Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - In view of the sometimes massive disruptions, cancellations and delays on the rails, the state and transport companies are appealing to the patience of rail passengers. The reasons for the problems are many absenteeism from sick employees, construction work and heat-related material damage, the Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday in Stuttgart. With a view to the coming autumn and increasing cases of illness, additional staff will be deployed to make operations more stable. In addition, trips are to be cancelled.
"Some passengers are currently being put to a hard test of patience," said Ministerial Director Berthold Frieß. To make matters worse, there are currently more passengers than usual on the road. "It is clear to everyone that things cannot go on like this," said Frieß. For this reason, the timetable on the lines with a high level of sick leave is specifically thinned out for a maximum of two weeks. "This is how we stabilize the timetable and counteract the uncontrolled failures," said the Ministerial Director. "This makes traveling easier for passengers to plan again."
The list of particularly heavily used routes is long. According to the ministry, the Bodenseegurtbahn, the Brenzbahn and the Filstalbahn, the Gäubahn, Murrbahn, Remsbahn, Schwarzwaldbahn and the Rheintalbahn as well as the Südbahn, among others, are clearly affected. There are also several connections that are used by tourists and on which, if possible, no bicycles should be taken, especially on weekends.
