Transportation Available to the Public - "Immense pressure": additional limitations on rail transit
Travelers using trains in the Palatinate area are still experiencing issues due to ongoing limitations. The regional train service between Palatinate and Mannheim/Heidelberg will be significantly restricted until July 15, as per the South Rhineland-Palatinate Public Transport Association. This is because of a lack of healthy train dispatchers at the Ludwigshafen control tower, they explained. As a consequence, a backup plan has been devised.
This plan involves the cancellation of the S1 between Heidelberg and Neustadt/Weinstraße, as well as the S4 between Heidelberg and Germersheim. Certain S6 trains running between Mannheim Hbf and Worms Hbf, which start or end in Mannheim, will also be discontinued. "This will cause reduced service on the affected S-Bahn lines surrounding Ludwigshafen - Mannheim, approximately one hour between trains," the association stated. However, there may be some deviations, particularly during busy times.
A further challenge is rail cable theft. This alternative plan is complicated by the repercussions of a massive cable theft west of the Ludwigshafen main station, which has rendered all safety technology inoperable according to the association. The DB is attempting to offer a more limited basic deal with just two trains per hour starting from Sunday morning using less complex methods. On Saturday, train travel was brought to a complete halt, as indicated by the association. The way train traffic will move in the Palatinate region from Monday on is still uncertain.
The chairperson of the association, Fritz Brechtel, described this as a "massive burden" for commuters not only in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. For about 10 days now, trains in the Palatinate area's regional rail network have been axed to destinations including Heidelberg, Worms, and Germersheim, Germersheim district administrator (CDU) announced. "This is harmful to public transport on both rail and road systems overall," he said.
