Rail may hold the keys to climate friendly solutions in transport, but sometimes climate change hits back at the sector. This week, parts of Central and Eastern Europe were hit by heavy rainfall and subsequent floods. As companies are still examining the damage, Austrian ÖBB provides RailFreight.com with a preliminary assessment: “We cannot yet accurately quantify the damage here. But it is immense!”
Floods engulfed various parts of Central and Eastern Europe this week. Messages of rail disruptions came in from Austria, Czechia, Poland, Hungary and Romania. It is clear that the impact on rail freight is significant.
“The extreme weather conditions in large parts of Europe are also having an extreme impact on freight transport”, Austrian rail operator ÖBB says in a statement. “Major routes and corridors are currently blocked. Unfortunately, forecasts indicate that the critical situation will continue for several more days.”
Stopped traffic
Due to the floodings, many trains have ground to a halt. ÖBB says that “border crossings have stopped working. In Austria, transit trains have had to be stopped to avoid overloading the rail network or because it is not possible to continue the journey.”
“Many lines, whether industrial sidings or main lines, are flooded. Before rail traffic can resume, the tracks must undergo a complete inspection and maintenance process for safety reasons, causing further delays”, the rail operator adds.
Extent of floods damage still unclear
A spokesperson from ÖBB tells RailFreight.com that the exact extent of the damage is still unknown. The water needs to recede before that state of infrastructure can be assessed. The financial consequences are also not yet clear: “We cannot yet accurately quantify the damage here. But it is immense!”
Reports coming in from all throughout the region suggest that the damage is indeed rather significant. The Czech town of Ostrava has been cut off from the rail network entirely, and it will likely take at least a week before traffic returns to normal.
In Romania, a 5-kilometre stretch of railway was damaged and partially washed away near Moldova. Traffic in various parts of the country was suspended or severely limited at 20 to 30 kilometres an hour. Lastly, a part of PKP Cargo’s locomotive fleet was flooded in the southern Polish region of Silesia. Freightliner Poland published a map indicating the many rail lines affected by the floods on LinkedIn.
Might be affecting China Europe freight traffic as that also comes via Poland in most cases. Could be some significant delays across the Central European network.