The rail disruptions following heavy snowfall and low temperatures in the north and northwest of Europe have not yet subsided. Weather conditions continue to mount a challenge to transport operations. The end is not yet in sight.
Rail operator METRANS reported a persistently difficult operational situation in ports in the region. The company points to extreme frost and over 20 centimetres of snow as the underlying causes for disruptions in the north of Germany.
In the Port of Hamburg, operations were suspended as of the early morning on 9 January. METRANS says that the situation is similar in Gdańsk, Rotterdam and Wilhelmshaven. “The current outlook is very negative, and it is expected that there will be no improvement before the first half of next week. Individual infrastructure providers are constantly bringing more bad news.”
Deutsche Bahn states that weather-related cancellations and delays are taking place across northern Germany. Some lines may unfortunately have to be suspended entirely, according to the rail holding. In parts of Poland, the situation seems to be similar, with trains occasionally running into problems and causing delays.
Hindrances continue in the Netherlands despite thawing
Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail says that a malfunction at the important Kijfhoek rail yard, near Rotterdam, is continuing to disrupt rail freight services. Despite the thawing in the Rotterdam area, companies still cannot operate on a normal schedule.
“We’re experiencing significant disruption due to the rail restrictions”, DB Cargo Netherlands spokesperson Jelle Rebbers told ProRail. “Many switches we need to reach customers are stuck. This means customers can’t be reached for extended periods. Factories can literally grind to a halt. The weather is thawing now, and more and more is becoming available.”
Rebbers says that DB Cargo is “significantly behind and will need to do a lot more work in the coming period to catch up. Moreover, a lot of snow is forecast for the coming days, so we’re not there yet.”
Earlier, Hupac operational director Mark Jansen told RailFreight.com that the biggest challenge once traffic restarts will be for the border crossings. It remains to be seen if coordination between ProRail and DB InfraGO is sufficient to handle the incoming backlog clearances.
