Snowstorm sweeps over Germany – Monday too, it remains tricky

Offenbach / Berlin – With loads of snow, black ice and strong winds, “Tristan” brought a massive onset of winter to the northern half of Germany on Sunday. According to its own statements, the railway had to stop numerous connections, and clearing services were in constant use on countless roads in the north and center of Germany. Apparently, however, many people followed the urgent requests of the authorities to refrain from driving and stay at home.

The meteorologists expect snow chaos until the night of Monday. In the north of central Germany, 15 to 40 centimeters of fresh snow and snow drifts up to over a meter are to be expected, it said at the German Weather Service (DWD). In North Rhine-Westphalia, the meteorologists expected heavy snowfalls and dangerous freezing rain.

Minister: People should stay home on Monday

Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) has advised those affected by the snow chaos in Germany to stay at home at the beginning of the week. One could not guarantee to get the rail traffic up and running again during the course of Monday, said Scheuer after a situation briefing on Sunday at Bild live.

The black ice is getting less, but the snow does not stop. The wind causes “mega-moderate” problems, especially with snow drifts. The motorways and the train are also affected. That means, in consultation with the employer, “I prefer to stay at home”, said the minister. Heavy snowfalls had partially paralyzed rail and road traffic on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the snowfall will mostly subside, except on the coast. Meteorologists predict freezing cold for the nights, often with frost below minus ten degrees. Locally, temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees are possible, especially over snow surfaces.

Massive disabilities on the train: Traffic significantly restricted on Monday

As announced on Friday, Deutsche Bahn suspended many connections, also to prevent trains from getting stuck on the open route. According to the company, the routes between Berlin, Hanover and Dortmund / Cologne as well as Hamburg and Dortmund / Cologne were affected. Long-distance traffic between Germany and the Netherlands has also been suspended until further notice.

In addition, a large number of regional connections were canceled in several federal states. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, the railway reported disruptions on the routes between Münster and Recklinghausen, Duisburg and Düsseldorf, and Duisburg and Krefeld.

At stations that were particularly badly affected by the winter storm, the railway provided passenger trains – for example in Hamburg, Hanover, Dortmund, Münster, Halle / Saale, Leipzig and Kassel. Stuck travelers were able to warm up in the trains.

The local and long-distance traffic of Deutsche Bahn will also be significantly restricted on Monday due to the heavy snowfall and the strong wind.

Regional trains and S-Bahn trains in the capital region also affected

There are also restrictions in rail traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg. Because of the extreme onset of winter, there are delays and failures in the entire Berlin S-Bahn network. The reason is weather-related disruptions to the infrastructure and the trains, the S-Bahn Berlin announced on Sunday evening.

In the south of Brandenburg there are restrictions in regional traffic due to heavy snowfall. On the RE 1 between Magdeburg and Cottbus, trains between Burg (Spreewald) and Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof are canceled, as Deutsche Bahn announced on Sunday.

The train service between Doberlug-Kirchhain and Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (RE 10) has been discontinued, as has that between Calau and Senftenberg (RB 24) and regional train 49 between Cottbus and Falkenberg (Elster).

Long-distance transport is also affected. Rail traffic between Berlin and Frankfurt am Main via Braunschweig / Kassel has been suspended until further notice, the same applies to the route between Berlin, Hanover and Dortmund / Cologne.

According to the information, there were no long-distance trains between Berlin, Leipzig / Halle and Erfurt until at least the afternoon. Rail traffic between Hamburg and Berlin has been reduced.

In Cottbus, snow drifts hinder tram traffic in the city. Delays must be expected on all lines, said Robert Fischer, spokesman for Cottbusverkehr GmbH, on request. Snow has also stuck to a layer of ice in the rails. That must be removed. Due to the obstructions, the trains run slower. “The Sunday schedule cannot currently be adhered to,” said Fischer.

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Hessen: Articulated trucks are stuck

Truck traffic on the autobahn in East Hesse came to a standstill on Sunday night. The police in Bad Hersfeld announced on Sunday that more than 55 articulated lorries could not have overcome the inclines due to the slippery road surface and their weight.

On the incline in the Knüllwald to the 448.1 meter high Pommer in the direction of Kassel, traffic would have stopped completely from midnight to four in the morning. 35 articulated lorries got stuck in all three lanes due to the snow. Several highway police patrols and scatter vehicles were able to get the traffic flowing again after four hours. In the opposite direction, the uphill stretch to Pommer was blocked for about two hours – ten articulated trucks got stuck.

Around ten articulated lorries had previously broken down on Autobahn 7 near Kirchheim. The other lanes were still open. Several articulated lorries could not negotiate the slope to Friedewald on Autobahn 4. But they did not block the motorway completely.

Central Germany: Private railway company stops traffic

The company Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland temporarily stopped its train service on Sunday morning due to heavy snowfall and drifting snow. Rail replacement services could not be offered because of the drifts, said the railway company in Halle. 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.

Likewise, the connections from Stendal and Magdeburg in the direction of Wolfsburg and the routes from Halle in the direction of Kassel. Also from Halle / Leipzig in the direction of Weimar-Erfurt-Eisenach and in the direction of Jena-Saalfeld no more trains. The same applies to the Sangerhausen-Erfurt route.

Motorways closed at Bielefeld

Because of the heavy onset of winter, the city of Münster completely stopped its bus services on Sunday morning. “Snow and slippery roads make a safe journey impossible,” announced the public utility company on Sunday morning. The decision applies “until further notice” – the weather will be closely monitored. In Münster, 20 to 30 centimeters of snow had fallen within a short time on Sunday night.

Since Saturday afternoon, there have been 222 accidents in North Rhine-Westphalia due to the weather, said a spokesman for the state control center of the police on Sunday morning. Two people were seriously injured and 26 were slightly injured. The property damage amounts to around one million euros. The WDR had previously reported.

The autobahn was closed on some stretches, elsewhere it was only progressing at a snail’s pace. East Westphalia and the Ruhr area are particularly affected. On the motorways in the administrative districts of Münster and Detmold, the authorities ordered a driving ban for trucks over 7.5 tons. It is initially until 12 p.m., said a spokesman for the state control center of the police on Sunday morning.

In Bielefeld, the police blocked Autobahn 2 on Bielefelder Berg. Because the strong wind kept blowing new snow onto the roadway, the snow clearing vehicles couldn’t keep up. The German Weather Service had already warned in advance that snowdrifts in particular could lead to problems. A strong easterly wind blew the nightly fresh snow again and again onto the lanes that had just been cleared.

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Wuppertal: people freed from suspension railway

Emergency services have freed six people from a suspension railway in Wuppertal. The train could no longer run because of the icy weather and stopped, said a spokesman for the fire department. The passengers were freed from lofty heights with turntable ladders. All are unharmed.

According to the traffic control center NRW, there were traffic jams and delays on many other motorways in the Ruhr area – in many places cars could only drive very slowly. “Where the clearance service was, the snow piles up again a short time later,” reported a dpa reporter from the Minden-Lübbecke district in the far north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The weather on Saturday was completely different in the south, where significantly milder temperatures were expected. The reason: While cold air of arctic origin lies above central Germany, steer loudly DWD Low pressure areas over Western Europe have very mild air to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

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