Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) publishes its 2023 service quality ranking. Average value across Bavaria falls, but remains at a high level despite increasing passenger numbers. Most of the networks still exceed the high minimum requirements of the BEG.
In terms of service and comfort, the railway companies that operate regional trains in Bavaria last year continued their performance from the pre-Corona years. This is the result of the annual service quality ranking of the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG). On a scale of -100 to +100 points, the 32 regional transport networks evaluated achieved an average of 32.68 points across Bavaria. Compared to the previous year 2022 (46.92 points), the value fell by a good 14 points.
However, it is slightly higher than the value from 2019 (30.25 points), when a similar number of passengers traveled on regional trains as in 2023. It thus fits in with the generally positive development from the years before the Corona pandemic.
The BEG has published the complete 2023 service quality ranking on the website beg-ranking-servicequalitaet.de . The BEG plans, finances and controls regional and S-Bahn transport in Bavaria on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of Transport. It regularly checks the performance of Bavarian railway companies in terms of cleanliness, comfort and customer orientation with the help of external testers and passenger surveys. Punctuality values and train cancellations are not included in the service quality ranking. They are determined in a separate measurement system and published separately.
The Kahlgrund network (DB RegioNetz) was able to confirm its top position from previous years. With 100 out of 100 possible points, the network is again leading the table in 2023 (2022: 100 points). Second place in the ranking is occupied by a newcomer: the Ammersee-Altmühltal network (Bayerische Regiobahn) was able to gain a good 19 points and achieved a total of 74.64 points (2022: 55.33 points). With 65.99 points and third place, the Kissinger Stern network (Erfurter Bahn) was again able to defend its position from the previous year (2022: 93.18 points).
Regardless of the respective points gained or lost, the BEG’s minimum expectations for service quality were exceeded in a total of 27 of the 32 networks evaluated. All railway companies (RUs) that achieve more than zero points receive corresponding bonus payments from the Free State; RUs that record negative points must pay a penalty to the Free State.
“Passengers on Bavarian rail transport deserve nothing less than top service. I am therefore pleased that some companies have even been able to improve their services and that the service quality is, on balance, at a comparatively high level. However, there is still room for improvement in many areas. The results of the ranking must be an incentive for companies to continue to work on their service quality. At the same time, Deutsche Bahn must improve its infrastructure. This is also a basic requirement for quality,” says Christian Bernreiter, Bavaria’s Minister of Transport and Chairman of the BEG Supervisory Board, commenting on the results.
Bärbel Fuchs, Managing Director of BEG, adds: “It is obvious: the more people travel by train, the more cleanliness suffers, for example, and the more often equipment can be damaged. The industry-wide shortage of staff also remains a challenge. But this must not be at the expense of passengers. After all, one of the original tasks of the railway companies is to ensure that customers experience clean and well-maintained vehicles at all times. Nevertheless, in most networks, our high minimum expectations are significantly exceeded. This shows that our measurement and incentive system continues to work very well.”
The biggest climbers in the ranking
There was a lot of movement throughout the entire ranking. Three networks made it into the top ten: The Ammersee-Altmühltal network (operator: Bayerische Regiobahn) improved by 19.31 points and landed in second place in the table with a total of 74.64 points (2022: 12th place). The Hohenlohe-Franken-Untermain network (DB RegioNetz) also moved up ten places. The network gained 15.52 points and landed in fourth place with a total of 63.68 points (2022: 14th place). The Oberland network (Bayerische Regiobahn) also made a similar leap forward : with a gain of 5.10 points and a total of 62.60 points achieved, the network moved up from 11th to 5th place in the table.
With 41.81 points, the Main-Saale-Express network (DB Regio) narrowly missed the top ten. However, it gained 11.73 points compared to the previous year. This moved the network up from 21st to 11th place in the table. In all of the networks mentioned, the railway companies were able to improve their ratings compared to the previous year across almost all categories. Six networks had to accept significant deductions of over 30 points in their ratings. Points were deducted primarily for visual passenger information, cleanliness and the functionality of the equipment.
The Oberpfalzbahn/Waldbahn network (Die Länderbahn) is still in the top third of the table, but loses a good 34 points, which is still enough for 7th place in the ranking in the reporting year with a total of 60.31 points (2022: 94.62 points, 2nd place). For the Werdenfelsbahn network (DB Regio), a loss of 37.43 points led to the middle of the service quality ranking. After 74.85 points and fourth place in the previous year, the network ranked 15th in the table in 2023 with 37.42 points.
The Flughafenexpress network (DB Regio) lost a good 46 points and ranked 21st in the table with a total of 23.82 points (2022: 70.38 points, seventh place).
The Linienstern Mühldorf network (DB RegioNetz) had to give up more than 30 points. A total of 15.56 points were achieved in the reporting year, which meant 23rd place in the table (2022: 46.99 points, 16th place). The E-Netz Allgäu (Arverio Bayern, formerly Go-Ahead Bayern) was rated almost 60 points worse than in the previous year and ended up in the last third of the table with a total of 8.70 points and 26th place (previous year: 67.79 points, 8th place). The Dieselnetz Allgäu Los 2 (DB Regio) lost a good 37 points, which resulted in an overall rating of -10.36 points and second to last place in the table (2022: 26.81 points, 26th place). The network thus missed the BEG’s minimum expectations and a penalty payment is due.
The Alex-Nord network (Die Länderbahn) came last in the table and was therefore also charged a penalty . After only narrowly missing the BEG’s minimum requirements last year (-0.09 points), the network lost a good 16 points and in the reporting year was once again in last place in the annual ranking with -16.19 points.
BEG Service quality measurement system as a basis
As part of its service quality measurement system, the BEG has been assessing performance criteria that are the direct responsibility of the railway companies in a uniform manner throughout Bavaria since 2008. The criteria taken into account are the cleanliness of the vehicles, passenger information, the functionality of the equipment, the service orientation of the train attendants and the customer orientation when dealing with complaints.
The results of the measurements have a direct financial impact on the operators of the respective networks. If a company achieves a value of zero, the BEG’s expectations have just been met. Those who exceed this value receive a bonus payment, those who receive negative points pay a penalty (+100 points = maximum bonus, -100 points = maximum penalty).
Punctuality values and train cancellations are not included in the results of the service quality ranking. They are determined using a separate measurement system. There are many reasons for any delays and train cancellations. They are due, among other things, to deficiencies in the rail infrastructure and are therefore not – like service quality – the sole responsibility of the transport companies that operate the train services in the individual networks.
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