In 2025, Europe’s rail network was heavily affected by delays, according to the analysis by Chuuchuu. The sobering finding: trains accumulated a total of 71.3 million minutes of delay—equivalent to almost 136 years. Germany accounts for the largest share of these delays, while Switzerland stands out for its exceptional punctuality.
The start-up examined 17.3 million train connections operating across Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland in 2025.
Germany Falters, Switzerland Excels
In Germany, only 58.5 percent of trains ran on time in 2025, contributing nearly 67 years to Europe’s total accumulated delays. By contrast, Switzerland leads the ranking: 97.8 percent of trains arrived punctually. Swiss railways attribute many of their few delays to cross-border services—particularly those originating in Germany.
Night Trains Especially Problematic
Punctuality is particularly poor on night services. These trains typically depart from around 5 p.m. onward—and increasingly seem to lose track of their schedules. The reason: sleeper trains share the tracks with freight traffic, which is given priority. As a result, all of the ten most delayed trains in Europe are night services.
Overall Ranking
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Switzerland – 97.8% punctuality, responsible for 1.4 years of total delays in Europe
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Netherlands – 93.9%, 11.4 years
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Belgium – 88.6%, 13.5 years
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Austria – 82.2%, 10.4 years
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France – 79.7%, 9.5 years
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Italy – 62.0%, 22.7 years
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Germany – 58.5%, 66.8 years
The Best and Worst Travel Days of 2025
July 1, 2025 proved particularly problematic: an extreme heatwave meant that only 64.6 percent of trains ran on schedule, with delays of up to 18 minutes on average—amid temperatures of around 33°C at stations.
By contrast, the start-up celebrates December 25, 2024 (which still factors into the 2025 ranking) as a “Christmas miracle.” On that day, nearly 88 percent of trains were on time, with average delays of only around five minutes.
