move to this simply because it exists and it is better than cars. This means, public transportation must exist AND be better (cheaper, quicker, more convenient and comfortable) than cars, then people will go for it. This should not be a market decision (as stated in the video), but a public not necessarily profitable decision. Public services do not have to be profitable to be implemented. They are simply important and necessary and must be implemented. Only my opinion. Thanks for the nice videos and for bringing those interesting discussions.

[@rewboss]

It probably shouldn't be a market-based decision, but that we live in a market economy is a reality. So given that this is our reality, we have to leverage the mechanisms of the market economy to improve our chances of getting what we want.

[@NuclearSavety]

3:31 lol at calling Kahl am Main station euphemistically not "particularly inviting" ... when you like the "Fallout" charme..

[@rewboss]

It's not as bad as Frankfurt-Mainkur, trust me on this.

[@fhurlbrink]

4:34 : According to the stickers ("Big Brother" magazine), this store might be closed since early 2000s.

[@NicolaW72]

Yes.

[@ImperatorTom]

I feel like the station buildings are, what often makes a station look desolate. the tunnels, bridges and platforms are often kept in a good state or are the things, that will be renovated. the station buildings however will not, and unless there is some big enough demand for some shops to be able to operate there, they will not really be kept nice and will instead be boarded up. i dont know, if that is the situation everywhere in germany, but here in east germany at least there are a ton of these desolate station buildings. i think i heard at one point, that in the ddr every station also had a station building, which i cannot confirm, but there are a lot around nowadays, which you either only go in, because thats how you access the platforms or you go around, since the station building is boarded up. its no wonder to me, that so many are in such a bad condition, having a station building at all of these stations is just unnecessary and only incurs costs, without any real benefits.

[@CologneCarter]

Once upon a time those station buildings had an important role. It was the place where you bought your tickets and got any and all travel information. These days you may have a job or student ticket or get your's at the ever present vending machines. Also once upon a... you where able to deposit your luggage to be put in the luggage car of the train you'd be travelling with. This was a time when trains were used for travelling way more than for commuting. One thing that is sorely missed with disappearing station buildings are public facilities. Commuter trains like the S-Bahn usually don't have facilities and once you arrive there will also not be a place to go right at the station. But you will usually find some very smelly places close by instead or a very badly kept port a potty.

[@ccityplanner1217]

Probably every station ("Bahnhof") had a station building, but not every halt ("Station"/"Haltestelle"), because the GDR classified a station as a "Bahnhof" if it had a station building.

[@leDespicable]

Thankfully, more and more municipalities are acquiring their station buildings from Deutsche Bahn and renovating them.

[@denzzlinga]

Problem is, there is just no need for al those station buildings. The tracks and platforms are owned by the railways infrastrucutr companies, in case of DB it´s DB-Netz for the tracks and DB Station und Service for the platforms and everything on and arround them. Theese are essential for the operation of the railway, so there is budged to maintain them in a more or less proper shape to be usable and safe. The station buildings on the other hand don´t serve a purpose anymore today. They are owned be DB Immobilien if it´s a DB rail line. The purpose of the company DB Immobilien is to manage all the buildings and properies owned be the DB company, and to make a profit. So they sell off everything that is not needed anmore. Back in the 90s they even printed cataloques that included hundreds of station buildungs to be sold. The "rest" that they are still trying to sell today, is in appropriate condition. Abandoned by the railway in the 80s or 90s, and rotting since then with absolute minimal maintance to prevent them from falling apart. An easy solution would be to just buldoze all of them and sell the empty properties only. But they are all 100-150 years old historic buildings, so you can´t do that either.

[@essmene]

A friend used a very nice quote "Wer Straßen säht, wird Verkehr ernten." "Who sows streets will reap traffic."

[@susanne5803]

And now the ratio of railway stations and public toilets ...🙄

[@TheDude50447]

I used to travel a lot by train. And it used to be fine. I used to go into the station went to the person at the counter and asked for a good ticket to where I was going. Then things changed. First there were less and less counters occupied. Then they installed a machine where you had to take a number and wait forever. That was both annoying but still bearable. Then in addition they wanted me to pay an extra fee for waiting longer than I used to on the counter and being reduced to a number because there were vending machines for the tickets. That was like 10 to 15 years ago and I found a solution quickly. I bought a car.

[@videomailYT]

Sometimes when my mom and i travel from Berlin to Baden-Württemberg (to visit our relatives) we make a little stop sometimes to visit some of our friends in Gelnhausen

[@sizanogreen9900]

The real mistake was the privatisation of the railway.

[@peterg.8941]

which privatization?

[@woolver42]

Also the idea that railway connections have to be profitable, and non-profitable or even just less profitable ones would be ok to discontinue.

[@ft4709]

That’s one way of looking at it I guess. The federal railways just abandoned the stations entirely instead of neglecting them. That surely must have been better.

[@barbarossarotbart]

@@peterg.8941 The one of 1994 which merged the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Deutsche Reichsbahn to form the Deutsche Bahn AG.

[@peterg.8941]

@@barbarossarotbart it was a fusion not a privatization.

[@derSkedda]

The trains of the Kahlgrundbahn look beautiful. I wish we'd have more of those in norther middle Germany.

[@splowski]

I think super-block city approaches like Barcelona could work to reduce car traffic in german cities very well. By making certain side streets part parking and otherwise pedestrian/cyclist only. You get a lot of free space, good air and less noise. Walking 2-300 meters should not be a problem and small electric vehicles do the rest of lifting in those areas. You don't even have to make all the spaces into super-blocks to make a huge difference.

[@ddd543]

Danke fürs zeigen. Meine Lieblingsstrecke ist Gemünden - Bad Kissingen.

[@hhgttg69]

need to invite Geoff over to Germany and do a collab

[@TwitchKoalabaerchen]

In alzenau gibt es ein Restaurant mit mini Golf Anlage, bei welcher es die besten Spätzle gibt !

[@nur0din]

I love your small outburst in the oldtown.

[@kikivoorburg]

I feel very lucky to live in the Netherlands. People here like to complain about the public transport, but it is leagues ahead of many other countries. Especially the national operator (NS - Nederlandse Spoorwegen) along with the infrastructure company (ProRail) do an amazing job. As it stands, for example, there are only 9 stations on the entire network that are not wheelchair accessible (which will be converted soon). Also, all NS trains run on wind energy. They currently rely on fossil fuels when wind is low, but are working towards 100% green travel in the coming years. Add that to the (generally) well run busses and the huge amount of cycling infrastructure, and you get what I believe is the country where car ownership is the least necessary on earth. We also have a long way to go, but if you ask me we’re at least 10-20 years ahead of the curve in most areas. Nothing about the Netherlands is special though, we’ve just been lucky! I hope to (and believe I will) see our level of service and infrastructure in the rest of the world in the coming years. Good luck everyone!

[@pooki-dooki]

The Netherlands haven't just been lucky, they've made active efforts to convert cities to be more pedestrian-friendly. Many cities have even been converted back _from_ car-dependency only a few decades ago. It has taken a very concerted effort.

[@ospero7681]

Okay, my comment on the community post was a little bit off. You're not going for German Geoff Marshall after all. This feels more like German Jago Hazzard, with more of an on-camera presence (i.e. any at all).

[@ptrknvk]

He is German "Tim Traveler".

[@Rebellpfilosuffi]

We also have interesting public transport in Hamburg. It is worth a trip 😉

[@KevinHP]

Another awesome video, as always! :)

[@mrscruffy8045]

Also, the less stuff we order, which has to come by car (as well as craftsmen doing services), the less need their will be for cars to go into cities.

[@crimecat1483]

our stationhouse has been abandoned and its roof has partially collapsed

[@hesterclapp9717]

Germany: 0:50 UK: London to Woking. Take it or leave it.

[@Catswhiskerdetector]

Trains are just awesome, that's why they attract a lot of views ;) Nice video!

[@eisikater1584]

"Would there be any point in having a ticket office in places like this?" YES, I think it would. I know of some people's initiatives who tried to rent, or even buy, an old train station building to install community projects in them, but Deutsche Bahn always refused, or would have charged a price no honest person can pay. It would have cost them little to install a ticket vending machine there, except that people would have expected them to stop there, too. One thing I hate the most is the "Bedarfshalt", or "stop on demand" on local trains. No, I don't want that. I want to sleep on a train until I hear the automated voice, "Nächster Halt, Hintertupfigen". But no, now you have to be awake all the time to press a button at the right time to make the train stop at your station. Honestly, if that is the future of rural train transport, no matter how expensive gasoline will get, I'll use my car. And switching to an electric car won't solve any environmental problem, because the electricity has to come from somewhere, and the raw materials for the batteries also. Psychology also comes into play: People don't like to wait. Like, waiting for trains. That's not a part of German culture. They want to be to where they assume they've got to be, and five minutes before the time. They have no portable telephones to call and say, "Sorry, I'll be late", or in winter, they shovel their car free of snow and try to start it (I really watched that!) instead of calling in and say "Sorry, I'm snowed in, I have something to do around here". I AM German, and I AM Bavarian, but there are a few things about Germanity I will never understand.

[@derpoblizist9076]

Why does everyone say Hintertupfingen as example for a random city? Sicherheitshalber also does that. Is it a western german thing?

[@Marten_Zeug]

@rewboss warst du auch schonmal in Hamburg?

[@cypris2010]

The Alzenau Burg is no castle... Please make a video about it

[@wessamsawan5251]

Einmal fiel mein Zug nach Cottbus aus, deshalb musste ich ein kleines Abenteuer zwischen Ortrand und Cottbus erleben. Die DB-App schlägt einen Umstieg in Ortrand vor, wo ich danach nach Cottbus mit einem Bus weiterfahren sollte. Aber es war mir in Ortrand klar, dass niemand verwendet häufig den Bus hier. Urkunde in solchen Situationen ist sehr wichtig und keiner App ist außerhalb Hauptbahnhöfen zu verlassen. Der Bahnhof in Ortrand war aber ziemlich gut aufgehoben.

[@mix3k818]

Meanwhile, Poland wants rails that go up to 350 km/h, but we barely have any trains that go past 200 km/h.

[@barvdw]

That's okay, it takes time to both build new lines and buy new trains, this is not something that happens in a year or 2. Poland still has time.

[@sisuguillam5109]

That's nice to hear... but how many stations will those fast trains serve? And which ones?

[@barvdw]

@@sisuguillam5109 hopefully not too much, a fast train loses a lot of time with each stop, which would be a waste of money. But having fast trains does not exclude having slower trains with more stops as well. Both are needed.

[@sisuguillam5109]

@@barvdw I know. That's why I ask those questions every time someone says 'oh, but trains in that country go faster'... because high speed had to serve a purpose and shouldn't be done as a Prestigeprojekt. Which, considering the current polish government, this might be.

[@mix3k818]

Sisu Guillam Very few. Usually like 4-7 stops over 300 km.

[@Renault_75-34MX]

One of the stations along the line i use is both neglected, yet not. The station i'm talking about is Nordstemmen, and while the main station is in a good condition, the old station building, and some parts of the the station are not looking too good from being not used anymore. I personally think it's a shame though since Nordstemmen has a history with Hannover since the royal family hade a second home west of Nordstemmen in the for of the Marienburg. The other building are warehouses which aren't used anymore since freight is only passing through now.

[@harrywood6502]

3:25 more of a domino effect than a butterfly effect

[@Filip7370]

One important thing that in especially British nomenclature is overlooked is that stations like some that are shown here are indeed stops. The difference in short is that stations are places where trains can change their track, where are points, signals and most importantly station master (staff in general) versus the stops where there is only a platform and no switches/points, building like the one in Dettingen that housed the staff is no longer needed. This is sad but necessary just to be able to speed up the traffic and reduce costs of the railway. This is also why trucks are thriving as there are no longer many "pickup sheds" that were placed near a small sidetrack for the local companies to use the railway. The sidetrack needs somebody to ensure safety so its easier to loose some customers rather than keep some people to service the sidetrack.

[@rewboss]

That would be the difference in German between "Bahnhof" and "Haltestelle"; a "Bahnhof" has at least one set of points allowing trains to pass, or change tracks. Dettingen, however, is a "Bahnhof". It's on a double-tracked stretch, but there is a third track through the station itself (with a set of points at each end) allowing north-bound trains to overtake (but not south-bound).

[@Rikarth]

Public transport, bike and pedestrian infrastructure is the future. Cars make cities noisy, unsafe and stressful.

[@susanne5803]

Maybe. But please do not forget accessibility! Many people depend on cars or carlike transport to get anywhere. Climate protection should not lead to a walk back of inclusion for all.

[@nikoskavoori163]

@@susanne5803 Public transport is becoming increasingly accessible with all buses being low floor and many stations now having barrier free boarding. There are many disabilities that prevent people from driving as well.

[@susanne5803]

@@nikoskavoori163 That's why I am very much pro diversity of transport means - if possible eco friendly.

[@faultier1158]

@@susanne5803 You could ban private cars from inner cities except when the drivers have a special permit like a disability passport.

[@susanne5803]

@@faultier1158 Yes. Like taxis are permitted at present to pick up people with a disability card in front of a shop or a doctor even if there is an only pedestrian zone.

[@fex2911]

I fully support your statement at the end of the video. I own a car but try to use public transportation as much as possible, so instead of 16 minutes it takes me 51 minutes to get to work. I don't think that the current 9 Euro ticket campaign will convince the hard-core car drivers to switch to public transportation, but the demand for it might convince the powers that be that there is a demand, and it's worth investing, and to PLEASE PLEASE get rid of this absurdity that is called Tarifgrenze. And I personally have no problem with a small minimalistic stop somewhere as long as there IS a Stop

[@muellerhans]

Oh you like public transport? That collab with "Not Just Bikes" or "Adam Something" has to happen.

[@Funica11]

The possession rate of cars in Deutschland and Japan is the same, but local lines in Japan are in terrible conditions since only high school students use them. The station is filled with uncut grass, the track is like century-old rails and wood sleepers, century-old station huts are in one step before the collapse, etc. I wonder how they maintain so good and decent, modern in Deutschland.

[@Clyde_Donovan]

And then there's the former GDR, where a lot of stations (even bigger ones) are pretty worn down and uninviting. However - they are still doing their jobs... even though you gotta hold your breath while walking through the former impressive lobby, nowadays used as a public urinal...

[@HalfEye79]

Ja, es wäre schön, wenn die öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel, sagen wir mal, besser fahren würden. Zwei Beispiele: 1) In einem Dorf, in dem ein Freund von mir wohnt, fährt nur zweimal am Tag ein Bus durch. Da kann man nicht besonders flexibel sein. 2) In Bremen sind die Buslinien mehr oder weniger sternförmig vom Bahnhof aus angelegt. Ein Kollege hat mir mal gesagt, als er mit dem Bus zur Arbeit gefahren ist, musste er auf der Strecke umsteigen. Allerdings musste er dabei hoffen, dass der zweite Bus Verspätung hatte. Sonst würde er ihn verpassen. Die ganze Fahrt würde mit dem Bus bis zu etwa einer Stunde dauern. Mit dem Auto sind es wenige Minuten. Um mal ins Träumen zu kommen, wäre es doch gut, wenn solche Haltestellen Teleportationsportale hätten und keine Fahrzeuge nötig wären. Meinetwegen mit einer begrenzten Reichweite auf wenige Kilometer.

[@holger_p]

Fahrerlose Taxis werden die wahrscheinlichere Lösung sein, für weniger populäre Strecken.

[@Astrofrank]

Aschaffenburg Hbf - you might meet "Alex E" by chance there, he is a well-known trainspotter with much knowledge about railway. It would be nice to see you both in one video.

[@fancyhandlegoeshere]

Anybody who downvotes this video sucks. Just saying. Great work, Rew!

[@clydesight]

Great video! Your trains are so much better than the stuff we have in Boston MA USA! Our public transit system (the "T") seems to be always on the verge of bankruptcy (hence they raise fares and reduce service and call it "an improvement".) People here have no respect (I wonder why) so they trash the stations (and they aren't that safe anyway) and the trains themselves. And keeping to a schedule? HA HA HA HA! Compared to what we have, your system looks like paradise! I know you search for excellence. Live in my area, you'll see that excellence is a forgotten word. We've grown used to mediocre bordering on absurdly negligent. So nice to see such a beautiful transportation system. I hope you can realize that it looks like a really good one. Not a complaint about you, I love your videos. They are so well made and they make Germany look like such a great place. You should be some kind of ambassador. Thanks for sharing so much of your world with us.

[@danieldusenfeed276]

It's sad, seeing the nice looking, old brick build train builidings being left to age. Where I am from (Brandenburg) they tried to sell those buildings to private persons. However, they wanted to charge so much money, that simple no one could/want to afford it.

[@nixcails]

I also wish my S-Bahn in Plymouth was better than once every two hours on the 'frequent' line and 3 a day on the 'limited service' line. Plymouth was one of these cities built around the car after it's post war rebuild and with city centre parking at £5 for 24 hours (€5.86) against bus fare of £5.20 for an all day multi operator ticket valid till end of service at around 2300 (€6.10) it's no surprise that buses are mostly empty except for over 70's and elligable disabled who get free travel after 0900am. And that for a coastal city air quality is poor on the AQI index.

[@HannosWelt]

Very wise words at the end!

[@no-frills8812]

Hello rewboss, I've just found and liked your video. But you are missing some points. I live in Gemany and I shoot since 40 years German railroads, trains and stations. German Railroad is a mess! There is no comfort in many railroad stations. Railroad stations in some cities with 100,000 to 300,000 inhabitants, and that is the size of the most German towns have no bistro, snacks, some stations habe no WC. You can find one outside the station, that open automatcillay its door after some minutes and expose you when yor have'nt finished. Weather shelters on platforms are poot, particularly at suburban stations. Today me an my wife took some engine images at a suburban station. Yes, there are a schedule and some other infomations. Don't forget your binoculars to reed them! They are mounted in 7 foot height. Some stations are very dirty. The pedestrian tunnel at the at the suburban station we visited today is a urinal. But DB, Deutsche Bahn, German Rail is concerned about your health: No Smoking signs at a station where you can not find a wind or rain shelter. At last a joke: I met sometimes Americans at German stations. All had the same question: "Are I lost? Is this Germany? Or a developing nation? Looks like Africa some 100 years ago."

[@georgobergfell]

I'm getting Tim Traveller vibes here

[@NicolaW72]

Indeed! :-) Thank you very much for this train (station) video! :-)

[@evilrslade]

Germany has loads of little stations that wouldn't exist in other countries. They are generally well kept, usually with a shelter/bike racks/car park. At least there is an ongoing improvement plan for DB lines and stations. Germans complain, but often they don't have anything for comparison. This is a common theme across a lot of areas, Hospitals, Infrastructure, etc. The UK for example is still in the stone age in Public Transport.

[@lillywho]

2:39 I thought the Kalgrundbahn was operated by HLB? Or some private operator, KSB or something? Don't remember. With those weird little diesel multiple units that looked a bit like old metro trains. Has there been a contract change?

[@rewboss]

Originally it was run by the same company that owns the line and operates the buses, the KVG. Then under new regulations it had to be put out to tender, and the HLB took it over in 2005. This proved unpopular, so ten years later the Westfrankenbahn won the contract -- I made a video about it at the time: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIG1fY1pibSCaqs Some of the old KVG rolling stock was preserved and sent to a railway museum in Worms: sadly, that museum and all its exhibits were destroyed in an arson attack just a few years ago.

[@lillywho]

@@rewboss Hah! I found what trains I was thinking of! de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHB_VT_2E Turns out they're actually _based_ on metro trains! Wrong area of branch line operations though, I must have mixed that up. "Auch die damalige Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn (FKE), heute Hessische Landesbahn (HLB), benötigte 1987 neue Triebwagen für die Strecke der Königsteiner Bahn, um einerseits den vom FVV geforderten 30-Minuten-Takt einhalten zu können und andererseits die älteren Esslinger Triebwagen ohne PZB zu ersetzen. Nach Probefahrten mit verschiedenen Modellen, darunter ein VT 2E der AKN - der als einziger Triebwagen die geforderte Geschwindigkeit auch auf einem Abschnitt mit starker Steigung einhalten konnte -, entschied man sich für einen Nachbau des Triebwagens. Die Fahrzeuge wurden als VT/VS 2E aufgenommen. Dabei wird der Triebwagen als VT 2E.x A (oder VT 2E x), der Steuerwagen als VT 2E.x B (oder VS 2E x) bezeichnet.Auch die damalige Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn (FKE), heute Hessische Landesbahn (HLB), benötigte 1987 neue Triebwagen für die Strecke der Königsteiner Bahn, um einerseits den vom FVV geforderten 30-Minuten-Takt einhalten zu können und andererseits die älteren Esslinger Triebwagen ohne PZB zu ersetzen. Nach Probefahrten mit verschiedenen Modellen, darunter ein VT 2E der AKN - der als einziger Triebwagen die geforderte Geschwindigkeit auch auf einem Abschnitt mit starker Steigung einhalten konnte -, entschied man sich für einen Nachbau des Triebwagens. Die Fahrzeuge wurden als VT/VS 2E aufgenommen. Dabei wird der Triebwagen als VT 2E.x A (oder VT 2E x), der Steuerwagen als VT 2E.x B (oder VS 2E x) bezeichnet."

[@Paul912]

Unser Bahnhof hat nicht einmal eine richtige Toilette (nur ein Dixi-Klo) und das Bahnhofsgebäude ist auch schon alt und voller Risse... Also wie lange das da noch stehen wird.. 🤔 Aber dafür ist der nächste Bahnhof erst letztes Jahr von den Stadtwerke gekauft und renoviert worden (inkl. Glasfaser Hotspot, das wichtigste 😂)

[@paxundpeace9970]

How long did you wait in Alzenau Burg?

[@FelixO]

Well, my girlfriend lives near Fulda and the train station in her village (which is served every half hour) is not even paved, it's just gravel

[@AlexanderGoeres]

as to your claim about creating demand: i grew up in a small town near bonn (about 20 km off) in the 70s and 80s. there was a bus from the town going to bonn, but it only ran every 30 minutes in the mornings on work days and then once per hour during the rest of the day until 21:00. the last bus from bonn to this town ran at 21:00 so you couldn't even go to the movies in bonn at 20:00 (there were no movies in my town of course). but all in all this town was largely inhabited by commuters, working in bonn. so theoretically the demand would have been there. but since everbody knew about the bus situation nobody seriously considered using it. there were many complaints about the timetable and so the bus company did set up a test bus after 20:00 from bonn that went every 2 hours, last at 00:00 for half a year. after this test period they proudly announced that they had been right all along not to create such a connection because these buses have been mostly empty. that was the first time i heard about this evening connection, the newpaper article where they claimed this test a failure. well, nobody had known about this bus. a long story short: just creating a demand is not enough. the market alone will not change anything regarding public transport, on the contrary ... it's mostly political choices that can make a change....

[@rewboss]

I never said the market alone was enough.

[@svenmartin840]

A very interesting video. And yes Andrew you will get a-lot of views from train videos. And I wish you tell that to Amtrak,The MBTA all the other public transportation agencies here in America.

[@holger_p]

The train video channels, most often have not more than 1000 subscribers. There are some Nerds, but not really "a lot".

[@bahnspotterEU]

@@holger_p That's hardly true. There are lots of big channels that cover trains and rail related topics: Geoff Marshall, Jago Hazzard and nodrog in the UK, Coasterfan 2105, FanRailer, DiB Productions, RM Transit and Timosha 21 in North America, Gustav Richard, Eisenbahn in Ö, D, CH and Alex E. in Germany, just to name a few. Trains also play a big part in the urban design community with channels like NotJustBikes, Adam Something and City Beautiful. There is a big potential audience of people from all over the world, and not just the typical nerds.

[@holger_p]

@@bahnspotterEU But they are not "polluted" with a German word of the week or travel guides. They have a Focus. Rewboss is more becoming a magazine, with railway content once in a while. As a Railway Fan, you don't regularly watch a science magazine, with 3% railway content. Talking about German railway in english, to mainly Germans, is really a niche. No way, this will attract the Australian railway fanboy. The youtube Algorithm does have a hard time, to find out "who is interested in railways, I should recommend the rewboss channel". For Gustav and Alex, this attribute is set.

[@stefanb6539]

The biggest fail of the Deutsche Bahn AG has little to do with public transport. The biggest fail was to almost entirely get rid of freight trains, and abandoning freight delivery almost completely to roads. This will have to be fixed in the near future, and it will cost a lot of money to fix it. And the longer this expenditure is delayed, the higher the costs will be.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

demand and supply ... of course lots of freight went onto the road as trucking companies from eastern Europe do it for a price rail can't compete with. However there are still tons of freight trains on the move in many areas and many large scale production facilities rely on it