Days of delays in freight transport 14/06/22

Source: Deutsche Bahn: Tagelange Verspätungen im Güterverkehr (ampproject.org)

Days of delays in freight transport

Photo: DPA

In freight traffic, hudreds of trains are on the open track, the industry is desperately waiting for its ordered products. The railway group is not making any progress. The Federal Ministry of Transport now expects solutions.

The Federal Ministry of Transport is increasing the pressure on the management of Deutsche Bahn to get the chaotic conditions in rail transport under control soon. While many long-distance customers sometimes complain about hours of delays, the situation in freight rail transport is even more dramatic.

Even days of delays are no longer a rarity there. Currently, 300 trains are at least one day partly on the free route around, in some cases even up to two weeks, it is said from the industry. The train drivers would then have to park the trains on overtaking tracks and fight their way to the next road to somehow get home.

The reasons for this are complex: Deutsche Bahn's construction site management has been considered poor and ineffective for years, in addition to poor communication and coordination. A train driver reports that he spends hours locating trains instead of steering them over the rails on schedule.

Theurer: "We urgently need an inventory"

"The situation has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks," says the Federal Government Commissioner for Rail Transport, Michael Theurer (FDP), in an interview with the F.A.Z. "We urgently need an inventory and then a general renovation. It needs to be rehabilitated under the rolling wheel."

Last week, a crisis meeting took place between the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and Deutsche Bahn because customers are no longer willing to wait weeks for products. At least there should have been agreement that something had to change, it is said from participant circles. But there is a lack of confidence everywhere that this can happen soon.

The warning to the railway management hits the group at a time when the state-owned company is in dire straits due to the 9-euro ticket and the ambitious goals of politics for increasing passenger and freight traffic numbers. At the end of April, the previous infrastructure board member Ronald Pofalla resigned from his position, and a successor has been sought ever since. "Huge tasks await the new Infrastructure Board," says Theurer. "I expect a ruthless inventory from him, which must also be published."

Author: Corinna Budras