Hardly anyone in the Federal Palace is committed to expanding the night train network as is the green transport politician Align Trade (38). Of all the people she had a miserable experience on the way to the holiday.
The leader of the Greens in the Bundestag really wanted to travel to Holland by night train. But when we arrived in Basel on Sunday evening, there were no trains to be seen – only an advertisement saying it was “not ready to leave”. After an hour of waiting, finally the announcement came that Badischer Bahnhof should continue.
Stranded at Baden train station
But outside the German border there were also no trains in the Badischer Bahnhof – give any information on when and how to proceed. “There were definitely 200 people on stage, including several families,” Trede describes the scene.
Those who could not afford hotel rooms had to sit comfortably on the stage. The passengers would have supported each other. Traded shared her sleeping bags she packed for the holidays and teamed up with a traveling mom to create a breeze for her kids. “Luckily, it was a pretty hot night,” she says. Finally a train arrived at 4.30 in the morning and finally the journey started.
“It may happen that a train fails,” insists Trede, which she understands. However, he is very upset that the passengers were not informed. “The night trains are fully booked, you have to take advantage of this opportunity!” She says looking disappointed. Some of his fellow passengers who were stranded complained that they would prefer to board the plane next time. “It’s a pity!” Traded expressed his disappointment on Instagram. «Sustainable travel is the future. Do your job and customize the offers and the way you treat customers, » she writes.
Compromise “didn’t work”
SBB apologizes for the circumstances upon request. The reason for the failure was a technical fault in the Deutsche Bahn locomotive, which could not provide a replacement. “After contacting the DB, on Sunday evening it was assumed that the DB would be able to carry passengers with other trains north to Badischer Bahnhof,” a spokesman said. In retrospect, it turned out to be a “wrong decision”.
Passengers at the station were not informed because the agreement between SBB and DB “did not work”. If possible, in such cases, an attempt is made to stop sleeping and couchette cars so that passengers do not have to wait on the platform at least. However, this was not possible due to the construction work at Basel train station.
Victims get compensation
According to the SBB, around 170 people with reservations in gold or couchette cars were affected. It is not known how many people wanted to travel in the coach as no reservation is necessary.
Passengers who contact SBB customer care will be refunded the fare and will also get compensation. The matter will now be “worked intensively” within the SBB and in exchange for the German and Dutch partners.
Meanwhile, AlignTrade has also booked a night train to travel home. “I hope, this time without a night on stage!”
