Users of the Black Forest Railway are delighted: According to the timetable, train traffic on the winding route is now running faster again. However, the railway makes it clear: buses continue to run on one part of the route – and it therefore takes longer.
Offenburg (dpa / lsw) – There is a serious error in the travel information for the Black Forest Railway between Karlsruhe and Konstanz: Connections are shown as continuous and therefore comparatively fast in the time information, although buses still operate as a train replacement on part of the route. This means that travelers usually have to plan significantly more time than stated in the travel information. Deutsche Bahn confirmed the error on Tuesday in Stuttgart when asked by dpa and promised to update the timetables on (tomorrow) Wednesday.
“We’re sorry,” said a spokeswoman. The DB Navigator app and the timetable information on the Deutsche Bahn website are affected. The railway announced in mid-August that by the end of the month the Black Forest Railway would be able to run through again without interruption. So far, however, there is no specific date for the reopening of the entire railway line, as the spokeswoman said. Test results still need to be available. Previously there had been track work.
In the timetables, which turned out to be incorrect, a journey time of one hour and 15 minutes is given for a journey on the Black Forest Railway from Offenburg to Donaueschingen on Tuesday. “0 transfers” are necessary.
Because of the bus ride on part of the route and the sometimes long transfer times, the journey takes around an hour longer, according to earlier information. In the current timetables, the replacement bus service is only indicated in an extra window (“Important information in the connection details”).
During regular inspections of the double-decker vehicles, the railways had noticed increased wear on the wheels. The route through the Black Forest is full of curves. Since the end of June, passengers between Hausach (Ortenaukreis) and St. Georgen (Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis) have had to change buses. This significantly increases the travel time. The Black Forest Railway is also popular with tourists and users of the 9-euro ticket.
