German Railways reportedly plans to scrap long-distance train services.
Rail passengers are accustomed to dealing with hassles, but it seems their trips might get even more bothersome. According to various news outlets, the railways could be axing numerous long-distance connections, and fares could go up.
It appears that the railways are planning to slash their fleet of Intercity trains nationwide next year, as suggested by a confidential memo sent to the Federal Network Agency, which was shared by "Spiegel". This could lead to numerous cities losing their long-distance trains. Cities expected to be hit hard are said to include those in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The following lines might no longer have long-distance trains:
- Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Aalen - Crailsheim - Nuremberg - Leipzig through the Saale Valley (Intercity Line 61)
- Gera - Weimar - Erfurt - Gotha - Kassel - Dortmund - Cologne (Intercity Line 51)
- Norddeich Mole - Munster - Dortmund - Siegen - Frankfurt (Intercity Line 34)
Additionally, according to "Spiegel", the service to Stralsund on the Baltic Sea by ICE trains might be drastically reduced during the off-season. The affected Intercitys and ICEs are among the least busy trains operated by the German Railways. On the bright side, political pressure seems to be preventing the elimination of the Intercity connection from Dresden to Rostock.
The reason for this change is a capital increase at the railways, which forces the infrastructure division to hike track access fees significantly. These high fees make many connections unprofitable. A spokesperson for the company stated, "The DB Fernverkehr AG is indeed facing significant challenges due to the capital increase and track access fees. These cannot be offset given the current economic circumstances."
The spokesperson also didn't rule out ticket price hikes: "If the announced increase, which is well above the inflation-adjusted cost increase, were directly passed on to the DB Fernverkehr AG, then offers would have to be reduced and ticket prices would also need to go up." In other words, "unprofitable trains would no longer be sustainable, and the offering would need to be correspondingly reduced." The company chose not to comment on the specific lines affected on Tuesday evening, stating, "We don't normally comment on confidential correspondence."
Read also:
The cancellation of long-distance train services could potentially impact the city of Gera, as Intercity Line 51, which connects Gera to Cologne, might be affected. Frankfurt am Main is also among the cities that could be impacted, as the Norddeich Mole - Munster - Dortmund - Siegen - Frankfurt Intercity Line 34 might see changes. Additionally, German Railways might reduce the service to Stralsund by ICE trains during the off-season, affecting passengers planning trips to the Baltic Sea.
