Originally Posted by
beyounged
base on my experience, German trains seldomly are on time, I have missed so many rail connections that I cannot even count. This one I was on was from ZRH to STR, and the train just stopped in Schaffhausen at the border for 30 minutes and then we were requested to get off the train as it was cancelled. then everyone had to take another S-bahn to connect to a bus to cross into German border to take another train, which departed way later and was slower, which shrank my arrival time at STR from 2hr before schedule to 15 minutes. At a few points I could have taken the taxi but it would just be marginally faster due to traffic, and the border between Switzerland and Germany is not exactly populated so getting a taxi from there would be difficult.
I never mentioned anything about EF, but the agent kept referring it as "your ticket is exceptionally cheap and there are many restrictions", and "it is an error in the system and you have very few options."
I have to agree unfortunately and so sorry to hear that you missed the flight. Having lived in both Switzerland and Germany, I have to say that German public transport in no goddamn measure could ever compare to that of Switzerland... I would never count on Deutsche Bahn to be on time. This level of reliability sadly goes for a lot of other stuff, especially public services, in Germany. I know saying that infrastructure in Germany (especially the former West) is crumbling is probably an exaggeration but it is really getting closer to that state if investment continues to lag behind. Having said that, I too would personally not take the last possible train just to give it some buffer should things go wrong... I even do this in Switzerland where trains are generally on time.