Heavy rainfall and flooding in southern Germany are causing problems with rail freight transport. Specifically, the states of Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, and Hesse are the most heavily impacted. According to Deutsche Bahn, the disturbance occurred after a motorway bridge collapsed.

‘Eberhard’, as the storm is called, caused, according to Rail Cargo Group, a partial failure of the southern German route network Tuesday 29 June. Freight trains stopped on the tracks in some routes, while others could not commence from their departure terminals.

Particular routes such as Arlberg between Austria and Germany experienced particularly intense effects from the storm. At the moment, freight trains use diversions to continue transporting goods as much as possible given the situation, while the timeframe to restore traffic is still unknown.

Disruptive weather continues

The German Weather Service (DWD) issued a warning concerning the weather of the following days. Heavy rainfall and flooding could persist, while the excess water and debris could take several days until removed. Only then will there be a full assessment of infrastructure destructions and whether disruptions will continue further.

Watch the show

In the video below, you can see what happened when the Netherlands was hit by a heavy snowstorm earlier this year. The disturbance, in this case, lasted for multiple days.

Also read:

• Code red snowstorm bends Dutch rail freight traffic
• Passenger trains move, freight trains still stuck in the Netherlands