Protest in Aschaffenburg: Citizens defend themselves against the cancellation of the ICE stop!

Protest in Aschaffenburg: Citizens defend themselves against the cancellation of the ICE stop!

There is resistance in Aschaffenburg: the planned cancellation of the ICE stop at 7:05 a.m. is causing a lot of excitement. Deutsche Bahn has decided to remove the stop in the urban area from the timetable from mid-December 2023 and to stop in Hanau instead. The reason? A more stable driving operation. But this is causing great resentment among commuters who urgently need the early train in order to arrive in Frankfurt on time. Mayor Jürgen Herzing describes this decision as “fatal” and calls for a rethink from the railway in order to secure the connection. “A loss of this support would be a massive restriction for many,” said Herzing.

An online petition entitled “ICE 1022 – Next Stop: Aschaffenburg” was launched to mobilize against this measure. Initiated by Manuel Michniok from the city of Aschaffenburg and Dr. Sophie Peter from the Aschaffenburg district believes the petition has broad support from the population. So far, District Administrator Dr. Alexander Legler, the general manager of vbw Thomas Weber as well as Björn Wortmann from the DGB and Ludwig Paul from the Chamber of Crafts supported the initiative. “We have to prevent the cancellation in order to secure Aschaffenburg’s long-distance connection in the long term,” explains Michniok. The petition aims to have the cancellation revoked when the timetable changes on December 14, 2025. You can sign online at change.org/bahnhalt_ab.

Why is the ICE stop so important? Around 3,800 people commute from the Bavarian Lower Main to Frankfurt every day, with 608 of them using long-distance transport between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Many citizens are convinced that the cancellation of the 7:05 a.m. train will lead to overloading of the next ICE at 7:33 a.m. This would not only pose an enormous challenge for commuters, but would also put a strain on the general use of local public transport, as regional connections are already constantly overloaded.

Additional support for the protest comes from Bundestag member Andrea Lindholz, who has contacted Deutsche Bahn and the Federal Ministry of Transport directly to examine the possibility of returning the stop to the summer timetable. “Especially in times when many people rely on reliable transport connections, it is crucial that we do not lose this support,” says Lindholz. The Aschaffenburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also heavily criticized the decision and describes it as important for the region's economic conditions.

On December 14, 2025, it will be exciting to see whether the citizens' protest actually has an effect or whether Deutsche Bahn sticks to its decision. In any case, the signs point to resistance, and the next few weeks could represent the decisive turning point for Aschaffenburg's ICE connection. Keep your ears straight!