German train stations don't all suck

[@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?

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@BillyLeeGoodman]

"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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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 :-)

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@jonistan9268]

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

[@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.

[@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? :)

[@yunyo1983]

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

[@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.

[@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".

[@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.

[@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.

[@TheKartoffel101]

Could you do a video about the Stuttgart 21 Project?

[@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...

[@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.

[@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!

[@muellerhans]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

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

[@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).

[@downhilltwofour0082]

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

[@weetikissa]

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

[@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).

[@nur0din]

I love your small outburst in the oldtown.

[@TwitchKoalabaerchen]

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

[@Catswhiskerdetector]

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

[@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.

[@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)

[@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.

[@georgobergfell]

I'm getting Tim Traveller vibes here

[@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.

[@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).

[@fancyhandlegoeshere]

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

[@VoodooMcVee]

Yes, public transport. Where I live, on the northern edge of the Ruhr area, it's an absolute disaster. Example: My daily commute to work. I live on the outskirts of city A and work on the outskirts of city B. To get there, I drive through an outskirt area of city C. By car, on the direct route, that means a drive of 11 km, which takes about 18 minutes. By public transport, the journey takes 1.5 hours, includes changing buses three times, and then I still have to walk 2 km at the end. So I might as well walk the whole way, that doesn't take much longer. And that's only because the bus companies of the three cities don't want to work together and coordinate with each other, even though they are in the same "Verkehrsverbund". The companies of B and C are even so much at odds that the respective other city is not served at all. None of their buses will cross the city border. So if you want to get from B to C (or vice versa), you MUST first go to the city centre, take a (neutral) DB train there and then take a bus from the destination station to your intended destination. And with such conditions, those who are responsible still wonder why people prefer to go by car, and congest the cities. Sorry for the rant, but sometimes this topic just triggers me.

[@rewboss]

The problem, of course, is that because commuters then take the path of least resistance and drive, politicians take their path of least resistance and try to improve the roads instead of trying to sort out the public transport issues. After all, if voters don't want to use the public transport, what incentive is there for elected officials to improve it?

[@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.

[@hesterclapp9717]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 😂)

[@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

[@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...

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@AnnaCurser]

if only there was some kind of, idk, Union, of like, Europe, that could install a europe wide train/track system, some kind of Euro-train. if only such a Union would exist, so europe could be more united and free for all europeans. except britains.

[@HansFranke]

The EU isn't the centralized government some wish - and others use as a scapegoat. It's a union. Thus it's up to the member states to request that and push for it among them.

[@tzarcoal1018]

well the track is mostly standard gauge since a loooong time, way before the Eu was a thing, the different voltages are a hurdle but thanks to modern locomotives capable of dealing with different voltages that is getting better as well. Automatic and standardized couplers across Europe is something that could help rail freight A LOT.

[@KaiHenningsen]

@@tzarcoal1018 Which is why it's currently being worked at (the coupler thing). Also, Europe _does_ have common train standards (known as TSI), the best-known part of which is probably ETCS which, in spite of the name ("E" stands for European), is in use or planned to be in use in a number of non-European train systems, including a large percentage of those currently in the planning phase.

[@EdEditz]

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

[@susanne5803]

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

[@fhurlbrink]

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

[@NicolaW72]

Yes.

[@hhgttg69]

need to invite Geoff over to Germany and do a collab

[@rhalfik]

There is a solution to a car. Personal Electric Vehicles - not cars, but E-bikes, E-motorcycles, E-scooters, unicycles and other new forms of lightweight and speedy transport, that can rival cars in their speed and range in the city. But at the same time surpass them in efficiency and convenience. All we need to do is to secure them separate roads, so that they don't need to coexist with pedestrians and cars, but can spread their wings and travel at speed throuhg cities safely enough to become everyday commuter's best option. Imagine replacing a 2 tonne car with a 30kg unicycle that can safely travel at 60km/h for over 100km. It doesn't ned a parking lot, with a convenience of a small luggage.

[@ad4008]

Zu der Ansprache ab Minute 6: Ich glaube nicht, dass sich da was ändern wird, wenn man keine Anreize schafft. Das Auto ist zu bequem und zu flexibel um durch den ÖPNV zu ersetzt werden zu können bzw. durch ihn großflächig unterstützt werden zu können. Es benötigt einen deutlich günstigeren und subventionierteren ÖPNV, als es ihn gibt. Dein Ticket kostet knapp 90 Euro im Monat und du kannst damit in zwei Landkreisen fahren. Im VRN kostet ein Ticket genausoviel und man kommt von Wertheim bis nach Frankreich, hat ein genauso gut ausgebautes Netz, deutlich mehr Nebenangebote (deutlich flächendeckendere ASTs und Letzte Meile Angebote, sowie Nachtbusse) und es wird im selben Ausmaß subventioniert wie bei dir in der Region. Die NV-Politik in Deutschland, vor allem auf der Regionalebene, ist willkürlich und schlecht geregelt. ÖPNV ist immer ein Draufzahlgeschäft und kann nur durch eine höhere Nutzungszahl geregelt werden. Investieren um zu Ernten. Tickets müssen günstig sein und der Takt stärker. Dann werden Menschen erst umsteigen, nicht andersrum. Daher müssen die Angebote geschaffen werden - dafür benötigt es die richtige Politik - gerne auch direktdemokratisch, wenn sich sonst nichts ändert.

[@rewboss]

Es muss beides passieren. Solange wir weiterhin in unseren Autos sitzen, werden mehr neue Autobahnen gebaut, als Schienenwege.

[@ad4008]

@@rewboss Steht bei mir in meinem Kommentar im dritten Absatz. Aber keiner nutzt Angebote, wenn sie einfach nicht attraktiv genug sind. Früher sind die Züge nicht im Takt gefahren. Als es um die Diskussion des Taktes ging hat man gemeint: "Dann fahren ja auch Züge, wenn sie keiner nutzt. Der Fahrplan, wie er jetzt ist, ist nachfragebasiert." Kaum hat man den Taktfahrplan eingeführt, schon sind in wenigen Jahren die Passagierzahlen teilweise um mehrere hundert Prozent gestiegen. Zwar fuhren dann erstmal Züge die kaum genutzt wurden, aber sobald sich das Angebot etabliert hat, fuhren dann auch da Menschen. Und schon hat man mehr Menschen auf die Schine bekommen. Die Maßnahmen sind einfach, jedoch muss man den Mut haben einfach Mal zu beginnen - das gilt für Verbesserungen im Takt und in der Preisgestaltung.

[@Mr_diggaer]

Ich wohne im Rhein-Main Gebiet und jedes Mal wenn ich Freunde oder Familie dazu ermutigen möchte häufiger die S-Bahn zu nehmen bekomme ich eine von zwei Antworten: 1. Die S-Bahn kommt immer zu spät (besonders während der Rush Hour). 2. Es ist zu teuer! Um von meinem Wohnort nach Frankfurt (und zurück) zu fahren muss ich über 10€ pro Tag bezahlen. Die Bahn, die Länder und der Bund müssen massiv in die Bahn Infrastruktur investieren. Denn gerade in Rhein-Main sind viele Verspätungen auf eine mangelhafte Infrastruktur zurückzuführen. Eingleisige Streckenabschnitte, der Tunnel in Frankfurt der an seiner Kapazitätsgrenze angekommen ist. Mir ist da schon klar, dass da keiner Bock drauf hat, wenn man immer zehn Minuten im Tunnel steht und nichts vorwärts geht. Außerdem muss das ganze bezahlbarer werden. Jedes Jahr werden die Tickets teurer, so bekommt man die Menschen nicht auf die Schiene. Ich weiß nicht ob das für jeden günstiger wäre aber anstatt willkürlicher Tarifgebiete könnte man eventuell pro gefahrener Station zahlen. Fakt ist: Es muss sich jetzt was ändern. Das setzt jedoch den Willen der Politik und der Bahn Betreiber voraus. Außerdem muss der Einfluss der Automobil Industrie massiv eingeschränkt werden. Deren Lobbyismus bremst den Wandel zusätzlich aus.

[@rewboss]

@@Mr_diggaer Nun ja, die Signaltechnik in dem Tunnel wurde vor kurzem komplett erneuert, um dort die Kapazitäten zu erhöhen.

[@Mr_diggaer]

@@rewboss Stimmt diese Baustelle hatte ich total vergessen. Aber gut ich bin auch aufgrund der Pandemie im letzten Jahr kaum in Frankfurt gewesen. Hoffen wir mal, dass die Nordmainische S-Bahn (wenn sie denn irgendwann mal kommt :D ) mehr Menschen für die Bahn begeistert und es gleichzeitig eine Entlastung für die bestehenden Strecken schafft.

[@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.

[@Marten_Zeug]

@rewboss warst du auch schonmal in Hamburg?

[@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.

[@Weissenschenkel]

Public transportation is better than any private, because guess what, IT'S CHEAPER! One of the first things is the fact that it pollutes less the environment.

[@lutzmeuthen634]

"Why did they tear down all the historic buildings and replace them with Lego?" its called WW2

[@rewboss]

Ha ha -- No, they've been doing it systematically ever since WW2. They're still pulling down perfectly sound buildings to this day.

[@SnabbKassa]

Well, I think I've reached an important conclusion. Some people don't like cars. They don't hate them, but they don't love them either. Some of them even like public transport, not just as a concept, but they actually prefer using it to driving. My conclusion is that they don't understand why we adore cars, and basically, no common ground exists between us, making rational discussion impossible. If I had 50 million dollars, about 30 million of it would go on cars.

[@JackGillies]

If It is neglected stations you want then the Halle Neustadt S-Bahn station is the place for you, very East German

[@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.

[@cypris2010]

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

[@livablecity]

I strongly disagree with the title. German train stations are amazing compared to most countries. Railway stations are one of my favourite attractions whenever I visit Germany. Only very few countries in Europe have a better rail infrastructure.

[@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."

[@muneebbasit2314]

A train video yayyyyyyyyyyyyy

[@albussr1589]

In Elmshorn, the Train Station is old, dirty and unsafe, DESPITE the local Police Station right next to it. Leaving your Car around there is almost impossible and leaving your Bike out in the open, without buying a Place in an Bike-Shelter, is practically asking to have it stolen. Also, it is frequented by CARGO-TRAINS, which is dangerous, Delays are by now a concrete Part of our Planning here (Sank you for traveling a Deutsche Bahn) and it is regularly overflowing with People. No designated Smoking Area, which means People smoking EVERYWHERE, and the Tunnel is filled with Trash, regularly unknown Substances on the Floor. Do not go there in the Dark. And get that third Track build, for God´s Sake!!

[@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.

[@TheMonstaMen]

A few weeks ago you made a video, wjere you said you wanna change your video style. So wouldn't it be great if you would speed up your videos a bit. So eg you are show a few scenes where trains are arriving at the station, but besides that nothing happens. You didn't talk while showing these scenes so at least for me that kills the flow of the video. You for example speed up these scenes a bit and than show them while you're talking. Than the transitions would be more seamless. (I hope you got what I meant :)

[@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

[@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.

[@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?

[@Teddini]

I'm german but I live in Portugal. I like the trains here more. But customer service (on train its great but at platforms.. No, horrible), and infrastructure (including network size) is bad. I had to leave germany to understand how good the German system is.

[@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.

[@venangoproductions]

I’m a native German, I’ve also lived in US for a few years, the German public transport service is better than America

[@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.

[@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.

[@KevinHP]

Another awesome video, as always! :)

[@LM-MS]

Polish train stations look like clones of yours. Similar situations with different aspects of the "line" being owned by different organizations.

[@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.

[@heinzmaier8120]

Save you the trouble and do something very german buy a Mercedes BENZ......

[@global4express]

Maybe you should team up with kzbin.info and create some Deutsche Bahn content in English.

[@schudder1623]

Even a brit is more sympathetic then Germans traffic minister I like you

[@Rebellpfilosuffi]

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

[@Kuratius]

How is your British accent still so strong when you pronounce Schöllkrippen?

[@paxundpeace9970]

How long did you wait in Alzenau Burg?