|
 |
 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||
| | You are in: UK | |||||||||||||||||||||
 | | Monday, 7 January, 2002, 23:30 GMT German commuters' enviable journey  German commuters appear happy with their trains As thousands of British commuters face yet more strike misery on the trains, passengers in Germany have a relatively easy ride. BBC correspondent Rebecca Jones spent Monday evening with Berlin's commuters to compare experiences. The journey of about 20 kilometres (13 miles) from Berlin's main station, Friedrichstrasse, to the suburb of Lichterfelde, costs two euros and 10 cents - about �1.25. A comparable journey from London's Euston to Watford would cost �5.70. Commuter Andreas Furhrmann said prices had doubled over the last 10 years - but he did not mind, because the service was so good. "It's a fair price because we have very fast, clean, new trains," he said.
Other commuters also seemed very happy with the service. One said: "I think the rail service is really efficient." And another: "It is comfortable and normally it isn't a problem to get a seat. In comparison with Paris it isn't crowded at all." Germany spends twice as much on its rail network as Britain, but the state-owned company Deutsche Bahn, which has run it since 1994, is not resting on its laurels. Spokesman Burkhard Ahlert said: "We want to become the best railway network in Europe. "That means we still have to repair our tracks and we have to have more modern trains." Any current problems do not seem enough to upset the 26 million commuters which use German's trains every day. Our correspondent said: "While life for German rail commuters is generally quick and easy, it's not the same for everyone here. "Services aren't as frequent late at night or at the weekends - but that doesn't seem to dent public enthusiasm for the system." | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top UK stories now:  Links to more UK stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Links to more UK stories |
 | | ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII|News Sources|Privacy  |
E-mail this story to a friend