Weather
Snow and ice paralyze rail traffic in Bavaria
Snow and ice cause traffic chaos in Bavaria. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Passengers have to spend the night on trains, railway lines are closed: heavy snowfall is causing chaos in the south of Bavaria. The situation on the streets is hardly better. The weather forecast: Lots of snow still.
There is snow and ice in the south Bavaria caused chaos on the streets and on the railways. Numerous railway lines around the state capital Munich had to be closed on Saturday night, as Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced. Train traffic to and from Munich main station was initially suspended. In Ulm and Munich, passengers had to spend the night on trains.
Subways, buses and trams also initially stopped running in the Bavarian capital. There were numerous accidents on the roads in southern Bavaria – according to the police, most of them resulted in property damage. According to the German Weather Service, the weather will remain wintry for the time being. Snowfall, sometimes heavy, is expected in the south and southeast until the afternoon.
Police on constant duty
The police in Upper Bavaria South urged the population to stay at home. The police, rescue services, fire brigade and clearance services are in constant operation. Many smaller roads outside of towns are heavily snowed or blocked by fallen trees. The removal of traffic obstacles will last at least until late morning. Train traffic is severely restricted due to fallen trees and overhead lines. Anyone who has a breakdown or accident can expect delays in getting help.
Between Munich-Pasing and Fürstenfeldbruck, between Tutzing (Starnberg district) and Weilheim in Upper Bavaria and between Neukirchen and Vilseck (both Amberg-Sulzbach district), trains had to stop at the stations because of fallen trees. Rail replacement services cannot be offered due to the weather-related situation on the roads, it said. Delays and train cancellations must be expected.
As a dpa reporter reported, a train coming from Stuttgart had to be converted into an overnight train at Ulm main station in the early hours of the morning. Deutsche Bahn also provided a train for stranded passengers at Munich Central Station. According to a DB spokeswoman, it was initially unclear how many trains had to cancel their journeys for the time being.
Minor accidents on the roads
The police in the Free State reported numerous minor accidents on the roads. In Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Middle Franconia and Swabia, however, there were mainly sheet metal damage and minor injuries. In Swabia in particular, roads initially had to be closed due to fallen trees. A truck overturned on Autobahn 8 near Weyarn (Miesbach district) for reasons that are still unclear.
On Friday, more than 150 take-offs and landings at Munich Airport were canceled due to the weather. The reasons for this were snowfall and low temperatures at the airport, said a spokesman.
Up to 40 centimeters of fresh snow in the Allgäu
There was also a lot of snowfall in Baden-Württemberg. Near Stuttgart, the fresh snow caused trees to fall, the police reported. In the town of Vaihingen near Stuttgart, parts of a tree fell onto a power line. In the other federal states it was mostly freezing cold, but no accidents were reported. Hamburg reported five centimeters of fresh snow. The clearing vehicles are in use, it was said.
According to the German Weather Service, the highest amounts of new snow are expected in the Allgäu region with 30 to 40 centimeters by Saturday afternoon. Amounts of fresh snow of ten centimeters are possible in Saxony. In addition, frequent snow showers are expected on the North and Baltic Sea coasts and in the adjacent inland areas, which will spread to the northern low mountain ranges over the course of the day. Light permanent frost is expected throughout the day. Only along the Rhine and in the Emsland as well as directly by the sea will it remain temporarily frost-free in some places.
On Sunday night, severe frost with lows of between minus 10 and minus 15 degrees can be expected, especially in Schleswig-Holstein and the southwestern mountains, it said.