The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, had to wait with around 200 other passengers for several hours on the free route in a broken down ICE. A technical defect meant that the ICE 1675 in the direction of Frankfurt near Hamburg could not continue on Monday, a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn said in the morning.
First, the vehicle should be pulled away with the help of an auxiliary locomotive, but this did not work. The approximately 200 passengers had to wait around four hours before they could change to a replacement train with the help of the fire brigade. Many reacted annoyed, as a dpa reporter reported.
The passengers were not informed about the reason for the stop during the long waiting time on the train, Müller told a dpa reporter before changing trains. He feels “a bit tired and just as annoyed as one after four hours, I think we all are”. When asked about other train breakdowns, Müller replied: “No comment. I wish Deutsche Bahn every success with their investment plans.” Among other things, the Federal Network Agency examines the conditions under which all railway companies can use the rail network.
The disruption had no effect on further operations, other trains were not affected, it was said.
