Following last week’s storm-related shutdowns, Deutsche Bahn (DB) has apologised for a technical glitch that mis-calculated delays and wrongly denied reimbursement to some passengers. One example cited an ICE service from Berlin to Braunschweig that was cancelled outright, yet DB’s system recorded only a one-minute delay, triggering an automatic rejection of the claim. (welt.de)
Under EU passenger-rights rules, travellers are entitled to a 25–50 percent refund for delays of 60 minutes or more, or a full refund for cancellations. DB says it will re-audit all claims filed between 10 and 13 January and contact affected customers. Compensation will be issued automatically; no new application is required.
![Deutsche Bahn admits compensation processing error after winter-storm ‘Elli’]()
Meanwhile, travellers arranging future trips to Germany may find that visa and documentation tasks are easier when outsourced to a specialist. VisaHQ’s dedicated Germany page (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) streamlines Schengen business and tourist-visa applications, tracks biometric and insurance requirements, and issues status alerts—helping you focus on itinerary changes rather than paperwork.
For mobility managers, the incident is a reminder to keep proof of cancellation—screenshots or station notices—when relying on rail tickets for Schengen business travel. Multinational employers that bulk-purchase DB business passes should monitor corporate-card statements for automatic refunds and reconcile any discrepancies manually.
DB processed more than four million compensation claims in 2025; internal audits suggest error rates below 1 percent, but the latest glitch indicates vulnerabilities in the company’s delay-tracking API when entire trains are cancelled before departure.
Under EU passenger-rights rules, travellers are entitled to a 25–50 percent refund for delays of 60 minutes or more, or a full refund for cancellations. DB says it will re-audit all claims filed between 10 and 13 January and contact affected customers. Compensation will be issued automatically; no new application is required.
Meanwhile, travellers arranging future trips to Germany may find that visa and documentation tasks are easier when outsourced to a specialist. VisaHQ’s dedicated Germany page (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) streamlines Schengen business and tourist-visa applications, tracks biometric and insurance requirements, and issues status alerts—helping you focus on itinerary changes rather than paperwork.
For mobility managers, the incident is a reminder to keep proof of cancellation—screenshots or station notices—when relying on rail tickets for Schengen business travel. Multinational employers that bulk-purchase DB business passes should monitor corporate-card statements for automatic refunds and reconcile any discrepancies manually.
DB processed more than four million compensation claims in 2025; internal audits suggest error rates below 1 percent, but the latest glitch indicates vulnerabilities in the company’s delay-tracking API when entire trains are cancelled before departure.
