The volunteer fire department in Nettelkofen has already had 30 calls this year – “and our best customer is Deutsche Bahn,” says Stephan Mende with a laugh. But actually, the deputy commander doesn’t feel like joking at all, quite the opposite. He cannot understand why there is one technical breakdown after another around the tracks in Grafing station – without the rail company doing anything about it. At least not consistently.
On the last three weekends alone, there was at least one alert due to an incident at the train station. Most recently, the firefighters were called on the Saturday evening before last because there was water in the pedestrian underpass again, and then again on Sunday morning because the elevator on platform one again did not release the exit door. According to Mende, a mother and her toddler had to stay in the small cabin for three quarters of an hour. And the other elevator has also been stuck between the floors for days. “The construction workers also curse because they have to carry their wheelbarrows up the stairs.”
Broken elevators, flooded paths: First and foremost, this is of course annoying for the many rail customers. They have to repeatedly wade barefoot through murky water that may contain broken glass and drag their strollers up many steps. The railway had only recently advertised the barrier-free expansion of the tracks. “And this is not about any provincial station, this is one of the largest P&R stations in the entire MVV area,” says Grafing’s mayor Christian Bauer. “Thousands of people pass through here every day.”
Who does not know that? To get to the car park on the west side of the train station, you often have to take off your shoes.
(Photo: FW Nettelkofen/oh)
In this respect, the head of the town hall is also stunned – and at the same time “quite angry” about the series of breakdowns at the traffic junction. “We get people’s anger from the city, not just the train.” But no one on the part of the rail company has reacted to his previous interventions, so he will now turn to “one step higher”.
Yes, getting a contact person, information or even a concrete reaction from the DB is anything but easy, the Nettelkofen deputy commander Mende can tell you a thing or two about it. And not just him. If it’s not about trains, accidents or a disruption on the route, but about the properties of Deutsche Bahn, there are always problems throughout the district, reports Ebersberg District Fire Councilor Andreas Heiss. “Then those responsible are not clearly visible – and the decision-making processes are long.” Perhaps too many companies, departments and subcontractors are involved?
According to Bahn, heavy rain put both pumps out of action
“Service providers are available for the repair of systems or short-term emergency operations, which we call to pump out the water, for example, as in this case,” explains DB when asked SZ Ebersberg. In the pedestrian underpass of the Grafinger train station there are – actually – two independent sewage pumps, which both burned out due to heavy rain, according to the press office. And further: “We immediately commissioned a short-term repair of the pressure line and a renewal of both pumps.” But what does immediate mean? According to the fire brigade, the flooding problem in Grafing station – with sometimes longer breaks – has been going on for years.
What particularly shocked Mende during the most recent operation: “Suddenly both pumps were removed – but nobody had provided an interim solution.” That’s why a bit of rain was enough to flood the underpass again. But the problem was not tackled by the train that evening, even when asked. So the Nettelkofen firefighters took action themselves, the volunteers invested a good three hours to install a so-called “flood box” in the city and thus at least temporarily solve the problem. “But we’re starting to feel like the janitors on the railway,” says Mende, noticeably pissed off.
The pump system of the underpass: Because the railway technicians had not installed a temporary solution, the Nettelkofen fire brigade created a temporary solution.
(Photo: FW Nettelkofen/oh)
Because at this point the firefighter sees another problem, namely that of liability. “We’re really happy to help – but then we need someone from the railways to put a stamp on it.” Otherwise he could be personally prosecuted as a volunteer head of operations if something happened. Just build a jetty out of wooden pallets through the water? “In this day and age: impossible!”
What Mende doesn’t understand, apart from the obviously poor maintenance of the pumps, is how the landlord deals with the breakdown elevator on platform one. “It’s relatively new, it was only installed in 2021 – why not use the warranty?” asks the firefighter, who is a technician himself. In other words: Why doesn’t the railway finally let the manufacturer replace the obviously broken elevator with a new one? “Then you wouldn’t even have to pay for it.”
Broke again: the elevator on platform one.
(Photo: FW Nettelkofen/oh)
Speaking of money: the city of Grafing bills DB for the technical assistance provided by the Nettelkofen fire brigade. “But that’s obviously still easier or cheaper for them than fixing the problem themselves,” says the mayor. Especially since the volunteers only cost two or three hundred euros each time. “Unfortunately, we can’t ask for more because the fee statute binds us to equal treatment.”
How big the trouble is with the not so small Nettelkofener weir with its 50 active members can be seen from a kind of strike action: The underpass was recently flooded again, but this time the rescuers did not pump it out, they only separated the ticket machine from the water electricity and blocked the way to the commuter car park in the west on both sides with warning tape. That’s it. “The next rain clouds were already in the sky anyway,” says Mende, “and water was already clearly visibly flowing into the underpass. So: pumping is pointless.”
The district fire council recommended to colleagues to let the situation escalate
Striking firefighters? A behavior for which the district fire council has more than sympathy: “When the problems are as blatant as in Nettelkofen, you just feel exploited – and that’s very frustrating, especially for volunteers,” says Heiss. He also expressly advised his colleagues to let the situation escalate in this way, after all there was no imminent danger from the floods. “You just have to increase the potential for complaints from rail customers in the hope that something will finally happen.”
“We regret that there have been restrictions on travelers. We also regret if the FFW was displeased in this regard,” writes a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn. Unfortunately, heavy rainfall is also often a challenge for the DB systems. “We are therefore in the process of inspecting the existing systems and looking for optimization options.”
Mende and his team will also be happy to hear that. “It would be so easy,” he says. You could make an appointment with everyone involved, look at the problems together and look for long-term solutions.” At least the fire brigade from Nettelkofen would be there at any time.
By the way: In the event of acute restrictions or problems with railway systems such as elevators, Deutsche Bahn asks you to contact the “3-S-Zentrale” on (089) 13081055. This is available around the clock and “will immediately take care of the repair of the damage”.