The north was particularly hard hit by the storm.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The severe storms of the past few days have caused even more damage to the railway network than initially thought. This was found during further reconnaissance trips and helicopter flights, Deutsche Bahn announced on Sunday.
“Since the series of storms began on Wednesday evening, a total of more than 6,000 kilometers of the route network has been unpassable,” said a spokesman. At the moment, 874 kilometers of railway lines are still affected by damage, it said on Sunday afternoon.
Especially in the north and north-east of Germany, travelers should expect severe impairments until at least Monday afternoon. The train advised to postpone travel to and from Hamburg as much as possible. In the meantime, however, long-distance trains are running again between Hamburg and Hanover – with a detour via Bremen and a 60-minute longer journey. Since midday there have also been trains from Stuttgart or Munich via Cologne – Dortmund to Bremen and Hamburg.
According to the railway, around 2,000 emergency services are on duty around the clock to remove fallen trees and repair overhead lines. In view of the volume, however, this can only be done step by step. Five special repair trains were deployed.
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Among other things, the route between Hanover and Hamburg was extremely affected. Rows of trees were mowed down and damage to the overhead lines was recorded for kilometers. In addition, catenary masts would have to be completely repositioned in some cases. In the Uelzen area south-east of Hamburg, the overhead line construction has to be completely rebuilt over a length of 600 meters.
“We have to get through the storm situation until Monday”
Even on Sunday, the heavy storms and sometimes hurricane-force gusts are not over. “We still have to get through the storm situation until Monday,” said a meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach.
After hurricane “Zeynep”, the wind from storm “Antonia” is already picking up and can cause dangerous storms, especially on Monday night. The weather only calmed down in the evening.
“It gets interesting from 9 p.m. on Sunday evening,” says the meteorologist. Then the wind will increase again significantly and move through the country from north-west to south-east in connection with a cold front.
In the meantime, there is a risk of violent storms and hurricane-force gusts with wind speeds of up to 115 km/h. Heavy showers and thunderstorms are to be expected. Hurricane-like gusts on the Baltic Sea can last until Monday morning. Above the middle, however, the danger of severe gusts of wind is not quite as high.
Weather relaxation from Tuesday
In the morning the cold front reaches the foothills of the Alps. Especially in southern Bavaria, hurricane-like gusts cannot be ruled out. At noon the storm calmed down a bit. “But Monday will also be a windy, stormy day with lots of rain,” says the meteorologist. Snow falls above 400 to 600 meters. The maximum temperatures are between 5 and 11 degrees, in the mountains it stays a little cooler.
Towards evening the wind will be noticeably slowed down and from Tuesday the situation will relax significantly. “The wind will remain an issue throughout the week,” said the meteorologist. “However, it will be a completely different house number than what we are experiencing these days.”
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