Snow and ice continue to hinder traffic in southern Bavaria

Snow chaos - Snow and ice continue to hinder traffic in southern Bavaria

Trains are not running, flights are being canceled, schools remain closed: snow and ice also brought traffic in southern Bavaria to a partial standstill on Tuesday.

Deutsche Bahn (DB) experienced further delays and trains were once again canceled. Munich Airport suspended operations on Tuesday morning. All surfaces were icy due to freezing rain, said an airport spokesperson. Nuremberg Airport took over two alternative flights that had already landed in Franconia on Monday evening. Operations were resumed from 12.00 noon.

The railroad company said that more than 1,500 clearing personnel and heavy equipment were being used to get the lines back on track. After the massive disruptions caused by the onset of winter in Bavaria, the first long-distance trains from Munich to Austria should be running again during the course of Tuesday, and other routes should also be reopened. However, train services remain restricted in the greater Munich area. Passengers should postpone journeys until December 6 if possible. Trains are currently very busy.

The number of snow clearing vehicles has been increased since the onset of winter, according to the railroad company. More than 20 large machines are now operating in the region, including snow blowers that have been transferred from Hesse and Baden-Württemberg to Bavaria. Experts are examining whether the number of snow clearing vehicles could be increased even further with support from other regions. Helicopters are scouting the situation along the approximately 10,000-kilometre-long rail network in Bavaria so that emergency services and snow clearing vehicles can remove snow and ice in a targeted manner.

Further snowfall and in some cases freezing rain made the clearing work more difficult. Trees repeatedly fell onto the tracks and overhead lines under the weight of the ice and snow. At the same time, freezing precipitation covered the overhead lines with ice, sometimes as thick as a finger, so that they could no longer transmit electricity or fell down under the load. The onset of winter also affects the vehicles. Once the trains have been cleared of snow and ice, they have to be checked for damage to the water and power supply. For many vehicles, this means additional visits to the workshop.

On the outer branches of the Munich S-Bahn, which many commuters rely on, more trains were running on Tuesday than the day before, but traffic was still not running as usual. Trains on the Bayerische Regiobahn were running according to schedule again, at least in the Oberland between Holzkirchen and Lenggries, Tegernsee and Bayrischzell, but there were still restrictions in other areas, for example near Rosenheim, said a spokeswoman.

On Tuesday, one of eleven Munich streetcar lines was running again, according to the Munich Transport Company (MVG). Subways and buses were in operation.

On the roads, the black ice caused accidents, especially at night. Two people died on the Autobahn 8 near Odelzhausen (Dachau district) when a car collided with an articulated truck. "At the time of the accident, the tarred road surface was slippery due to freezing wetness," said the police. There were several accidents on Highway 99 between the Munich North and Munich South junctions. The highway was temporarily closed in both directions. According to the police, the roads in southern Upper Bavaria were largely running smoothly again on Tuesday morning.

However, the German Weather Service (DWD) expected freezing rain and slippery conditions to continue in the coming nights, especially in the south and east of Bavaria. "The issue will continue to occupy us over the next few days," said a DWD meteorologist on Tuesday.

Schoolchildren in several districts stayed at home again on Tuesday. According to a list from the Ministry of Education, schools in the districts of Dingolfing-Landau, Ebersberg, Erding, Freising and Rottal-Inn as well as in the district and city of Landshut were closed. Some classes were held at schools in the city of Augsburg and in the districts of Munich, Mühldorf am Inn and Starnberg. In some places, pupils had distance learning, it was further reported.

Due to snow and icy conditions, many people in the south of Bavaria are also having to wait longer than usual for parcels and letters. Post and DHL were unable to deliver letters and parcels in Munich at the weekend, the DHL Group announced on Tuesday. Because there were hardly any trains and buses running, many employees were also unable to get to work. As a result, letters and parcels are still piling up in some distribution centers. These volumes could "only be cleared in the coming days", a company spokeswoman said. Some roads are still impassable for post and parcel carriers "because they have not been cleared sufficiently", said Thomas Homberger, Head of the Southern Division at Post und DHL. "Individual letterboxes and branches are also inaccessible."

DWD Bavaria Munich Airport Info Ministry of Culture on school closures - updated regularly Current traffic reports from Deutsche Bahn