What to watch out for in NRW

1. 24RHEIN
2. life in the west
3. Traffic

Created: 12/24/2022, 1:25 p.m

Von: Jonah Reule

Many people are out and about over the Christmas holidays. Full trains and traffic jams on the motorway are part of it. Tips so that it still works on time.

Cologne – vacation and on the way to the family or in the Christmas holidays? “Driving home for christmas” is on in the car and you stand by the car more than you drive. This scenario threatens motorists in NRW around Christmas 2022. If you don’t want to be stuck in traffic, you should start early. With tips from the ADAC, motorists should now be able to avoid traffic jams on the way to the presents. Also by bus, train and at Airports in North Rhine-Westphalia there are a few things to consider.

Christmas holidays 2022: ADAC expects full streets

If you are traveling by car, you have to plan more time for the trip to your family in the run-up to the holidays. It can get crowded until Friday evening, but also on Saturday morning. It gets tight in places where construction is going on. Disabilities must also be expected in the cities, according to the ADAC.

ADAC traffic expert Prof. Dr. Roman Suthold advises motorists to start early on Christmas Eve: “Drivers who drive to their family over Christmas arrive at their destination much more relaxed and faster on Saturday morning than on Friday”.

ADAC expects quieter roads between Saturday 24 December and towards the end of the Christmas holidays. In the course of the second day of Christmas, the streets could get a little crowded again from the afternoon, as the first people then start their journey home, according to the ADAC. However, the ADAC does not expect the roads to be fuller until around the New Year and at the end of the holidays.

Busy streets: where in NRW should traffic jams be expected around Christmas?

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the ADAC also expects full streets around the holidays. Longer traffic jams can be expected on the freeways. The ADAC explained that the greatest potential for congestion is on the A1, A2, A3, A40, A43 motorways and on the Cologne Autonahnring. Specifically, there could be more traffic jams in the following sections of the motorway:

ADAC traffic jam warning for NRW:

• Motorway A1: sections between Köln, Dortmund and Münster
• Autobahn A2: Between Dortmund and Bielefeld
• A3 motorway: Between Cologne and Frankfurt am Main
• A40 Motorway: Between Duisburg and Dortmund
• A43 Motorway: Between Wuppertal and Recklinghausen
• On the Cologne ring road between the A1, A3 and A4 junctions

To be informed about the current traffic jam situation, drivers can use the ADAC route planner to use. According to the ADAC, all traffic jam warnings can be called up there. An ADAC spokeswoman also advised motorists to find out where construction sites are before driving: “Then you know what to expect”. It makes sense to keep an eye on the traffic situation and to drive “anti-cyclically”, she emphasized.

ADAC: Overview of the nationwide traffic jams

Motorists driving from NRW to other parts of Germany should keep an eye on the traffic jams along their route in addition to the situation in NRW, according to the ADAC. According to an overview by the ADAC, traffic jams could increase, especially on the motorways in southern Germany. Traffic jams can also occur in northern Germany. An overview of the most likely traffic jams in Germany:

According to the ADAC, motorists don’t have to expect as much time wasted due to construction sites in winter. The A7 autobahn between Hanover and Hamburg is free again, and there are no longer any construction sites there. However, according to the ADAC, there are still many bottlenecks, especially on the A1 between Osnabrück and Bremen and the A7 south of Hanover. where Construction sites on the autobahns in NRW and in the other federal states can be viewed online at the ADAC.

Christmas 2022: Full trains threaten on the railways – 80 special trains on the holidays

In rail traffic, there is a risk of heavily loaded trains and delays around Christmas. On December 22nd and 23rd alone, more than half a million people were already on the trains, she said Deutsche Bahn (DB) with. It is not yet possible to estimate how many travelers will be traveling by train over the festive period. This is due to many short-term travel bookings, according to DB.

“In order to absorb the high number of passengers, Deutsche Bahn will be using 80 additional trains on the high-demand connections by January 2, 2023,” a railway spokesman told 24RHEIN. The special trains offer 40,000 additional seats. The trains can be booked online and DB Navigator normally. In addition, over 800 new employees will be deployed on the trains by Christmas, the spokesman continued.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, travelers between Cologne, Düsseldorf and Berlin. In regional traffic, on the other hand, there will be no or significantly fewer trains on some lines until the end of January due to a high level of sick leave among railway employees. Passengers should switch to buses or other train connections there.

Passenger association expects delays on the rails

Deutsche Bahn emphasized that Christmas travel has largely gone smoothly so far. One is well prepared for the holidays, according to the railway. Despite the special trains used, the passenger association per train fears delays on the train. “Of course, additional trains were used and that will also relieve rail traffic,” emphasized association head Detflef Neuß to SWR. “But it will also put additional strain on the network with the many construction sites that we have at the moment,” Neuss continued. Delays are therefore to be expected.

Traveling by train: What Deutsche Bahn recommends to travelers

To ensure that travelers do not experience any inconvenience, Deutsche Bahn provides tips for rail travel. “Passengers should definitely use the DB Navigator to find out about the occupancy of the trains before booking,” said a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn in an interview with 24RHEIN. In addition, all travelers are advised to reserve seats. Full trains are expected, the spokesman continued.

For less chaos at North Rhine-Westphalia’s airports – the federal police use more staff for controls

In order to counteract the impending chaos at North Rhine-Westphalia’s airports, the federal police are taking action Dusseldorf Airport and on Cologne/Bonn Airport more staff. This is to avoid long queues at security checks, said the federal police.

600,000 passengers are expected in Düsseldorf during the Christmas holidays. 290,000 passengers are expected at Cologne/Bonn Airport. This means that significantly fewer people are out and about than in the summer or autumn holidays, when queues of several hundred meters in front of the security checkpoints formed in Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn. The Verdi union criticized that there were still too few security personnel available. Verdi speaker Özay Tarim described the waiting times at Cologne/Bonn Airport and Düsseldorf Airport as “massive image damage”. (jr/dpa) Fair and independent information about what is happening in NRW and Cologne – here is our free one 24RHEIN-Newsletter subscribe to.