New DSB schedule comes into effect today

Company claims it will save passengers 800,000 hours a year

Dec 13, 2015

Some passenger groups complained earlier this month when DSB announced changes to its schedules, but as the changes come into effect today, Tony Bispeskov, the company’s head of traffic information, has assured Ekstra Bladet that the changes will benefit passengers, among other things, by saving them 800,000 hours a year.

Avoid surprises
Commuters should not run on autopilot when they set off on their journey tomorrow and should instead check the passenger information service Rejseplanen.dk, Bispeskov advised.

“It’s more the rule than the exception that the train will be running at a different time today than it did yesterday,” he said.

“If you don’t want a big surprise when you go to work or school tomorrow then it’s a good idea to check Rejseplanen.”

The only services that are unaffected by the changes are those in the S-train network and the coastal line Kystbanen.

Regular departures
One of the features of the new schedule is that trains to a greater extent will run with regular intervals, which Bispeskov claims will make it easier to work out the next departure.

“It will be easier. As things were the train maybe ran at 8.25, the next one at 9 and the next one at 9.25. That’s uneven that there should be 25 minutes between some and 35 minutes between others,” he said.

“Now we want to change that mentality to trains running in a fixed way with perfectly equal minute counts, which is much easier to go with – for example at 15 and 45 minutes all day. Then you don’t need to pull out the timetable all the time.”

Time savings
According to Bispeskov, co-operation with other public transport operators has led to significant time savings for passengers.

“This creates better connections, for example in Jutland, and travel time gains of up to 46 minutes on some journeys. Even though we want to hold on to our customers, this means a lot for commuters, that they can gain half an hour to three quarters of an hour every day,” he said.

“We are saving society 800,000 hours a year for passengers – that’s something to talk about.”