A temporary bridge over the River Hunte at Elsfleth in Lower Saxony opened on April 29, two months after an accident closed the existing structure. A Dutch cargo ship collided with the original bridge on February 25 and damaged it beyond repair, closing the railway and preventing large vessels accessing the port of Oldenburg.
The interim bridge has a single electrified track and freight trains on the Oldenburg – Nordenham line restarted immediately, with passenger services operated by North West Railway (NWB) following on May 1.
The closure of the railway left rolling stock stranded north of the bridge and during March five locomotives were moved to the port in Brake where they were transported by ship to Bremen so that they could rejoin the rail network.
The temporary bridge is expected to be in use for up to six years until the opening of permanent replacement, which was already planned before the accident. Until then the upstream port of Oldenburg is effectively closed to North Sea shipping.
The swift reopening of the railway contrasts with the lengthy hiatus in rail traffic over the nearby Friesen bridge, also in Lower Saxony, on the Leer – Groningen line, which was badly damaged by a ship in December 2015. The bridge remains closed to rail traffic, with replacement buses operating instead of passenger trains. A new swing bridge is currently under construction and is due to open in December.
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