Plochingen (dpa / lsw) - According to the FDP politician Michael Theurer, the priority given to energy transport by rail has not led to any railway chaos so far. Due to priority regulations in the network of energy corridors ("EnKo"), other train journeys were only slightly delayed. "Although the trains of the EnKo network are given priority in the allocation of train paths and in operation, no other train has had to be canceled in favor of an EnKo train," says Theurer, who is also the Federal Government Commissioner for Rail Transport, on Wednesday in Plochingen (district Esslingen).
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine also resulted in significant changes in the German energy system. Because power plants that were previously operated with gas have to convert their supply to coal or mineral oil. To ensure that these additional transports on the already heavily used rail network reach their destination on time and the energy supply is secured, they are temporarily given priority.
Theurer accompanied a train delivering coal for a power plant in the greater Stuttgart area. A single train can transport around 2,800 tons of coal, said the FDP politician. "One or two freight trains a day are enough to supply a large coal-fired power plant like the one in Altbach with the hard coal it needs to operate."
According to its own information, Deutsche Bahn is the largest supplier of hard coal on the rails in Europe. In Baden-Württemberg, DB Cargo supplies the large power plants in Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Altbach (Neckar).
