Munich: Changes in Store - Potential unattended explosion: railway operations may be impacted across Bavaria.
Munich's train drivers are in for some restrictions this Saturday due to the discovery of a suspicious metal object during construction work for the second main line in the city. It's still unclear whether it's actually a World War II bomb, which will only be confirmed on Friday. If it is a bomb, defusing will take place on Saturday. During this time, only long-distance and regional trains will be impacted, while the Munich S-Bahn will operate an alternative schedule regardless.
Long-distance and regional trains: Operating only if there's defusing
All trains that usually pass through Munich's main station will be diverted to various locations within the city and nearby regions during the defusing process. There may also be some restrictions in certain parts of Bavaria as fewer trains can run there. The reason for this is that the DB's control center must be cleared for the defusing.
Munich S-Bahn: Special schedule regardless
From 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., no S-Bahns will operate on the entire main line or to Moosach, Allach, and Siemenswerke. On western S-Bahn lines, trains will only run every 20 to 60 minutes. Meanwhile, eastern S-Bahns will operate normally to Ostbahnhof or Giesing. Between Ostbahnhof and Pasing, the S8 will run non-stop over the Südring until 2:00 p.m., while between Pasing and Laimer Platz, buses will replace S-Bahns every 10 minutes. For Allach, Untermenzing, and Moosach, S-Bahns will run every 20 minutes.
The complexity of the Munich S-Bahn with over 1,000 journeys daily requires a complete reorganization of staff and vehicle deployment if defusing is necessary. If no defusing is required, the railway will make every effort to provide additional trains on the main line and in outlying areas on Saturday.
The suspected grenade
During excavation work, a metal object was found near Donnersbergerbrücke at a depth of 3.5 meters. The fire department announced this on Tuesday. If proven to be a genuine bomb on Friday, it will be analyzed by experts from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Service. If the bomb is confirmed, it will be defused on the following day. Residents must leave the exclusion zone by Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at the latest. The zone's radius will be at least 300 to 700 meters, but this can only be determined on Friday.
The fire department is hopeful, though. "With a bit of luck, it'll just be an ordinary metal object, and defusing or evacuation won't be required," they said.
