RE 8 from Cologne to Koblenz will be canceled for weeks from mid-August – SWR Aktuell
It’s a blow for everyone who commutes from Koblenz to Cologne with the RE 8: From mid-August, the regional express will be canceled for a month – because Deutsche Bahn has personnel problems.
The basic problem is the high level of sick leave at DB Regio NRW, according to a statement by Deutsche Bahn. This leads to restrictions in train traffic. The many construction sites would also tie up staff. That is why DB Regio NRW is running a limited summer timetable with around 95 percent of the regular offer up to and including September 18.
Rail customers from RLP also use the regional express RE 8
Among other things, the line of the Regional Express RE 8, die accordingly from August 15. For rail customers from the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, this means that they can no longer travel from Cologne to Koblenz with this fast local train. You can change to the RB 27, which also runs on the right bank of the Rhine – but it is much slower.
Personnel problems have long been known at the North Rail Transport Association (SPNV) in Koblenz. The SPNV is one of the associations on whose behalf the RE 8 drives. Association director Thorsten Müller told Südwestrundfunk that despite numerous complaints, DB Regio NRW had not improved the personnel situation for months. “We are there – like the passengers – pretty pissed off.”
Problems with the RB 27 and RB 28, among others
Problems have also been praying for a long time on the Line RB 27 from Mönchengladbach via Cologne and Bonn to Linz, Neuwied and Koblenz and on line RB 28, which currently commutes between Neuwied and Niederlahnstein. The SPNV is therefore urging the railways to quickly provide the services again for which the special purpose association is paying them.
However, there are various reasons for the problems of the railways, which are currently mutually reinforcing: In addition to the high number of corona sick leave and the overloading of employees with the 9-euro ticket, there are also the many construction sites in the Rhine Valley. “Everything bad about the general conditions comes together in the valley and leads to considerable disruption,” says SPNV Association Director Müller.