Bahndurchschnitt

Bahndurchschnitt is a German term formed from Bahn (railway) and Durchschnitt (average). It is not a fixed technical term with a single, universally accepted definition in railway science; rather, it denotes the arithmetic mean of a railway-related quantity over a defined set of observations or along a specified route, period or segment.

In practice, Bahndurchschnitt can refer to any measure averaged for railway operations, such as travel time, speed, delays, occupancy, energy consumption or throughput. The calculation follows the standard approach for averages: sum the observed values and divide by the number of observations, with possible weighting to reflect duration, distance, or traffic volume. For instance, the bahndurchschnittliche Reisegeschwindigkeit on a route is the total distance divided by the total travel time for all trains.

Contexts and uses: In timetable planning and operations, Bahndurchschnitt is used to summarize performance across a day, week, or network segment. It supports benchmarking between lines or operators and informs capacity analyses, investment decisions, and KPI reporting. Data sources include timetable data, train-position data, delay records, and energy meters.

Limitations: The value depends on the defined scope, time window, and sampling; outliers and data gaps can distort the result. Therefore, it is important to specify the period, sections, and weighting used when reporting a Bahndurchschnitt.