Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) – North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Transport Oliver Krischer (Greens) warned of consequences from the transport companies after the complete failures on several railway lines last weekend. “The increased levels of illness, the holiday season and the great popularity of the 9-euro ticket certainly pose great challenges for those involved,” he said on Monday in Düsseldorf. “Nevertheless, with problems like this, the impact on passengers must be kept as low as possible.”
Several S-Bahn trains in the Rhineland failed at the weekend, and DB Regio trains in the Ruhr area and Münsterland were also affected in the past few days. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, nothing was known about failures on lines from other companies. On Monday, Krischer had all railway companies and three transport authorities give him a picture of the current personnel situation, the ministry said. Problems like the last one should be defused by better communication and response times in the event of a crisis. Minimum service timetables should be prepared, bus replacement services should be used more quickly.
Krischer also warned that early and up-to-date information about failures and replacement traffic is essential. The Rhein-Ruhr transport association criticized DB Regio on Friday that they would have liked to have informed passengers earlier. One hopes “that DB Regio seeks dialogue with us in advance and does not decide and communicate on its own.”
A railway spokeswoman had apologized for the failures and referred to an exceptionally high sick leave rate of 35 percent in the control center. According to a dpa survey from the beginning of July, the other transport companies also have problems with many sick leave during the holiday season.
Krischer also sees the federal government as having an obligation: the system is not only suffering from structural problems and underfunding in NRW. He expects significantly more measures and regionalization funds.