Catenary damage causes S-Bahn chaos in Munich

The damage to the overhead line occurred around 7:50 a.m., as Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced. A short circuit occurred on a track between Laim and Pasing in the morning while an S-Bahn was traveling. The overhead line was damaged. The cause is unclear; sabotage or lack of maintenance are currently out of the question. It is possible that a combination of several circumstances led to an S-Bahn damaging the overhead line.

Due to the disruption, two trains were stranded on the open route between Pasing and Laim, a railway spokesman said. The passengers had to leave both S-Bahn trains. The fire department was called in to assist. According to an initial estimate, she took around 150 people out of the wagons on the open road. Before work on the overhead line could begin, the vehicles had to be towed from the section without power, it was said.

The damage to the overhead line led to massive disruptions. Initially, the entire main route was closed to traffic. Since late morning, at least the S1 and S2 lines have been running on the regular route through the main line, which only turn onto the main line in the west at Laim train station, as well as the airport S-Bahn S8. The repair of the overhead line continued until rush hour. The only line that was not affected was the S7 line, which does not run on the main route.

S-Bahn traffic should now gradually start up again. For current information about the traffic situation, the railway refers to its disruption page s-bahn-muenchen.de/aktuell.

Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) reacted to Tuesday's chaos with sharp criticism of Deutsche Bahn. This “provides a pitiful picture”. The railway obviously did not prepare for the increased number of commuters on the first day of school after the summer holidays. The company is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure. The condition of the Munich S-Bahn tracks is “no longer sustainable,” according to a press release. He demands a “consistent explanation” of how this “collapse” could have come about.