"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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Source: www.ntv.de
