Passenger association Pro Bahn calls for better communication

The passenger association Pro Bahn Mitteldeutschland is demanding better information for passengers in the event of disruptions to train services. In a specific case on Thursday in western Saxony, the association speaks of a "complete failure". In the afternoon, a train on the Saxony-Franconia main line in the direction of Dresden broke down shortly after Zwickau main station. "There were cancellations on the RB 30 Chemnitz - Dresden and severe delays on the RE 3 Hof - Dresden," it said.

However, the passenger information left a lot to be desired "as is so often the case". While the cancellations of the RB 30 Zwickau - Dresden and in the opposite direction were correctly marked in the information systems as "journey canceled", the RE 3 Hof - Dresden and in the opposite direction were in a state of "information chaos". Passengers at Zwickau main station were initially informed that the train was on time, but did not arrive and later disappeared from the display altogether.

"Instead, an RE 3 train towards Hof arrived on the opposite platform some time later. There were also no announcements," said Markus Haubold, Chairman of the passenger association Pro Bahn Mitteldeutschland, describing the situation. All displays on platforms 1 to 4 had been provided with a ticker stating that an emergency bus service had been set up between Zwickau and Glauchau. "However, there was no information about where and when the bus was leaving."

"Even if such a disruption poses major challenges for rail operations, passengers must not be forgotten. It is unacceptable that passengers were not provided with any informative information and had no opportunity to find out about alternatives," emphasized Haubold. Numerous similar cases had already been reported to Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn (MRB), but there had been no improvement to date. An analysis is expected from MRB and Deutsche Bahn.

A response from the MRB was not initially available.