EURO2024 on rail meant 12 million passengers, 260,000 fan tickets, 10,000 additional seats per day and 22 team trips with Romanian team the travel champion with six trips, Deutsche Bahn says.
Shortly before the final held on July 14, 2024, the 12 million passengers travelled on ICE and IC trains alone during the tournament, a result that has never seen before with so much rail trips being made at an international football tournament. Even the EURO 2024 trophy was brought to the final by rail in an environmentally friendly way as it arrived in Berlin on time by ICE train.
Travelling by train was and is safe, this also applied during the European Championship. DB worked closely with UEFA, federal and state authorities and unions to develop a comprehensive security concept. This concept worked, and there were no significant incidents on the trains or at the stations. 5,400 DB security guards alone were on duty at the stations and on the trains.
In long-distance traffic, the number of security teams deployed tripled, in some cases even quadrupled.
The focus of the partnership was on climate-friendly travel in modern and comfortable trains. With 410 vehicles, the largest ICE fleet that DB has ever had available was available. The entire fleet was in operation during the tournament period when DB offered 14 special trains every day. In addition, longer ICE trains were used during the tournament period and trains were offered on additional days.
The local transport services on S-Bahn, regional trains and DB buses were also well used around the games and fan miles. In the capital Berlin alone, around 750,000 additional passengers have travelled to the stadium and the fan mile on match days on the S-Bahn. In Munich, around 110,000 fans have travelled to the stadium and back on DB buses since the start of the tournament. More than 3.5 million passengers travelled nationwide with DB Regio every day.
The train stations were also well prepared for the many additional visitors. In total, more than 11 million additional travellers and visitors were on the move at the train stations in the host cities of Berlin, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.
However, DB draws a mixed conclusion when it comes to the punctuality of long-distance trains. The rail system was able to make the most of this, but the possibilities were limited by outdated and overloaded infrastructure. In addition, train traffic, particularly on the north-south route, was affected by flood damage for several weeks. Several hundred ICE trains per day had to be diverted, which increased travel times by 30 to 60 minutes.
For Deutsche Bahn, EURO2024 on rail resulted in saving 24,000 tonnes of CO₂ compared to travelling by car and with an Interrail pass with a 25% European Championship discount, 7,600 fans opted for this offer, being saved at least 15,200 intra-European flights (round trip).
Immediately after the European Championships DB has started the renovation of the most heavily used rail corridors in Germany with the launch of works on Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim. The renovation of the Riedbahn alone will have a positive effect on punctuality nationwide from December.
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