Significantly bad weather conditions in Czechia are having quite the impact on rail freight traffic in the country, especially in the northeast. “The situation is rather bad. In the Ostrava junction, a station is under water and according to our transport minister, it may take even a week before everything there returns to normal”, said Petr Jindra, International Affairs Specialist at ČD Cargo.

The Czech rail freight operator underlined that traffic is interrupted from Studénka to Bohumín and Dětmarovice, and in the areas of Opava, Krnov, Paskov and Frýdek-Místek. Moreover, there are further disruptions on the lines in the Jeseníky Mountains. “ČD Cargo has activated a crisis awareness plan and is in continuous contact with the crisis staff of the infrastructure manager Správa železnic”, the company explained. The problems do not only concern rail freight, as passenger services are affected too, as Jindra pointed out.

A new normal?

Czechia is not the only European country currently dealing with heavy rain, strong winds and floods that are affecting rail freight traffic. In Austria, for example, rail freight traffic has been reduced to the bare minimum with various routes being closed due to extreme weather conditions. The question of whether weather-caused disruptions will become somewhat of a new normality during European summers persists. Last year, for example, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and Norway also had to deal with similar issues.