Status: 02/07/2021 10:01 p.m.
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Snow, ice and strong winds have paralyzed traffic in parts of Germany. And it’s not running smoothly again: There are still restrictions in long-distance transport and meteorologists are expecting more snowfall.
Snow and black ice have led to accidents, road closures and train cancellations in parts of Germany – and there is still no all-clear.
In the center and in the north, 30 centimeters of fresh snow and meter-high drifts brought many clearance services to their limits. Trucks were broken down, and motorways were temporarily banned from driving due to black ice. Rail traffic came to a complete standstill in numerous regions. North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia were particularly affected.
Accidents, traffic jams and closures
According to the police, there have been 222 accidents due to the weather in North Rhine-Westphalia alone since Saturday afternoon. Two people were seriously injured and 26 were slightly injured. Heavy snowdrifts caused problems on the motorways. Some stretches were closed, elsewhere things were slow. Because the strong wind kept blowing new snow onto the roadway, the snow clearing vehicles couldn’t keep up. According to the North Rhine-Westphalia traffic center, traffic jams and delays occurred on many motorways, especially in the Münsterland, East Westphalia and the Ruhr area. The suspension railway stopped in Wuppertal. The fire brigade freed six people from a car. Several cities and districts in North Rhine-Westphalia also stopped bus traffic – such as Münster and Dortmund.
Snow and slipperiness after the onset of winter in parts of Germany
Tina Alfes, NDR, daily news 8 p.m., 7.2.2021
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Trams stop
There were also difficulties with public transport in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. Trams stopped in Magdeburg and Leipzig. A spokesman for the Magdeburg transport company said the ARD: “The main problem is the amount of snow and the wind.” After clearing, roads and rails would be blown again within a very short time. There were closures on numerous roads in Saxony-Anhalt.
In Lower Saxony there was also heavy snowfall during the day. The motorway police announced that clearing and gritting vehicles from the motorway maintenance depots in southern Lower Saxony were increasingly being used. In the night of Monday, the snowfall in Lower Saxony should initially subside – but it is expected that new flakes will come up from the south in the morning hours. In an area from Göttingen and further north there will be another five to 15 centimeters of fresh snow – spread over about eight hours, said a meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD). “There will be traffic obstructions there.” The bad weather-related truck driving ban on the highways in Westphalia and parts of Lower Saxony will be extended until noon on Monday at 12 noon.
Sven Knobloch, MDR, on traffic restrictions in Saxony
tagesschau24 9:00 p.m., 7.2.2021
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Train cancellations on the railway
In long-distance rail traffic, there were major restrictions due to the heavy snowfall. Trains did not run between Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia or Hamburg and Hanover, Deutsche Bahn announced. There were also restrictions between Hamburg and Berlin. The Leipzig / Halle region was also not served by long-distance traffic. The worsening weather situation also caused restrictions in the Erfurt railway junction. Long-distance traffic between Berlin and Frankfurt am Main via Braunschweig / Kassel has also been discontinued, the same applies to the sections between Berlin, Hanover and Dortmund / Cologne. There were also no trains between Hamburg and Kiel, Hamburg and Lübeck, and Hamburg and Westerland. Long-distance traffic between Germany and the Netherlands has also been suspended until further notice.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the situation at the stations was calm. Most people followed the recommendation of the German Weather Service and stayed at home.
Restrictions in regional traffic
In many federal states, not only long-distance but also regional traffic was restricted. According to Deutsche Bahn, this was the case in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. In Lower Saxony, several regional connections failed, as the regional rail operator “Metronom” announced.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the railway company “Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland” temporarily stopped train traffic. “A gradual resumption of operations can be expected from the morning hours of Monday at the earliest,” it said in the evening. According to the information, the routes from Halle, Dessau and Magdeburg in the direction of Bernburg, Aschersleben and Halberstadt as well as the entire Harz region are affected.
Claudia Kleinert, HR, with the weather forecast
tagesschau24 9:00 p.m., 7.2.2021
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Further restrictions at the beginning of the week
Meteorologists are also expecting problems for Monday. According to the ARD weather competence center it can continue to snow during the night – especially from Franconia to Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and West Saxony with 10 to 25 cm of fresh snow within twelve hours.
The DWD expects further light to moderate snowfalls in parts of northern Germany and in the northern low mountain ranges by Monday evening. In addition, there is again strong to stormy wind and drifts.
In the course of the week, the cold air then works its way into the previously spared south.
Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer advised those affected by the snow chaos to stay at home at the beginning of the week. After a briefing on the situation, the CSU politician told the Internet site “Bild live” that one could not guarantee that the rail traffic would be up and running again on Monday.
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