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EURO 2024

‘Welcome to Germany’: Euro 2024 travel chaos raises questions about German efficiency

Travel chaos following the England vs. Serbia match on Sunday night left fans questioning Germany's reputation for punctual trains and buses. Are German cities adequately prepared for Euro 2024?

Published: 18 June 2024 14:35 CEST
England fans in Gelsenkirchen Arena
England fans celebrate victory at the end of the UEFA Euro 2024 football match between Serbia and England shortly before getting stuck in the local train stations in Gelsenkirchen. Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP

Local stations were overcrowded for hours after the Euro 2024 England vs. Serbia game in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night.

Match attendees took to social media to complain about being left to wait for up to three hours after the final whistle for a train back to the city centre.

In the lead-up to the game there had been concerns about potential fan violence, with German authorities even taking the precautionary measure of ensuring that weaker beer would be served. There were also rumours that local police had encouraged fans to smoke cannabis rather than drink.

But in the end, it was travel chaos that soured the post-game mood on Sunday night, and sparked a debate on why host cities for sporting events regularly fail to prepare for the massive crowds that they should expect.

Some international visitors would have been familiar with Germany’s reputation for having highly punctual trains and buses. But local residents know that Germany’s national rail operator, Deutsch Bahn, has been criticised for having a high rate of late or cancelled trains for many years.

The myth of German efficiency

A video shared on social media platform X showed hundreds of fans still waiting to catch a train three hours after the match ended.

Top comments on the clip tended to be rather disparaging of Germany’s public transportation. “Welcome to Germany”, was among the most liked comments.

A Tagesspiegel reporter who attended the game was among the crowd. In a write-up about the event he asked, “Why could a stadium that usually receives 60,000 people every two weeks suddenly not be able to deal with such crowds? Why was a game that didn’t start until 9 pm and was classified as a ‘high-risk game’ awarded at this location at all?”

He also noted that transportation capacity issues really began before the match, with many fans forced to walk more than six kilometres to the arena due to a lack of trains and buses.

The English fan alliance FSA also voiced clear criticism following the game: “We are dismayed by what the fans had to go through,” it said in a statement. The reaction of the authorities points to “a complacency that does not meet the requirements”. 

Can German transport handle Euro 2024 crowds?

Some are wondering if Germany’s transportation infrastructure is prepared for Euro 2024, or if more events like that seen in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night will be seen throughout the tournament.

At the end of April, Deutsche Bahn announced plans to increase capacity on its regional trains this summer. Even without an international football championship, local trains had been severely overcrowded is some regions, especially during the summer months.

At that time, Evelyn Palla, Deutsche Bahn board member and DB Regio CEO had said that she didn’t think regional train congestion would be made worse by Euro 2024.

But local transport companies hit back at claims that they had failed to meet their responsibilities for taking fans to and from the matches.

“Social media is a snapshot that only gives a limited picture,” local transportation company Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen AG (Bogestra) told DPA. “We made a good effort with the capacities we had available.”

The spokesman added that Bogestra had been running trams with twice the usual capacity and numerous buses that were permanently in use. There were also extra trains in the direction of Essen Central Station.

Additionally a spokesman for the board of the region’s biggest transportation provider, Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), said on Monday in Düsseldorf that the transport companies had “done a great job”.

But those forced to wait for hours on a rainy evening saw it differently. Fans noted that the fan zone was opened too late on Sunday, the shuttle buses were too late, and the transport from the fan zone to the stadium was “chaotic”, according to reporting by DPA. 

Some raised concerns around accessibility, noting that the stops designed for accessibility were not announced and were therefore missed by people with disabilities.

READ ALSO: Where are the fan zones for Euro 2024 in Germany?

Of course not every disruption can be blamed on match organisers or the transport companies. Fans had also increased traffic in at least one incident by pulling the emergency brake.

There was also one vehicle found to be defective on arrival that had to be taken off the track. 

Regarding the overall composure of the crowd, however, police reported no serious problems due to fans’ “level-headed behaviour”.

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EURO 2024

Can Euro 2024 be judged a success so far?

As the group stage of Euro 2024 reaches its halfway stage the tournament has for the most part run smoothly but from transport issues to outbreaks of violence it hasn't been plain sailing.

Published: 26 June 2024 15:22 CEST
Can Euro 2024 be judged a success so far?

As Euro 2024 reaches the half way mark with the knock-out rounds to come the tournament has run fairly smoothly, but has not been without troubling incidents from flare ups of violence and severe transport issues for fans.

The Local considers the issues the tournament has had and what Germany has done to solve the problems.

Flare ups of violence and hooliganism 

Overall the tournament has been largely trouble free especially when compared to previous European football tournaments. We are a long way from the dark days of Euro 2000 and even Euro 2016, which were both hit by major outbreaks of trouble.

But there have been flare ups, most recently on Tuesday in Munich ahead of the Denmark vs Serbia match.

As thousands of Serbia fans gathered at Marienplatz there were clashes with police with bottles and chairs thrown in the direction of officers. Seven fans were arrested and several officers were injured. Images of the clashes were posted on social media.

There have been other clashes too, notably a huge brawl involving Serbia and England fans before their opening clash in Gelsenkirchen. There were also clashes between Turkey and Georgia fans inside the stadium during their Group F match.

But there were fears of a lot worse in the run up to the tournament, with German police openly admitting they had no idea how England fans would behave and how many Serbian hooligans would travel to the country.

Ap News, for example, wrote that “a recent surge in violence around football games is contributing to concerns over security when Germany hosts the European Championship.”

But German interior minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) insisted that police and security forces were ready for “all imaginable dangers”, adding that 22,000 officers would be on duty every day during the tournament.

German police have been working with foreign police forces to communicate about threats, particularly ahead of high-risk matches.

It appears that police efforts are by and large working to prevent any outbreaks of mass violence.

Cities overrun by fans and travel chaos

For those who don’t follow football or enjoy joining in the fanfare, among the more pressing issues with Euro 2024 is that German cities are overrun with fans.

With match games happening in ten cities around the country, and matches being broadcast on TVs from what feels like every bar and corner store in the country, the tournament is impossible to ignore. But not everyone is happy about it.

A survey by the opinion research institute Civey found that roughly half of Berlin residents are annoyed by the closure of Straße des 17. Juni for the city’s “fan mile”, which is the country’s largest fan zone. The fanzone will remain in place until July 25th.

READ ALSO: Where are the fan zones for Euro 2024 in Germany?

Outside of fan zones, residents have noticed congestion on city streets and packed public transport on match days in some areas.

As would be expected, virtually everything – from Deutsche Bahn trains to local pubs – is operating at a higher capacity with 2.7 million fans from abroad visiting Germany this month.

In particular, public transport in Gelsenkirchen has proven to be a hotspot for travel chaos following matches. The issue was initially reported after the England vs. Serbia match, when crowds of fans were left waiting for trains for hours after the game ended.

READ ALSO: ‘Welcome to Germany’ – Euro 2024 travel chaos raises questions about German efficiency

Perhaps bizarrely representatives from local transport companies brushed off any criticism, suggesting that trains and buses were running effectively, but similar issues were seen again after the Spain vs. Italy match a few days later.

England fans might understandably fear returning to Gelsenkirchen for their last 16 match on Sunday.

It’s not all bad – in fact, for many it’s all good

Even among those who don’t tap into the football frenzy, the championship and all the events and tourists it brings, do offer a chance for local German residents to meet an interesting mix of European visitors.

Among some of the touching highlights so far were Germany falling in love with Scottish fans and Turkish immigrants celebrating their home country’s victory across the country.

Despite the aforementioned challenges, the overall experience of Euro 2024 has so far been positive off the pitch (perhaps apart from for Scotland and England fans).

With the big matches yet to come the hope the stakes will be raised both on and off the pitch.

READ ALSO: How (and where) to watch Euro 2024 games in Germany this week

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