coal and oil will take priority over passengers for trains
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“It is not an easy decision to make, because it means, in the event of tension, that other trains will have to wait”, recognized the German Minister of Transport.
Rail convoys delivering coal and oil through theGermany will now have priority over passenger trains, in order to guarantee the energy supply of the country plunged into uncertainty by the drop in deliveries of Russian gas, the government decided on Wednesday. “To guarantee supply, energy transport will temporarily have priority on the rails“, announced the Ministry of the Economy at the end of the Council of Ministers.
“This is not an easy decision to make, as it means that in the event of tension, other trains will have to wait“, admitted for his part the Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing. But “rail is already in full use, so if additional energy transport is needed, we need to prioritize it“, he added. In concrete terms, the rail network manager DB Netz will have toadapt the conditions of use of the rail network to prioritize the transport of oil and coal“, according to the decision of the government.
Read alsoIn view of winter, Berliners rush to wood and coal merchants
In the wake of the war in Ukraine, Russia has reduced its deliveries of Russian gas to Germany by 80% since the spring, plunging the country into uncertainty before winter. To ensure the energy supply of its businesses and citizens, the government has notably decided to make increased use of fossil fuels, particularly coal. “We want to free ourselves as soon as possible from the grip of Russian energy imports“, justified on Wednesday the Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck. Result: the need to transport these raw materials to power plants explodes.
However, the low level of water in the rivers of the country, which has experienced a severe drought in recent months, considerably slows down river transport, overloading the rail network. Rail delivery problems are already evident. Thus the Heyden 4 coal-fired power station, in the west of the country, which the energy company Uniper will relaunch next Monday, will have to operate in a “limitedfor lack of sufficient deliveries, announced the group.
SEE ALSO – Gas crisis: in Berlin, the rush on coal in anticipation of winter
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