Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) says that the German army’s help with Deutsche Bahn’s winter operations is unnecessary. “It would have to be a major snow catastrophe to justify such an intervention” he told the Tagesspiegel. “We must make sure we can handle normal weather conditions-including a severe winter-using our own forces, ideally in motion as well”.
Railway industry spokespeople recently pointed out that in East Germany soldiers from the National People’s Army had kept tracks clear of ice and snow during tough winters. Schnieder responded by urging the Deutsche Bahn to improve its winter services, noting that the company could adjust certain procedures, preparations and infrastructure. “We’ll always encounter situations that today’s technology can’t handle as effectively as we did with heavy diesel locomotives back then” he explained.
He added that even heated switches eventually reach a limit. “Manual clearing becomes necessary, and with sudden snow blasts the workers can’t keep up”.