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Rail travel chaos looms in Germany’s most populous state

Construction works and staff sickness mean rail passengers in North Rhine-Westphalia are in for a difficult few weeks. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 21 November 2022 16:31 CET
A regional express train enters Cologne central station.
A regional express train enters Cologne central station. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg

Two major construction projects in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia are about to give a lot of rail passengers a hard time in the coming weeks.

This week, 3.8 kilometres of track between Dortmund and Bochum will be renewed, with construction works due to begin at 9pm on Monday 21st and ending on Thursday morning at 5am.

In the meantime, the National Express (RRX) trains on the RE6, RE1 and RE11 lines will have to be rerouted from Dortmund and the stops at Bochum central station, Essen central station and Mülheim central station will be cancelled. The trains will be diverted between Dortmund and Duisburg via Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Essen Altenessen and Oberhausen.

READ ALSO: UPDATE: How a cargo train collision is disrupting travel across Germany

A modernisation project at the Cologne Messe/Deutz station has been causing numerous cancellations in the greater Cologne area too since November 18th and is set to continue until December 12th.

Eight new switches and 100 sleepers are being installed at the Cologne Messe/Deutz station in several construction phases, which will result in train cancellations, skipped stops and several detours, which in turn may lead to delays.

“The effects will vary depending on the construction phase and the line,” explains Deutsche Bahn, and the only thing that is certain is that almost all lines that run in Cologne will be affected. 

A full overview of the current restrictions affecting these lines can be found here (in German).

Restrictions due to staff shortages

As well as construction projects, staff shortages due to illness are also leading to delays and reduced services in NRW.

Deutsche Bahn and the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR) have announced various restrictions on local transport until Christmas, due to “high sick leave” among the employees of the rail operator.

A sign for rail replacement services hangs at the train station in Rösrath, North Rhine-Westphalia. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg

“Of course, we first tried to solve it in other ways, i.e. with overtime or even getting people to come back from holiday, but at some point, we reached the end of the line,” DB spokesman for NRW, Dirk Pohlmann, told RP online. 

The situation meant that recently, trains were being cancelled at very short notice, so, instead, VRR reached an agreement with DB to reduce services on some lines in order to ensure reliable service on others.

READ ALSO: What are my rights if a train is delayed or cancelled in Germany?

As a result, the S3 is currently cancelled between Essen Steele Ost and Oberhausen, the S68 service between Langenfeld and Wuppertal-Vohwinkel is also cancelled and there is a slightly limited service on the RB 32 (Duisburg – Oberhausen – Gelsenkirchen – Herne-Dortmund) and RB 40 (Essen via Witten to Hagen) lines. 

DB has set up a rail replacement service with buses for the S3 and the RB 32.

“As with almost all companies in Germany, the level of sickness among our employees is currently high. Due to the tight staff situation at DB Regio NRW, there will therefore be minor regional restrictions on train services from Monday, November 21st, up to and including December 23rd,” Deutsche Bahn announced. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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