Up to the Brocken, the Harz narrow-gauge railways waste a lot of hard coal every year. They too have been severely affected by the energy crisis.
Wernigerode (dpa/sa) - The Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH (HSB) is groaning under the increased energy prices. A majority of the steam locomotives are operated with hard coal, said a spokesman for the HSB. Although the required quantities are secured, the price of the coal has risen extremely. “In some cases by more than 100 percent within this year,” said the spokesman.
According to the HSB, the normally used hard coal from Upper Silesia is no longer available because Poland is currently only producing for its own use. As a result, everyone who had previously drawn from Polish sources fell behind. Now the coal comes from South America or Kazakhstan, which generates significantly higher transport costs due to the longer freight route.
Another problem is the specific requirements for the charcoal. The charcoal needs a certain grain size. At HSB, they work with pieces of coal six to eight centimeters in diameter, the spokesman explained. Less and less of this grain is produced because there are fewer and fewer steam locomotives in the world.
Around 6,000 tons of hard coal went into the oven at HSB in a normal year, the spokesman said. A ton of hard coal currently costs over 600 euros, a year ago the price was around 300 euros. A "huge difference," said the HSB spokesman. Alternative energy sources have already been tested, but it will take some time before they can be used. Sometimes there were still no answers to important technical questions regarding implementation.
In addition to the increased costs, HSB is also suffering from consumer restraint. There are fewer leisure trips, the spokesman said. People tended to spend less and save.
With around 140 kilometers in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, HSB operates the longest contiguous narrow-gauge network in Germany. The track is exactly one meter wide. The company's 25 steam locomotives, of which up to ten are in service at the same time, are one of the most well-known tourist attractions in the Harz Mountains.
