High winds ICE route in Siegburg open again after trees are removed
SIEGBURG · Stormy wind gusts left their mark on Bonn and the region on Tuesday. Trees threatened to fall on the Siegburg ICE route, forcing officials to close the tracks for a period of time, causing delays in train traffic. At noon, a fallen tree on the L158 at Wachtberg caused a long traffic jam.
Tuesday’s storm gusts had an impact on some traffic in the region. In Siegburg on Tuesday afternoon, a group of trees threatened to fall onto the ICE track. As the fire department confirmed to General Anzeiger on site, the four jointly rooted trees above the tunnel at the L332 were bent at the base and could have fallen onto the train tracks. Because the Siegburg fire department does not have the necessary equipment to cut down and transport the trees, the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) was called in for support.
An emergency manager for the railways was at the location and decided that the ICE line needed to be closed for the duration of the tree removal. The reason for this was that trains that do not stop in Siegburg can travel on this route at up to 250 kilometers per hour and would have been dangerous for the workers. In addition, branches could have fallen onto the track bed when cutting the tree. The ICE trains were diverted to the route of regional train traffic. By 4:15 pm, two of the four trees had been felled. It was not until evening that rail traffic returned to normal.
At the same time, the fire department was called to Seligenthaler Straße in Seligenthal where a tree had fallen onto the road.
Already at noon, a fallen tree caused considerable traffic obstructions on the L158 near Wachtberg-Pech. The tree was lying across the road and obstructed motorists in both directions. The Wachtberg fire department removed the tree.
Even a school bus had to stop its journey for a short time. The children got off the bus and continued on foot in the direction of Pech, but were later able to get back on the bus.
(Orig. text: ga.de; Translation: ck)
