Dear Customers,
From today until 28 February 2026, reconstruction works are continuing in the Elbe Valley with a partial closure of the Bad Schandau Ost – Königstein section. This results in significant restrictions to services between CZ, SK, HU, AT, the Balkans, and the North German ports, as well as Rotterdam and Duisburg.
Unfortunately, the operational situation is still not improving. Transit through Germany is extremely time-consuming due to the congestion of the railway infrastructure. Due to ongoing track possessions, DB InfraGO is holding trains at various sections. For example, an import train from Bremerhaven has already been parked near Magdeburg due to the above-mentioned closure close to the DE/CZ border. Rail restrictions are causing delays across all our services to/from the North German ports, as well as Rotterdam and Duisburg. A further significant complication is the control (and thus restriction) of port access. This results in trains being parked for an indefinite period of time, while the port does not accept them in the order in which they arrive. In addition, delays are occurring at port terminals as well as at contracted inland terminals. Altogether, this creates a vicious circle in which we must continuously adapt operations to the instructions of the respective infrastructure managers. Although we have deployed backup train sets, it is not possible, for the above-mentioned reasons, to move them to the required destinations. The circulation of train sets, as well as locomotives, is significantly disrupted. On overloaded routes, we are forced to cancel trains in order to prevent further increases in delays. However, this comes at the cost of container accumulation at ports and, in some cases, also at inland terminals. For the North German ports in general, import connections remain fully booked weeks in advance, and the volume of import shipments accumulated at the ports is enormous.
Hamburg: Access by permit remains in force; some terminals are operating with delays.
Bremerhaven: Access by permit remains in force.
Gdańsk: Trains are currently running without delays, as is handling at BalticHub. However, in order to stabilise the operational situation, the terminal reduced the capacity of our slots by 60% on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, and again today. Import capacities are therefore fully booked up to and including 14 March 2026, and it is currently not possible to request an additional ad hoc train. However, the situation should gradually improve in the coming days.
Should you have any questions regarding specific shipments, our Customer Service team will be pleased to assist you.
METRANS Team