Four years after my last report and some 14 years after the German spelling reform was first implemented, the Deutsche Bahn still can’t spell.

In my blog post of June 15, 2007 I reported on the challenge of adhering to the new spelling rules of the "Rechtschreibreform", the German spelling reform first implemented in 1997. On today's trip to services in Mörfelden I noticed that the Deutsche Bahn ("German Rail") still has not fully implemented the reform for German "ß" which looks like a fancy "B" to those who don't speak German but is actually a double "s". The train guide is still using the "ß" where it should be a double "s". Since the guides are just reprinted with the new schedule, I guess the fellow who is responsible for the typesetting never caught this mistake. So that is a comfort for me as a non-native speaker in case I miss the "ß" once in a while. You can see a side-by-side comparison of two train guides from 2007, one with the correct spelling and the other with the same spelling as in today's guide.