The debate broke out online after Spanish Minister of Transport Ocscar Puente claimed that his country had the second most punctual and long-distance train in Europe.
“Our punctuality ratio, Renfe (Spanish national railway company), is second highest in Europe after Switzerland, far ahead of Germany, Italy and France. He said September 4th.
According to various reports and travel agencies that rank services based on their own criteria, it is true that non-EU member Switzerland consistently ranks them as having some of the most reliable trains on the continent.
For example, a recent survey by the campaign group Transport & Environment includes Swiss Federal Railway Company and others. I came first The reliability of European railway operators is located just in front of Dutch railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, as well as SNCB in Belgium and Renfe in Spain. Italy’s Trenitalia ranked the best overall when it also took into account criteria such as ticket prices and booking experience.
But the European Commission also Collect your own data Regarding punctuality for train services in EU countries, it states that various definitions of punctuality apply to member countries, making it difficult to compare the countries in full.
Nevertheless, according to data released in July, the Netherlands has the most punctual and high-speed passenger train service in the EU, with 88% of trains arriving on time in 2022.
The European Commission classifies “punctual” as a train that arrives at a delay of at most five minutes.
The Netherlands followed by Belgium, with 88% as a result, and over the past few years, Bulgaria has dropped slightly in the rankings at 87%.
Denmark came in fourth and Spain was fifth, so as Puente suggested, it ranks as having some of the EU’s most punctual long-distance train services, surpassing German, Italian and French services.
According to the committee, the EU average for high-speed and long-distance trains arriving on time was 87%.
However, this is a different story for local and local trains. In this category, Latvia, Estonia, Austria, Finland and Denmark make up the top five most punctual train services. Meanwhile, Spain ranks ninth among EU countries.
Passenger trains in the Spanish region are once again ranked higher than the rest of the Big Four EU countries. Commission figures show that local German and Italian trains score particularly low compared to other blocks.
They are both still very punctual than Romanian passenger trains and much more punctual in both long-haul and regional categories.
How are European railway stations ranked?
Certain associations also compile the quality league tables for railway stations around Europe.
The Advocacy Group Consumer Choice Center recently released an index of European railway stations for 2025, and saw Europe’s busiest stations in terms of passenger volume, and Switzerland has discovered it again. The best governance When it comes to training in travel.
Specifically, when it comes to categories such as ticket options, accessibility, and railway coverage, Zürich Hauptbahnhof has appeared as the best train station in Europe overall.
Poland’s Wroclaw Gwony followed, while Switzerland’s Bern Hauptbahnhof came in third place. Berlin Haubbahnhof (Germany) and London Paddington (UK) concluded the top five.
Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands all had two stations in the top 10.
Spain’s best performance station and its only feature was the Madrid Puerta de Atocha, ranked 18th in the rankings.
