The stations and regional trains in Germany are overcrowded this weekend.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin According to Deutsche Bahn, at the beginning of the Whitsun holidays and after the introduction of the 9-euro ticket, there is very high demand for regional trains, especially to tourist destinations. Travelers reported on Saturday that the trains were sometimes completely overcrowded, and there were also delays. Some train customers would not have found a seat, and in some places travelers with bicycles would not have been able to board regional trains, as dpa reporters reported. Passengers had to get off some jam-packed trains.
As expected, regional trains, especially to tourist destinations, were in very high demand on Saturday, said a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn on request. Passengers should find out more from the local transport associations or via the DB Navigator shortly before starting their journey. In view of the high occupancy rate, it cannot be guaranteed that travelers will be able to take their bikes with them: “Anyone who can should therefore do without the bike.”
Pentecost is usually always busy on the railways. This year, the 9-euro ticket will be added, with which holders can travel throughout Germany on local public transport in June, July and August. The Pentecost weekend is considered the first test for this discount campaign. Transport companies had announced that it would not always be possible to take bicycles everywhere.
“The chaos was to be expected,” said Karl-Peter Naumann from the Pro Bahn passenger association on Saturday. The situation in the regional trains towards the Baltic Sea as well as in Hamburg and Bremen is particularly dramatic. In Hamburg, the Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft announced that it was not possible to take bicycles with you until Whit Monday.
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In Berlin and Brandenburg, travelers spoke of “cramping full trains”, especially in the direction of the Baltic Sea. In the DB Navigator app, regional lines to Rostock or Stralsund said that an “extraordinarily high utilization rate is expected”. Federal police officers were increasingly on the platforms at Berlin Central Station. A spokesman for the Federal Police Directorate in Berlin said there was a high number of travelers. “We are in constant contact with the employees of the railways in order to support their measures – if necessary.” Officials would have helped on Friday when trains to Stralsund and Rostock were overcrowded and travelers were asked to get off.
In Baden-Württemberg, too, the utilization of regional trains, especially to tourist destinations, was high. As the operator Go-Ahead Baden-Württemberg reported on Saturday, it was not possible to take passengers everywhere on its own route network. Deutsche Bahn had announced that it would also expand capacities in the southwest.
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