German rail operator records around 4.9m passengers over Christmas

Around 4.9 million passengers travelled on long-distance trains in Germany over the Christmas holidays, the country's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn told dpa on Friday.

This was 8% more than during the same period last year, it said.

It evaluated booking data for the period from December 18 to December 28.

Germany's InterCity Express (ICE) and InterCity (IC) trains were booked to 60% of their capacity during the period, it said.

"My special thanks go to the colleagues who worked around the clock over the Christmas period to ensure that our passengers reached their destinations safely," Deutsche Bahn's long-distance travel manager, Michael Peterson, said.

Christmas traffic on the network was surprisingly smooth and punctual, the operator added.

On December 24 and 25, 80% of long-distance trains arrived on time, a spokesman confirmed.

This is significantly higher than the expected annual punctuality rate of 65%.

"Even on the days with the highest number of passengers, December 20 and 22, there were no significant restrictions," the company said.

Deutsche Bahn said it expects that the lower volume of construction work and freight traffic, which uses the same tracks as passenger trains, during the holiday period contributed to this.

It added that new trains have allowed it to expand seating capacity on long-distance trains this year.