There is no big rush – moderate capacity utilization in our metronom and enno trains.
The summary of the first half of the day at the start of the 9-Euro-Ticket on 1 June is very differentiated at metronom and enno. On some journeys, the trains in the Hansenetz and enno were, contrary to expectations, relatively underutilized. Other connections, on the other hand, were close to the maximum capacity limit. Due to a turnout failure at Winsen (Luhe), there were also significant delays and partial breakdowns of some connections on the Hamburg Hbf-Uelzen route and on to Hanover-Göttingen. As a result, the capacity utilization in the follow-up cycles increased noticeably. From a holistic point of view, however, the trains of metronom and enno were still very moderately busy this morning – plenty of room for new metronom and enno travellers.
However, we are expecting many additional travellers in the coming weekends and especially now for the long Whitsun weekend and a resulting high occupancy rate. Especially new customers will use the 9-euro ticket to travel by local transport, i. e. also by metronom or enno, to the many excursion destinations in the region.
Against this backdrop, together with our clients, the regional transport company of Lower Saxony, the regional association Greater Braunschweig and the Hanover region, we have expanded the space available on the enno routes at weekends. We will be running there on the RE30 line (Wolfsburg – Hanover) from 12 June with double space available: Instead of using a railcar as usual, we run many trains in double length in order to offer our passengers more space. On line RE50 (Hildesheim – Wolfsburg), we are also upgrading individual selected trains to such a double traction.
In the metronom Hansenetz, which includes the RE2, RE3 and RE4 lines, additional journeys or extensions of trains are not possible. On the one hand, the long-planned DB Netz AG construction site between Lüneburg and Hamburg is reducing the number of lines available for metronom on the railways. On the other hand, we are unfortunately unable to attach any more wagons to the metronom train associations. This already fails because of the insufficient length of several platforms. Our trains at metronom are already running at the maximum possible length.
We also appeal not to travel with your own bicycle. During peak hours, capacity on our trains is simply scarce, which is why we cannot always guarantee a bike ride. Therefore, we recommend using the numerous bicycle rental companies along the routes.
Furthermore, we advise our passengers to find out about the respective connection before travelling via the electronic timetable information on our websites or in the well-known apps, e. g. in the Lower Saxony Timetable app or in my metronom app. If you take note of these and the usual information on our trains, such as the obligation to wear an FFP2 mask and the general prohibition of alcohol, there is nothing to stop you from travelling on local rail passenger transport.
Overall, we are pleased with the clear signal that politicians are sending out with the “9-Euro-Ticket” for climate-friendly mobility. But the implementation deadline for the “9-euro-ticket” was short, which was a real challenge. However, our on-site employees in the driving service have been excellently prepared for the special challenges of daily operation in our own metronom training centre. Even in the background, for example in traffic planning or dispatching, our colleagues are committed to being able to react quickly and at short notice to exceptional situations. We are constantly monitoring and evaluating the situation on our trains and are looking forward to seeing many new passengers on board!
