Tank transport causes train cancellations for hours in Schleswig-Holstein

Tank transport causes train cancellations for hours in Schleswig-Holstein

On Sunday, July 8, 2025, train traffic in northern Germany was severely affected. The route between Flensburg and Neumünster as well as Kiel and Husum was interrupted for hours, which posed significant challenges for thousands of commuters and travelers. How NDR reported that the cause was catenary damage caused by the open hatch of a tank. A freight train transporting military vehicles caused this incident near Rendsburg, in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district, around 7:45 a.m.

The effects were noticeable: from the morning hours until the early evening, no train could pass through the stations in Rendsburg. The trains on line R7 ended and started in Neumünster and Hamburg. The connections between Hamburg and Copenhagen as well as freight traffic were also affected. As a result, buses were set up as replacement services by Deutsche Bahn and Nordbahn. Railway operations only returned to normal after the overhead line was repaired in the evening of the same day.

Military transport causes inconvenience

Most of the traffic chaos was due to military transport moving from Denmark towards Hagenow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Despite the high costs and logistical challenges that the Bundeswehr often faces when organizing such transports, the incident was not the first time that a set of tanks caused problems on the rails. Loud South German newspaper The Bundeswehr has a framework freight contract with DB Cargo AG, which regulates such transports, but there is no need for additional payment.

The scale of the disruption was significant, with social media users sharing images of the unfortunate tank with the hatch open. Reports of this hatch grinding and a possible short circuit caused further speculation. This would easily have led to a short circuit, which would have made the problem even worse. The railway confirmed to Northern Bavaria that no further details about the military transports could be revealed.

First repairs and return to normality

The repair work on the damaged overhead line lasted until around 5:30 p.m. With the subsequent restoration of train services, commuters and travelers breathed a sigh of relief after hundreds of train cancellations were recorded in Schleswig-Holstein. These inconveniences shed light on the challenges associated with moving military vehicles through the rail network. The logistical planning of such transports always requires a high level of organization, which did not work smoothly in this case.

Sunday's events not only arouse dissatisfaction with public transport, but also raise questions. In particular, how such incidents can be avoided in the future if the Bundeswehr continues to rely on rail. The consequences of a single incident can significantly disrupt large parts of the transport network.