Suche
Mein Konto
Sweating on the train: Air conditioning failure hits ODEG passengers hard!
Parchim: Technical defects in ODEG trains lead to overheated air conditioning systems and reduced travel comfort in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Sweating on the train: Air conditioning failure hits ODEG passengers hard!
Summer time and the first heat wave of the year are causing difficulties in train traffic in northern Germany. On Sunday there were massive air conditioning failures in several ODEG trains, which particularly affected passengers on the Regional Express 8 from Berlin to Wismar. Loud NDR The reason for the failure was a technical defect, which manifested itself in overheated transformers that could not provide enough power for cooling. The affected trains were extremely crowded with almost 660 standing room and 430 seats.
The Regional Express 8 took over three hours to travel to Wismar - an exceptional situation that was not only due to the summer temperatures, but also to the overload of local public transport in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where there have been major restrictions since the start of the holidays. According to its own information, the ODEG has already started looking for solutions to improve the climatic conditions for travelers in the coming months.
Evacuations in other regions
The problems are not just limited to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Berlin, over 1,200 passengers had to be evacuated on a regional express that same evening. Technical defects in the brakes meant that the train stopped in Wuhlheide and the passengers had to endure an hour without air conditioning. This brought local rescue workers to the scene as there were indications of people collapsing. Fortunately, there were no injuries and a quick solution was found. The World reported firefighters and federal police officers who helped with the evacuation.
Rail transport in Germany is increasingly facing problems that not only have technical causes, but are also significantly influenced by climatic changes. According to the Federal Environment Agency, numerous weather-related disruptions have been identified in recent years. Extreme weather events such as heat, heavy rain and storms have significant impacts on rail infrastructure and passenger transport. data of Federal Environment Agency show that such disruptions occur particularly frequently in mid-summer months and during winter periods without snow or ice.
Faced with these challenges, the rail transport sector is implementing various measures to address climate risks. This includes technical solutions and adapted vegetation management to better protect the rail infrastructure from weather influences. Still, it remains to be seen how well these measures will work as temperatures continue to rise and extreme weather events increase.
It will be exciting to see whether ODEG can find timely measures to prevent future air conditioning failures. Travelers are certainly hoping for a cool head and a pleasant journey in this summer heat.