Status: 02/10/2021 7:31 p.m.
Cold, black ice and snow are still slowing down traffic in Lower Saxony. Traveling by train and car remains a challenge.
In the coming days, “travelers in many parts of the country will have to reckon with significant restrictions in local and long-distance traffic of Deutsche Bahn due to the weather,” said a rail spokeswoman on Wednesday. In Lower Saxony, regional traffic in the Harz-Weser network is particularly restricted. In addition, Wolfsburg train station was not accessible on Wednesday. A replacement bus service was used between Hanover and Wolfsburg. Rail traffic should start up again around Hanover, Bremen and Osnabrück – including between Hanover and Norddeich Mole. Passengers on the routes operated by Metronom, Enno, Erixx and Nordwestbahn also have to expect cancellations and delays.
Train travelers should inform themselves before departure
The railway companies in the country advise travelers to find out about the current traffic situation on the internet before starting their journey. Here you will find the service pages of the companies with the latest information on current train connections:
Bremke becomes the eye of a needle
Because a truck crashed on the A38 in Heiligenstadt in Thuringia, not far from the border with Lower Saxony, traffic chaos broke out in the village of Bremke (Göttingen district). The A38 towards Göttingen had been blocked because of the accident, as the Göttingen police announced. This was followed by another truck accident on the diversion route via Arenshausen (Thuringia). The result: Several car and truck drivers apparently used the route via Bremke as a substitute. According to information from NDR 1 Lower Saxony, the village passage is already narrow, with the snow masses of the past few days, the streets are even narrower than usual.
Standstill on the A2: “We have the largest parking lot in the republic”
On the roads in the country, too, caution and patience are still required: Because trucks can not get anywhere on highways, drivers sometimes had to spend the night on the highways when the temperature was below zero. “It’s chaotic,” said a spokesman for the Braunschweig autobahn police. Autobahn 2 was again affected on Wednesday night. The main lane in the direction of Dortmund was temporarily closed between the Wolfsburg and Peine junction. Truck drivers parked there and slept. “We have the largest parking lot in the republic,” said a police spokesman. Further west between Oelde (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Lower Saxony state border, trucks were parked on the hard shoulder because drivers had to keep their rest times.
Canals are closed due to ice
The cold is now also having an impact on inland navigation. Starting this evening, the Mittelland Canal and the Elbe Lateral Canal will be closed due to the ice. This was announced by the Waterways and Shipping Office on Tuesday in Braunschweig. As a precaution, the icebreakers that are otherwise on these canals are withdrawn onto the Weser in order to break ice floes there in front of weirs – this is how the pressure that the ice loads on these facilities should be reduced, said a spokesman. The last inland waterwaymen who were still on the canals should be given the opportunity to get to a safe place with the icebreakers beforehand.
Further information
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