YOU CAN NOW BET ON HOW LATE YOUR TRAIN IS GOING TO BE

Most people place a bet on whether their favourite football team is going to win on a Saturday.

Or maybe they'll put some money on a renowned horse to place in the top three at the races.

Now, it's possible to place a bet on how late your train is going to be.

BahnBet was recently created by Caio van Caarven, from Vienna. The website takes data from Deutsche Bahn's free live timetables to make a betting platform.

The site's owner told digital lifestyle magazine Techbook it 'transforms cultural frustration into satirical entertainment,' according to The Times. 

The Vienna-based artist isn't profiting from the misery of delayed travellers however, as BahnBet only uses fictional money. 

New users start with €1,000 (£872) and each win is determined by how closely the prediction matches the real-life arrival time. 

It was only launched last month and attracted more than 150,000 visits on its first day. 

On the website, the most delayed trains appear first and it says 'More delay = greater betting opportunities'.

It is also possible to filter to show 'only on time' trains, 'only late' and 'long-distance transport'.

BahnNet users can bet on trains from 10 different countries, including the UK. 

Caarven spent 60 to 80 hours across two months developing the site and he described himself as a 'railway fan' but revealed he had been caught up by delays and missed connections too many times. 

The three top performing users each month gets a prize from van Caarven's online store.

However, Germany's national railway operator has not yet responded to the new website and van Caarven joked: 'The reaction, as expected has been delayed.'

At the time of writing, a train from Plymouth to Edinburgh had 10 bets on it that it would be late, amounting to a €443 (£386) pool.

Meanwhile, on German trains 20 bets were placed on the Cologne Central Station to Berlin East Station train, totally to €1,954.

Deutsche Bahn revealed that just 60 per cent of its trains were on time in 2025, leaving 40 per cent delayed or cancelled, according to Global Banking and Finance. 

An 'on time' train can be up to six minutes late. 

Some passengers have even experienced years of issues with the rail company, including Inga Nielsen, 29.

She told Reuters: 'The main reason to use Deutsche Bahn is that flying is becoming more expensive again, but you pay extra in stress.'

The Daily Mail approached Deutsche Bahn for comment.  

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2026-04-03T13:55:44Z