Sangerhausen (dpa/sa) - The district administrator of the Mansfeld-Südharz district, André Schröder (CDU), has called for urgent remedy to the failures in train traffic. In an open letter to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), he wrote that confidence in a functioning and attractively designed local rail passenger transport would be massively shaken in an entire region. The background is that there are repeated cancellations of trains in the district and beyond, which also affect many commuters.
There are problems in particular on the routes between Sangerhausen - Nordhausen - Kassel and Hettstedt - Sangerhausen - Erfurt, the district administrator explained. These are not branch lines, but passenger and freight connections that reach as far as Thuringia and Hesse.
A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn said: "We very much regret that we are currently unable to offer our passengers the quality they are used to." Like many other companies, Deutsche Bahn is currently struggling with exceptionally high sick leave, including numerous corona cases. Unfortunately, even flexible and forward-looking personnel planning cannot fully compensate for short-term sick leave, especially among signal box personnel, she explained. The employees in the interlockings are highly specialized professionals.
