"Zoltan" causes chaos in rail traffic
Shortly before Christmas, northern Germany in particular experiences severe storms. Storm "Zoltan" not only triggers a risk of storm surges, but also has a massive impact on rail traffic. Many connections are canceled.
Storm "Zoltan" has severely affected Christmas rail traffic throughout Germany. Numerous Deutsche Bahn (DB) long-distance services were canceled; for example, at times no trains ran on the important connection from Berlin to Hanover, as could be seen on DB's online information channels. A reporter from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported from a train from Hamburg to Hanover that the Hanover station could not be reached due to overcrowding. Numerous regional and long-distance trains were also canceled at Hamburg Central Station.
According to Deutsche Bahn, there were restrictions due to storm damage on the Kiel-Hamburg, Hamburg-Westerland and Kiel-Hamburg-Bremen-NRW routes, for example. The Intercity connection between Hamburg and Copenhagen was also affected. Deutsche Bahn also reported weather-related delays and cancellations on regional services.
DB has canceled the train service for Thursday due to the numerous disruptions. Passengers could use their ticket on a later day. However, DB also pointed out that long-distance trains are already very busy due to the upcoming Christmas holidays.
"All emergency services have been put on standby," said a spokesperson for Deutsche Bahn. "We have brought together large equipment and repair vehicles so that - if necessary - we can clear fallen trees or remove branches from the overhead line as quickly as possible." The railroad is monitoring the situation. There is a risk of storm surges in the north and north-west of Germany on Thursday and Friday. The cancellations three days before Christmas Eve are likely to lead to very full trains on Friday and Saturday - provided any storm damage can be removed in time.
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The bad weather caused by Storm "Zoltan" impacted the German Railroad, leading to the cancellation of numerous international trains, including the Intercity connection between Hamburg and Copenhagen. Despite the cancellations, Deutsche Bahn advised passengers to use their tickets on a later day, as the trains were expected to be very busy due to the upcoming Christmas holidays. The disruptions also led to the deployment of large equipment and repair vehicles to clear storm damage and fallen trees.
Source: www.ntv.de
