Dictators sometimes pride themselves on making the trains run on time, but Germany’s rail company on Wednesday partly attributed a sharp improvement in punctuality to perky hostesses in red caps who tell travellers to skip the fond goodbyes and get aboard.
Deutsche Bahn said it had lifted punctuality by 10% points to 93% in the space of one year after a public outcry in 2003 over lateness on the rails. A train is judged
punctual if it arrives no more than five minutes late at its terminus.
The company said one way it cut the delays was to put more of the assistants on train platforms.
Nicknamed from their scarlet peaked caps, the darting hostesses open and shut doors, help elderly travellers and encourage younger passengers to move faster. ”Miss Red Cap” also discourages extended farewell scenes in train doorways, much to the chagrin of romantic movie fans. – Sapa-DPA