It surprised me that they will deliberately wait for the delay of the last train. What cause this situation in general? If the train delays more than expected let’s say 30mins, will they continue to wait?
by fuckenti
It surprised me that they will deliberately wait for the delay of the last train. What cause this situation in general? If the train delays more than expected let’s say 30mins, will they continue to wait?
by fuckenti
10 comments
Would t bet on it but ask the crew or wait for the announcement if the train really will wait and if so run for it. the train will normaly not wait long
Likely this is the last train from that station to your destination. Based on personal experience, this “..will wait” business is not very reliable in terms of the time that they are showing. It can be that the connecting train leaves within a couple of minutes of your train arriving. So, be on your toes and good luck!
I guess it’s a single case decision. I had cases where the train driver privately called the other train driver and asked for them to wait.
They be lying.
It’s more expensive than usual if passengers miss the last train of the day. The Bahn has to pay a taxi or a hotel for the night.
They usually can’t wait more than a few minutes, otherwise this will just create even more problems down the line, like a chain reaction. The info there just means “as of now, you can expect them to wait”.
Whether they wait or not depends on a lot of things, like is this a busy line, is this a timed connection where many people are expected to change, is it the last train of the day, etc…
In general, trains today tend to wait not too long to prevent delays from spreading through the network. This was different in the past.
Up to the 1990s, the maximum waiting time was clearly regulated based on the train categories, i.e. a regional train would wait quite long for a long distance train but not necessarily vice versa.
Nowadays, this is done with complex statistical algorithms (and also AI models now, as far as I have heard) on a case by case basis based on a number of factors, e.g. utilization of the involved trains, frequency (i.e. when will the next train run), risk of spreading delays (based on the network topology), time of day, traffic contracts defining penalties for delays vs. compansations paid to delayed passengers etc. In general, the goal is to minimize the cumulative delay of all passengers as well as the operating cost.
The number and type of passengers potentially missing their connection is factored in as well. If there are a lot of passengers in the first train, especially if it is e.g. a large group of students on a school trip or so, the conductor of the first train can call dispatch and ask them to hold the second train. If it is feasible, they will usually do it, so explicitly asking for it often works, especially if it is just for a few minutes like in your example.
Edit: Looking at the transfer time of your connection of just 4 minutes (planned) and the time of day, that might also be a guaranteed connection. There are some of those all over the network, especially late at night with the last trains of the day, where the risk of delays spreading through the network is basically zero and stranded passengers would have to spend the night at a station without amenities or hotels nearby.
In Narrators voice: “The connecting train did not wait….”
> What cause this situation in general?
It’s a very complex decision. Obviously a train can’t wait too long, or it will cause further delays. But I can think of two reasons this one chose to wait:
1. It’s an important connection. Whichever train is delayed (not yours, apparently), there can normally be expected that there are lots of passengers on board trying to get to Straubing — or people on board have asked the conductor to delay the connection if possible.
2. It’s late at night. There will be less traffic, so less chance of causing other trains to be delayed and making a mess of the timetable. Also, it’s probably the last train to Straubing, so if passengers missed the connection they’d be stranded, and the rail operator would be on the hook for sorting that mess out. If there isn’t a connection to be made at Straubing, there’s no reason the train can’t wait.
As a general rule, important connections can often wait up to about five minutes, so long as that doesn’t create too many extra problems. But at that time of night, the balance is tipped in favour of waiting.
Happens more often than u think, especially the connecting train is a regional. Their job is to bring the passengers from the big one to surrounding lands, naturally they’d wait
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