Icy conditions restrict transport across Germany

Heavy snowfall and freezing rain disrupted rush-hour traffic across large parts of Germany on Monday morning.

Accidents became more frequent on the roads in the north-east according to reports from states including Saxony, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said that delays and cancellations were to be expected on long-distance services. This applies to the whole of southern Germany as well as connections to and from Berlin, Hamburg and Hanover, Deutsche Bahn said.

In Berlin, tram services had to be cancelled due to icy overhead power lines, and public transport services were restricted elsewhere in the capital.

The snow front reached south-western Germany on Sunday evening, where some areas saw up to 25 centimetres of fresh snow.

Early on Monday, parts of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg were still under severe weather warnings from the German Weather Service due to the risk of black ice. Parts of northern Bavaria were under severe weather warnings due to snowfall.

Near Weinsberg in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, 15 to 20 cars and lorries got stuck in the snow on a road connecting two motorways during the night, according to police.

Near Nuremberg, a man skidded in his car on an icy road and ended up in the front garden of a church, crashing into the steps of the building. Rescue workers took the 34-year-old driver to hospital with minor injuries.

The weather is not set to improve for the time being. The weather service expects further snowfall in many parts of Germany during the course of the day, which will then gradually ease, and further frosty weather.