Many routes are still closed due to fallen trees and damaged overhead lines.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Because of the storm “Antonia”, Deutsche Bahn will discontinue regional traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia on Sunday evening. “After 8:00 p.m. we no longer send any new trains onto the route. Of course, everyone who is still on the road will still drive to their destination station,” said a railway spokeswoman at the request of the dpa. This is a precautionary measure, emphasized the spokeswoman. S-Bahn and regional trains are expected to start operating again on Monday morning.
However, since storm damage is to be expected, “extensive reconnaissance trips” would have to be carried out in the morning, as Deutsche Bahn further announced. Passengers should therefore find out about their journey early on at bahn.de or zuginfo.nrw. Replacement traffic cannot be guaranteed. “We therefore urgently recommend postponing trips that are not absolutely necessary,” said Deutsche Bahn.
In view of the considerable damage caused by storms, rail travelers must also be prepared for considerable impairments elsewhere at the start of the week. With a view of “Antonia”, Deutsche Bahn asked passengers on Sunday to find out whether the planned journey was possible. This applies in particular to commuters in rush-hour traffic.
Those who can should postpone the trip. The prognosis remains difficult. One tries to prepare as well as possible for the next storm, said railway spokesman Achim Stauss late Sunday afternoon.
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The north and north-east in particular were badly affected by the damage. Two ICE trains should start again on Sunday evening between Berlin and Hamburg, and trains should also run on Monday. “Currently we can drive about three quarters of long-distance traffic,” says Stauss. Around 2,000 emergency services are on duty around the clock to remove fallen trees and repair overhead lines.
Deutsche Bahn is also expecting delays in rail freight transport over the next few days. Many routes are still closed, and there is a backlog on the sections that can already be used again.
The north was particularly hard hit by the storm.
(Photo: dpa)
“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.
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. In Uelzen there is an important transfer station, from which several regional transport lines connect the surrounding area.
“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”, storm depression “Antonia” is already sending a cold front ahead: the wind freshens up and can cause dangerous gusts, especially on Monday night. The weather only calmed down in the evening.
At night and in the morning (10 p.m. to 9 a.m.) there could be hurricane-like gusts in parts of the federal states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Thuringia, Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with showers and isolated thunderstorms, warned the DWD on Sunday afternoon. Uprooted trees, falling roof tiles and local lightning damage must be expected.
From Sunday evening, 9 p.m., the wind increased significantly and, in conjunction with a cold front, moved through the country from northwest to southeast, said the meteorologist. 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. The DWD announced hurricane gusts for the night, especially in the west.
Hurricane-like gusts can also last until Monday morning on the Baltic Sea. Above the middle, however, the danger of severe gusts of wind is not quite as high.
Storm “Zeynep” causes devastation
Due to the new severe weather warning, the railway company Metronom will gradually stop train services on Sunday. The company in Uelzen announced that after 9 p.m. there would be no trains from Metronom, Enno and Erixx. An emergency bus service is expected to last until Monday afternoon.
Metronom announced that the route between Hanover and Bienenbüttel was already impassable due to storm damage. A rail replacement service has also been set up between Hamburg-Harburg and Buchholz. In Hamburg-Harburg there is a connection to the S-Bahn. Because of the damage, the Erixx between Gifhorn (city) and Uelzen could not drive either.
There is also a rail replacement service between Hildesheim and Hanover. The same applies to the Enno between Braunschweig and Hildesheim.
Weather relaxation from Tuesday
On Monday morning the cold front will reach 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,” said the meteorologist. Snow falls above 400 to 600 meters. The maximum temperatures are between five and eleven 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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