Commuters in Frankfurt: Train cancellations from December due to a lack of staff!

Commuters in Frankfurt: Train cancellations from December due to a lack of staff!

Commuters between Frankfurt, Bad Vilbel and Friedberg must be prepared for significant restrictions on regional rail traffic until December. This was announced by the Hessische Landesbahn (HLB), which announced temporary cancellations in the evening services of the regional train lines RB37 and RB41. The background to these measures is an acute staff shortage at DB InfraGo, which does not have enough dispatchers available to staff a central signal box in Frankfurt. If you want to switch to the S6 S-Bahn line between Frankfurt and Friedberg, you have the option of remaining mobile at least partially along the route. Current timetable information can be found on the online portals of the HLB, Deutsche Bahn and the North Hesse and Rhine-Main transport associations, as fr.de reports.

But Deutsche Bahn's challenges go far beyond Frankfurt. A closer look at the current situation reveals that trains are not only unpunctual in the Rhine-Main area. The shortage of dispatchers trained to plan train journeys and monitor level crossings extends throughout Germany. As the Tagesschau reports in detail, many signal boxes are understaffed, which leads to frequent failures and thus route closures. The railway described the current situation as isolated cases, but recognizes the lack of staff, which has a noticeable impact on punctuality.

Shortage of staff and its consequences

Overworking existing staff is a serious problem. Many dispatchers often work over 55 hours a week and have little time for relaxation. These circumstances may even endanger safety, as superiors have to repeatedly exert pressure to compensate for absences due to illness. Current reports indicate that there is a shortage of hundreds of dispatchers nationwide. The effects of this staff shortage are particularly noticeable in Thuringia and Baden-Württemberg, as documented in an article by [Augsburger Allgemeine](https://www.augsburger- Allgemeine.de/politik/bahnkritik-personallack-und-veraltete-technik-legen-zuege-lahm-103059050). The supply of trained employees is expected to slowly improve thanks to Deutsche Bahn's recently launched training initiative, but forecasts show that many positions in the south will remain unfilled for a long time.

The situation is particularly explosive at outdated signal boxes, some of which have been in operation since 1899. These old systems require a large number of personnel and often no longer have spare parts, which further contributes to the problem. Against this background, Deutsche Bahn plans to hire enough dispatchers by the end of 2025 to sustainably address the staff shortage. In northern Germany, it is expected that vacancies will be filled this year. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to get the existing problems under control.

However, commuters and travelers in the coming weeks and months will have to be patient. The expansion of the infrastructure, such as in Frankfurt, where around 3,000 new parking spaces for commuters are to be created in the next few years, could bring relief. The mobility department has already submitted an application for the expansion of park and ride facilities, which is definitely positive.

The issue of staff shortages on the railways therefore not only affects a few regions, but has far-reaching consequences for the entire transport system in Germany. We can only hope that Deutsche Bahn's measures will quickly bear fruit and that we can soon count on punctuality and reliability again.