Schwerin (dpa / mv) - The train continues to run a reduced local transport service in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On the Wismar-Schwerin-Ludwigslust route, nine connections a day will be canceled this week, as the railway company announced. The cancellations are therefore initially valid until Friday. There have been significant train cancellations on the route since July.
What is new is the failure of two connections between Schwerin and Rostock - one in the morning and one in the afternoon, also initially until Friday. The failures of seven daily connections between Stralsund and Greifswald were initially extended until Friday. Between Pasewalk and Ueckermünde-Stadthafen, six trains a day are canceled until Sunday - there is a replacement bus service there. The procedure is justified with an increased sick leave among the drivers.
The passenger association Pro Bahn criticized the ongoing reduction in the range of services offered by DB Regio in local transport in the country. The deletions were coordinated with the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania transport company (VMV) and thus with the state, said the state chairman of Pro Bahn, Marcel Drews. He sees this as a disadvantage for rural areas.
While the hourly service is being abandoned for large parts of the day on the affected routes, the S-Bahn in Rostock, which is also operated by DB Regio, continues to run every 7.5 minutes during peak hours. If the frequency there were extended to 10 minutes - which will come in the afternoon from December 2024 anyway - it would be less important for users than if suddenly a train only ran every two hours in rural areas.
"It's annoying for affected commuters who rely on the trains," Drews said. If local transport in a region does not work properly for a long time, as is currently the case on some routes in MV, commuters switch to cars. Experience has shown that they are then lost for local public transport for the time being.
