A punishing heatwave loosened its gripped on western Europe Wednesday and rolled eastwards, with Germany expected to record some of its hottest temperatures of the year so far.
Wednesday is expected to be "the hottest day of the year in Germany so far", with temperatures reaching up to 40C according to reporting by DPA.
Germany's national weather service (DWD) issued blanket weather warnings for heat and extreme heat covering the entire country.
Deutsche Bahn has warned that that travellers should expect disruptions, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, with some regional lines only able to operate on a limited basis.
Western Germany
The unsually hot weather has caused disruptions to transport, with the national rail operator Deutsche Bahn saying it expected services to be affected in the west of the country where temperatures were rising most.
High temperatures have already caused delays, train cancellations, and restrictions on regional transport in some areas.
Long-distance services may also be affected, mainly due to infrastructure problems and a heightened risk of embankment fires.
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“The current weather situation in Germany is causing disruptions to infrastructure and individual vehicles, particularly in the west of the country,” Deutsche Bahn said on its website.
The railway companies Eurobahn and Nationalexpress also warned that some regional lines would only be able to operate on a limited basis.
Travellers are advised to check the latest information, and prepare themselves for longer than expected journey times. You can find the latest information on delays to DB services here.
Northern Germany
In northern Germany, rail services have almost returned to normal after major delays on Tuesday caused by embankment fires and overhead line faults.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the embankment fires were seen in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt, and caused delays on routes between Berlin and the Ruhr area/Hanover as well as between Hamburg and Berlin.
Additional delays were caused by a bomb disposal operation near Osnabrück Central Station. Around 20,000 people had to leave the affected area, according to a city spokesperson.
According to reports, high-speed ICE, Intercity (IC), and Eurocity (EC) trains between Hamburg, Bremen, and Münster were diverted in both directions from around 4:30 p.m.
Deutsche Bahn permitted passengers affected by the delays and cancellations to use their tickets on alternative services. Passengers were also able to cancel seat reservations free of charge.
In addition to rail impacts, in the north of the country, the heat had caused the surface of the motorway to buckle in places, creating a danger for drivers, local media reported.
In Berlin, 18-year-old Nora told AFP that her job at a kiosk selling strawberries was "a bit like a sauna", with the temperature already at 26C at 8:30 am.
"I've never sold strawberries in this sort of heat," she said, adding that her employer had told her to shut the kiosk if she felt unwell.
Punctuality
The delays and cancellations come at a bad time for Deutsche Bahn, following recent announcements that more than a third of the company's long-distance trains were late in the first half of the year.
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“We expect to close the half-year at just under 64 percent,” said Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz in an interview with the German Press Agency (DPA), referring to the proportion of ICE, IC and EC trains that ran on time.
The deterioration in punctuality is due to poor infrastructure, which is "too old, too prone to disruption and completely overloaded on many routes and junctions,” Lutz emphasized.
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