Storm low over Germany: Bahn stops long-distance traffic in NRW

The first violent autumn storm front of the year hit large parts of Germany and caused damage. The railway is temporarily suspending long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia. A storm surge is warned at the North Sea.

The storm over Germany has led to severe restrictions in rail traffic. “Long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia has been completely discontinued,” said Deutsche Bahn. As a result, there are currently no travel options by long-distance traffic to and from NRW in the direction of Hamburg, Hanover, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe and Frankfurt am Main. The ICE trains to and from Amsterdam and from and to Brussels are completely canceled.

Other federal states also affected

The Saarland, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and parts of Saxony are particularly affected. There are train cancellations and delays.

“Hundreds of employees are working to clear trees and other obstacles from the tracks, to repair overhead lines and to record damage,” said a spokeswoman. Passengers who want to postpone their trip due to the storm can redeem their booked ticket immediately up to and including seven days after the disruption has ended.

Rhine bridge temporarily closed

The storm “Ignatz” has been sweeping across Germany since the early morning. The first strong autumn storm of the year brought strong gusts in many places, sometimes also thunderstorms and rain. There were also some disabilities on the streets. According to the police, the Rhine bridge on Autobahn 61 near Speyer in Rhineland-Palatinate was closed. A gust had allegedly hit a truck trailer and overturned. As a result, several trucks stood across.

There was also property damage elsewhere. The fire brigade in Dortmund reported that a falling tree damaged five parked cars. In total, there were almost 50 storm-related missions in the city in the morning. In Saarland and Hesse, roads were closed because of fallen trees.

Storm surge warning for northern Germany

The German Weather Service (DWD) tightened its storm warnings during the night for a wider strip in the middle of the country, over which the center of the storm bottom moved. From Saarland via Rhineland-Palatinate and parts of Hesse, Northern Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg to Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, there was a storm warning due to gale-force gusts. There were also warnings for high altitudes in low mountain ranges such as the Ore Mountains.

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency warns of a storm surge in the North Sea and in the Weser and Elbe regions. The afternoon and evening floods will occur on the North Sea coast one to 1.50 meters and in the Weser and Elbe regions about 1.50 meters above the mean flood, it said. Further storm surges on Friday cannot be ruled out. The apex in Hamburg-St.-Pauli should be reached shortly after 6 p.m.

Heavy gusts of wind also in France

Violent gusts of wind also caused disruptions in traffic and the power supply in northern France. About 250,000 households are without electricity, wrote network operator Enedis on Twitter. In Normandy alone, 80,000 households were affected. In the north and northwest of the country there were sometimes massive train cancellations.

Traffic was also restricted in the region around Paris. According to Météo France, the gusts of wind had moved across the country at up to 175 kilometers per hour. In the morning, the orange warning level still applied to three departments in the northeast.