The railroad's long battle against snow and ice

Questions & Answers - The railroad's long battle against snow and ice

More snow than we've had for a long time - and now chaos for days on end. Perplexed and annoyed people on the platforms. While traffic on the roads is largely running smoothly, rail traffic was slow to get going again after the snowfall. The events, with train services at Munich station and on many routes completely suspended at times, raise questions.

What were the reasons for the sometimes complete rail service failure?

Deutsche Bahn(DB) points to the extreme weather conditions: first a lot of snow in a very short space of time, then extreme cold. "Despite intensive preparations, people and machines reach their limits in extreme weather conditions, as was also seen in Munich's public transport system or at the airport, for example," says a spokeswoman.

Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) also says: "What we experienced in Munich at the weekend was not a normal onset of winter, but the largest amount of snow in Munich since weather records began. It was an extremely special situation in a very short space of time." But also: "However, the situation on the railways has now lasted far too long." The weather situation had been announced. The railroads need to position themselves better for the future.

Is it due to savings?

"Unfortunately, the impression is not deceptive: significant savings have been made, for example on heavy snow clearing equipment," says Bernreiter. Experts also point to the lack of winter-ready equipment and personnel. "Winter operations involve a lot of manual work and the use of machines," says Heino Seeger, former managing director of the Bayerische Oberlandbahn and railroad operations manager. "It's cheaper not to operate in such conditions than to fight against the snow and weather conditions. Reserves cost money. That's why reserves were cut: in terms of staff, trains and snow clearing equipment," says Seeger.

"It was bound to happen," says Markus Hecht, Head of the Rail Vehicles Department at the Technical University of Berlin. Another problem is the lack of snow fences that could contain snow drifts on the tracks.

What must the railroads prepare for in the future?

According to Detlev Neuß, Federal Chairman of the passenger association Pro Bahn, climate change does not necessarily mean less snow, but rather more extreme weather conditions, including heavy snowfall. "These weather conditions are not isolated cases. The railroads have to be prepared for this, it costs money - and the money has to be made available."

There are also landslides after heavy rainfall, hail and storms. Railroad experts also mention the railroad reform passed in 1993, which - according to the experts - was intended not only to cost money, but also to make money. Now a rethink is beginning, says Neuß. "It's happening too slowly for our taste, but the direction is right: towards a company that is more oriented towards the common good."

Who in Bavaria decided to shut down operations completely?

Deutsche Bahn refers to DB Netz, which is responsible for the rail network. "Later on Friday evening, we received a large number of reports about vegetation on the tracks and overhead lines and other weather-related disruptions within a very short space of time," said a DB spokesperson. "As the weather forecasts predicted further heavy snowfall, DB Netz made the decision to suspend rail services in the affected area as a precautionary measure for safety reasons."

What is the situation in Bavaria?

According to DB's announcement at the end of November, it has 13 of its own snow clearing vehicles in Bavaria, covering 9800 kilometers of track in the southern region. In addition, there are seven light snow clearing vehicles: four multifunctional maintenance vehicles for the rail infrastructure and three track maintenance vehicles, it said.

On Tuesday, Deutsche Bahn announced that the number of snow clearing vehicles had now been increased. More than 20 large machines are now on the road in the region, including particularly powerful 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.

Why are things better in Switzerland and Austria?

According to rail experts, both countries have better winter equipment for their trains and better snow clearing vehicles. "These are Alpine countries that are prepared for this. They have staff and snow clearing vehicles," says Neuß. After such snowfalls, you can't expect everything to be running again after half an hour, but it shouldn't take days.

"The problem for us is that snow clearance is assigned to DB Netz - and DB Netz has no additional resources, not even locomotives," adds Hecht. "The open question is how snow clearance is defined in the requirements of the Bavarian Railway Company, as this is a state matter on regional lines."

Were things better in the past?

Heino Seeger reports, at least for the Bayerische Oberlandbahn and Bayerische Regiobahn, that they were active as a company back then. For example, the tracks were kept clear overnight. "When it snowed like it is now, it didn't scare us. We then had locomotives with plowshares (a type of clearing blade) run at night so that the track didn't snow up." This meant that the Oberlandbahn lines remained passable even when there was a lot of snow - albeit at a high personnel cost. "The will must be there to want to drive."

Will the incident be investigated?

The Bavarian state government has called for this. It will certainly be necessary to calmly analyze in the aftermath "why there were such considerable difficulties, especially in the area of train traffic," said State Chancellery Head Florian Herrmann (CSU). Minister Bernreiter announced: "I will have a discussion with the railroad company about this and I will say it very clearly in a Lower Bavarian way: the railroad company must position itself better for the future."

The Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft BEG, which orders regional transport in Bavaria on behalf of the Free State, said: "We expect all those involved to quickly and comprehensively review the current winter problems and derive appropriate improvements."

DB also announced: "Of course, we will analyze the crisis management last weekend in detail and in a structured manner in order to optimize the processes and preparations for future extreme weather events."