Due to a signal box malfunction, there have been delays and cancellations in train services in the greater Munich area since Saturday morning. Travelers will have to prepare for delays until at least Sunday afternoon, Deutsche Bahn said. Cables were accidentally cut during construction work, which led to a signal box malfunction in the southwest of Munich.
On Saturday, sometimes chaotic scenes took place at Pasinger train station. The travelers were only given sparse information because the display boards didn’t work and there were no announcements. Passengers walked back and forth in the station tunnel, and in some S-Bahn trains passengers sat for a long time, only to find out that nothing was working. Only a few young men in orange high-visibility vests tried to bring order to the chaos, but at first they didn’t know what was going on.
Large-capacity rail replacement taxis (SEVs) ran from the north side of the station at long intervals, but not nearly enough for the amount of people. Dozens of S-Bahn passengers who were unable to attend and wanted to go hiking were waiting, as were people who had to go to work or wanted to look after relatives.
Since the SEV taxis commuted from Pasing to the final stops, people hardly had a chance to get on at the intermediate stops – the taxis arrived already full. Carpools of people with urgent appointments spontaneously formed, sharing taxis and paying for them themselves, in the hope that the railway would reimburse the costs.
The disruption also continues on Sunday. The S 8 line only runs between the airport and Ostbahnhof. According to the DB, there are still no S-Bahn trains running between Pasing and Herrsching; the SEV with taxis between Pasing and Herrsching continues. The S2 line did not run between Heimeranplatz and Dachau on Saturday; the northern outer branch between Allach and Petershausen/Altomünster was put back into operation on Sunday. The SEV with taxis between Heimeranplatz and Allach also stops in Laim.
In any case, the main route is closed at the weekend due to construction work, lines S4 and S6 run every 20 minutes according to the construction timetable. According to Deutsche Bahn, traffic has already returned to normal on the other S-Bahn lines in the Munich area. “Our employees are working hard to resolve the disruption,” assures the railway. Customers should plan more time and log into DB Navigator before starting their journey bahn.de and at the S-Bahn inform.
