Last weekend’s heavy snowfall in Austria and Bavaria is still having an impact. Train travelers in particular had to take delays and cancellations into account on Monday. The situation is expected to improve from mid-week.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the important corridor route between Kufstein and Salzburg via the Deutsche Eck is now passable again. However, individual delays and deviations may still occur, it was reported on Monday afternoon. After cleaning work, the route between the main stations of Salzburg and Innsbruck will probably not be open again until 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) is asking travelers to postpone non-essential travel on the Salzburg/Innsbruck route to and via Munich or switch to alternative travel options.
Regional routes closed
In addition, individual night trains are canceled or diverted. Some regional routes in Tyrol, Salzburg and Upper Austria remain closed. There were also strict restrictions on long-distance transport in Bavaria on Monday. For example, there were no rail connections at all between Munich and Innsbruck, Salzburg and Zurich. According to an ÖBB spokesperson, a rail replacement service with buses has been set up between Innsbruck and Munich. Due to the heavy snowfall over the weekend, train traffic in large parts of southern Germany came to a standstill. Trees blocked the tracks, icy overhead wires and snow-covered trains prevented travel.
Unions: Make the railways more suitable for winter
The EVG union and the Pro Bahn passenger association in Germany took the rail chaos as an opportunity to demand a winterized railway. The rail infrastructure is “largely dilapidated,” criticized EVG chairman Martin Burkert. For cost reasons, more and more tracks have been dismantled as parking lots, according to Detlev Neuß of Pro Bahn. This means that trains must be parked directly in the stations if they can no longer reach their destination. “Due to the overcrowded train stations, train traffic becomes blocked even more quickly and comes to a standstill over a large area.”
In Austria, “serious disruptions” to train traffic are predicted until the middle of this week.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
