Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company, launched an unconventional public relations campaign in September 2023. Unconventional because it accepted the widespread animosity towards the company within Germany. “We can’t claim that all is rosy,” conveyed Jürgen Kornmann, the head of marketing at DB. Frustrated retirees venting at DB staff was a depiction seen in the television advertisement. “You’re upset – so are we,” responds the empathetic voiceover.
Though the fresh catchphrase was “More train for everyone!”, a more pessimistic phrase would arguably be “Deutsche Bahn: Your journey to hell starts here”.
Despite the thrill of being in Germany for Euro 2024, the travel to and from the matches proves to be less entertaining. It’s unfortunate as a significant portion of the day is devoted to commuting when there are games.
The transport chaos experienced during the England vs Serbia game in Gelsenkirchen could potentially be the most documented transport impairment for a football match. Unpleased audiences struggling to board trams after the match, crammed trams on the route up, drenched spectators waiting outside the stadium to go in, hopeless crowds waiting for trams at the stadium, and exhausted people crowding the main station to get home – encapsulate the harrowing journey. Theoretically, one should be able to travel from AufSchalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen to Düsseldorf in just over an hour. However, from personal experience, it took nearly five hours to get home after the aforementioned match.
Countries hosting significant sporting events are usually concerned about their international media portrayal, and Germany is no different. A Sky reporter’s video remarking on the lack of tourist appeal in Gelsenkirchen and difficulties in finding establishments that accepted credit cards fuelled a two-day media spectacle in Germany.
Visitors from abroad may critique Germany’s substandard train system, but they’re merely scratching the surface of a problem the locals are all too familiar with. German residents have been subjected to the deteriorating railway network for years and are far more impacted by it than tourists. The transport infrastructure in Germany is noticeably inferior when compared to experiences in destinations like Qatar in 2022 or Russia in 2018.
This downfall can be attributed significantly to the German government’s focus on balancing the budget at the expense of vital rail infrastructure over the past two decades. Their inaction resulted in a dysfunctional rail system, a consequence that every German resident is dealing with – a classic example of neoliberal capitalism undermining its own foundation.
In his 2014 book, “How Will Capitalism End?”, German sociologist Wolfgang Streeck visualised systemic disruptions as uncertainties lurking in everyday life, prone to sudden disarrays that can only be combated with resilience and good luck. Though these observations weren’t specifically about Deutsche Bahn, they could certainly apply.
In order to survive in the current era of chaos, Streeck identified four behaviours: “Coping, hoping, doping, and shopping”. The significance of shopping and doping, in its various forms, is widely acknowledged. Surprisingly though, the attitudes of “hoping” and “coping” are gradually becoming irrelevant.
Streeck’s definition of “hoping” entails visualising a more promising personal future, against all odds – an idea portrayed through the American dream. This perception seems to be diminishing, not only amongst Germans but even amongst Americans themselves. Streeck characterises “coping” as the constant readiness to adjust to persistent crisis situations, with an expectation of staying optimistic and self-confident. It is viewed as an individual’s social responsibility to confront challenges singlehandedly while maintaining high spirits.
It’s evident that Streeck penned his thoughts well before the era of social media came into existence. Nowadays, people often express their life frustrations online not as a coping mechanism but as a means of expressing their negative emotions; the method can be thought of as a socialisation of irritations. The real question is, does this have any benefits for society as a whole? Those venting certainly seem to derive some relief from it, otherwise they wouldn’t engage in it. Yet, according to the law of conservation of energy, someone pays the price – specifically, their audience who may feel slightly worse off after reading such posts. Emotions have a tangible effect on the reality we perceive, and this paves the way for widespread anger and paranoia, long before any irate comments about delays in Deutsche Bahn’s service had been published. As Hamlet opined years ago, our thoughts significantly determine whether we perceive things as good or bad.
There’s no doubt that the negative reviews on Google Maps, particularly the one-star ratings, provide some sort of entertainment. Deutsche Bahn, with an average rating of 1.4 out of 5, has an unsurpassed number of such reviews worldwide. To illustrate, four months ago, a user named Iny G expressed her frustration, stating, “The most biggest trash in the world. Why I have to pay €49? You wasted my time & life, which cannot be calculated. I really want to file a class-action lawsuit for this ridiculous system and willing to see you die at the end. Do something, you don’t deserve anybody’s money with this garbage service. [One star]”. It’s worth noting that Iny G is not a habitual negative reviewer; she usually gives five-star reviews. One can only hope that she managed to find some solace.
Speaking from personal experience, I have a passive acceptance towards DB. They will get the job done – most likely. There is no use to exacerbate the situation. Issues with German trains are for Germans to deal with, and possibly to resolve eventually. The most memorable part of a week’s worth disrupted train travel for me is the 40 minutes of scenic views of the Rhine Gorge, from Koblenz to Mainz, I got to enjoy whilst my train sped through the riverbank offering picturesque views of the forested hills, cliffs and ruined castles. Is this a way to cope? Perhaps. Was the scene stunning? Undeniably.