Zugchaos between Nennhausen and Rathenow: Passengers stuck for hours!

Zugchaos between Nennhausen and Rathenow: Passengers stuck for hours!

The hottest day of the year, July 4, 2025, there was an unexpected incident on the important train route between Nennhausen and Rathenow. The regional express RE 4 to Stendal stopped at short after 9 p.m. due to a technical disorder. This ensured considerable inconvenience among passengers who had to endure almost three hours on the train. Particularly annoying: the air conditioning was also unusual, which made the situation more difficult. An anonymously permanent passenger expressed sharp criticism of the lack of information and support by Deutsche Bahn during the waiting time, such as maz-online.de reported.

At 11:45 p.m. the train could finally be towed by a replacement locomotive. However, the supply of this locomotive was also made more difficult by soft disorders in the Berlin-Spandau area. The stranded passengers only reached Rathenow station at 11:56 p.m., where they were referred to the scheduled rail replacement traffic at 0.40 a.m. Many travelers were under time pressure: A passenger whose service started at 10 p.m. could only arrive in Stendal at 1.22 a.m.

alternative transport options

Some passengers decided in their despair to take a taxi. Taxi Meier in Rathenow confirmed that several stranded passengers were transported at night. The situation on the RE 4 route is tense: Current construction work between Rathenow and Stendal require the use of rail traffic until July 29. The route is also affected on certain nights, which means that travelers should inform themselves in good time.

These incidents are part of a major problem in German rail traffic. According to the initiative for “disorders in rail traffic”, which acts independently, disorders in the route network are inevitable. Frequent causes include fallen trees, damage to vehicles and overhead lines. Deutsche Bahn is trying to keep passengers up to date on current information. Useful resources can be found on Bahn.de, where an interactive fault card, Zugradar and the delay alarm are available, as db-bielplan.com shows.

In times like these, it is crucial that rail travelers are well informed. In order to avoid unnecessary waiting times and frustrations, it is advisable to consult the fault cards regularly and to be informed about possible delays about push notifications. Because as the initiative underlines for disturbance in rail traffic, a good knack in planning can all too often.