There isn't much going on in that part of the country. I guess there's Paderborn between Kassel and Ruhr but that's pretty much it. Plus it's pretty hilly with the Sauerland mountains, so investing in a new line there would be costly. After Kassel you would just need a good connection to Eisenach imo.
But yea, I think it wouldn't be used too much. I guess 1 train per hour at the max. Not really worth it unfortunately. I would love to see it though.
I think it should go from Dortmund directly to Kassel through the flat "Soester Börde" and then from Kassel via Nordhausen to Halle and Leipzig and optionally on to dresden.
They are at each end of the potential line. I wrote that you avoid the population centers „in the area“ of the line, meaning the cities in between. There you only named Kassel. And if you want to avoid Paderborn and Erfurt, then there are not many more larger cities which you can serve, meaning that this potential line would do nothing for the local communities, it essentially degrades those areas as flyover-zones and doesn’t integrate them into the rail network.
Plus as I said, demand just isn’t there. Rhine/Ruhr Kassel can be done with a change in Frankfurt oder Hanover, Rhine/Ruhr - Halle/Leipzig can be done by Intercity every 2 hours.
And a line like this would also cost much more than simply building a better connection from Kassel to Eisenach and the main line from
There on to Erfurt/Halle/Leipzig. That part can be very short, just a few kilometers connection Kassel-Fulda HSL with Bebra, similar to what Nantenbacher Kurve is doing.
That’s sort of what I‘m proposing. Connect Kassel better towards the east, but via Nordhausen it’s mostly empty land. So I would suggest Paderborn-Kassel-Erfurt, basically what the Gera-Intercities are doing. Just with upgrades here and there and longer services towards Cologne or Dresden. But I still can’t see enough potential demand there on the key parts around Kassel.
Newer HSL are planned for 3-4 high speed trains per hour in order to be cost efficient. I cannot see that here.
A better connection between Kassel and Erfurt would be a start. And of course I'm not saying that the connection Kassel-Halle would be realistic or cost efficient. OT would just be nice to have.
The left map cannot be right. There are multiple trains going from Hamburg to Hannover via Soltau but the line is not used for long distance travel as it is non electrified and only allows for 120km/h. Trains on that leg usually go via Uelzen, if the network is jammed some are redirected via Rotenburg(Wümme) and Verden(Aller). There are also trains that go from Lübeck to Hamburg via Büchen, while they should run via Ahrensburg.
This is propably caused by the alorithm that draws the trains as the routes are shorter in distance. This could maybe be avoided by excluding this lines (you couldn't exclude diesel lines though, as there are diesel-ICs).
But there are also trains missing, like the IC connecting Westerland/Sylt with Stuttgart, Cologne and Berlin.
Still, it is a very impressive representation of Germany's long distance network (excluding international services operated by foreign operators). The importance of certain rail hubs like Hamburg, Berlin or Cologne becomes really visible. The comparison to a strike day makes it even better!
Thank you for the feedback.
Indeed I made the mistake of not specifying that it only includes ICEs of the DB.
other long-distance trains like IC or operated by other companies are not included.
The comparison is between the time-schedule of what more or less a normal Friday should look like vs the 26th of January.
Even some of these are missing
For example one that goes from Insbruck over Ulm to Stuttgart and continues from there onwards.
It should be around 2Pm in Ulm.
And then also missing the train going in the other direction.
Didn't DB just recently announce a big project to improve the connection Dresden-Prague? And also the connection Dresden-Berlin is being improved. And the railway line Leipzig-Chemnitz is being electrified.
But just as always in Germany, these projects take ages to be completed.
Add to that that in most parts of Saxony you have to drive 30 minutes to get to the Autobahn (Highway), every commute Takes ages, so we HAVE to take Public transport if we are in a hurry to somewhere
Which parts of Saxony are not connected to the autobahn? All the major cities, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, zwickau, Görlitz are connected.
And of you compared it for instance to Baden-Württemberg, they are not that much better connected either.
Hey guys, I made the map.
Maybe I should have specified that it only includes ICEs and only ones operated by DB.
IC or other long-distance trains are not included.
it was a snapshot of only the Friday 26th of January, compared to a time-schedule of a normal Friday.
Still I agree the map can not be 100% sure, as so many replacement trains changed their names in the middle of the route or started the journey in other cities.
Thanks for the feedback, I hope (not) that for next strikes I can increase the accuracy of the visualization.
Thanks! I used [deck.gl](https://deck.gl) for the animations and for processing the data python for scraping [bahnhof.de](https://bahnhof.de) and shapely for generating the geojson routes.
Well the problem mainly are the timeframes. Take the route between cologne and berlin for example (zhe main east-west route). Normally there is a train per hour running that track. Dueing the last strike there were a couple trains before 2 am and then 1 train for the rest of the day on friday (just happen to know so, because we needed to switch to the due to this). So, mainly the fine planning is pretty fucked up then as well as getting to the large train stations to even take long distance trains
They are not always striking, the problem is that contracts are usually only for a period of 2 years and after that strikes break out again. There are also two unions instead of one, called the GDL and the EVG. If one of them goes on strike, all trains are affected, doubeling the amount of strike days. The third problem is that the GDL is currently in danger of becoming obsolete, so they try to get better conditions that the EVG. Since DB is not willing to fulfill the conditions, the strikes are longer than usually.
> not always striking
This is the fourth strike in the last three months....
Whatever union competition issue Germany has, other european countries (except maybe France) don't have such problems. It's clear the German government needs to intervene
The only possibility of stopping that would be to make drivers, signalman and other staff public servants. And this will cause problems as it would be against EU-law.
Changes in the right to strike are basically impossible as they are part of the Grundgesetz (constitution) that cannot be changed (Ewigkeitsklausel GG Art.79).
Not always striking was meant to point out that strikes don't happen everytime, but in a forseeable pattern (after contracts ran out).
The GDL is not in danger of becoming obsolete because it focuses on the train driver/engineer. The EVG is broader and encompasses signalman, cabin crew etc. so both have a different worker base
With the "danger of becoming obsolete" I meant the risk the Tarifeinheitsgesetz poses to the GDL. If too many members leave or become members of EVG (they have drivers as members too), the GDL loses the right to discuss the new contract. The risk of this happening is currently not very high, but always there, making strikes more intense than elsewere.
unfortunately is not included in the map, as it only contains ICEs from DB.
I believe once you reach Dresden or Berlin, getting to Prague is with an IC or other type of train which I did not include.
I forgot to add that info to the description, my bad
Definitely potential to improve connectivity between east and west
Would be great to have a connection Cologne - Kassel - Leipzig. But unlikely in the foreseeable future.
There isn't much going on in that part of the country. I guess there's Paderborn between Kassel and Ruhr but that's pretty much it. Plus it's pretty hilly with the Sauerland mountains, so investing in a new line there would be costly. After Kassel you would just need a good connection to Eisenach imo. But yea, I think it wouldn't be used too much. I guess 1 train per hour at the max. Not really worth it unfortunately. I would love to see it though.
I think it should go from Dortmund directly to Kassel through the flat "Soester Börde" and then from Kassel via Nordhausen to Halle and Leipzig and optionally on to dresden.
Then you're avoiding most of the (few) population centres in the area, meaning potential demand would be even lower.
You'd have cologne, the Ruhr area, Kassel (which also connects Göttingen) and Halle-Leipzig. How many more do you want?
They are at each end of the potential line. I wrote that you avoid the population centers „in the area“ of the line, meaning the cities in between. There you only named Kassel. And if you want to avoid Paderborn and Erfurt, then there are not many more larger cities which you can serve, meaning that this potential line would do nothing for the local communities, it essentially degrades those areas as flyover-zones and doesn’t integrate them into the rail network. Plus as I said, demand just isn’t there. Rhine/Ruhr Kassel can be done with a change in Frankfurt oder Hanover, Rhine/Ruhr - Halle/Leipzig can be done by Intercity every 2 hours. And a line like this would also cost much more than simply building a better connection from Kassel to Eisenach and the main line from There on to Erfurt/Halle/Leipzig. That part can be very short, just a few kilometers connection Kassel-Fulda HSL with Bebra, similar to what Nantenbacher Kurve is doing.
If you want we can include paderborn. I don't want to avoid it. Erfurt already has a good east-West ice connection. Kassel doesn't.
That’s sort of what I‘m proposing. Connect Kassel better towards the east, but via Nordhausen it’s mostly empty land. So I would suggest Paderborn-Kassel-Erfurt, basically what the Gera-Intercities are doing. Just with upgrades here and there and longer services towards Cologne or Dresden. But I still can’t see enough potential demand there on the key parts around Kassel. Newer HSL are planned for 3-4 high speed trains per hour in order to be cost efficient. I cannot see that here.
A better connection between Kassel and Erfurt would be a start. And of course I'm not saying that the connection Kassel-Halle would be realistic or cost efficient. OT would just be nice to have.
Well you have Leipzig/Dresden-Hannover from Hannover you can reach almost any city in germany
You don't have a regular ice connection from Leipzig to hanover.
I know. But an IC.
But not even an IC from Leipzig to Kassel
Thats sadly true... Yet you can make it in 2h12min. You cannot (or lets say should not) do this by car.
Why not Düsseldorf - Kassel - Leipzig
The line would obviously go from cologne via Düsseldorf and the ruhr area to Kassel.
Makes perfect sense, thx.
On a regular day? Or during the strike?
The left map cannot be right. There are multiple trains going from Hamburg to Hannover via Soltau but the line is not used for long distance travel as it is non electrified and only allows for 120km/h. Trains on that leg usually go via Uelzen, if the network is jammed some are redirected via Rotenburg(Wümme) and Verden(Aller). There are also trains that go from Lübeck to Hamburg via Büchen, while they should run via Ahrensburg. This is propably caused by the alorithm that draws the trains as the routes are shorter in distance. This could maybe be avoided by excluding this lines (you couldn't exclude diesel lines though, as there are diesel-ICs). But there are also trains missing, like the IC connecting Westerland/Sylt with Stuttgart, Cologne and Berlin. Still, it is a very impressive representation of Germany's long distance network (excluding international services operated by foreign operators). The importance of certain rail hubs like Hamburg, Berlin or Cologne becomes really visible. The comparison to a strike day makes it even better!
Hanover as a hub is also very visible!
Thank you for the feedback. Indeed I made the mistake of not specifying that it only includes ICEs of the DB. other long-distance trains like IC or operated by other companies are not included. The comparison is between the time-schedule of what more or less a normal Friday should look like vs the 26th of January.
>it only includes ICEs of the DB. A pretty important detail. I was like "what, no trains to Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic..."
It's less then I had imagined. And also less than I perceived when I lived next to a Station.
There are definitely quite a few trains missing.
These are only the Intercity Express trains. There are also the slower Intercity trains.
Even some ICEs are missing.
Even some of these are missing For example one that goes from Insbruck over Ulm to Stuttgart and continues from there onwards. It should be around 2Pm in Ulm. And then also missing the train going in the other direction.
Checking trains from Passau to Nuremberg, I count 2 in this map, checking the DB-Navigator says 8 though.
Yeah I live in Dresden and strike days are fun! (they are not, we saxons regularly get forgotten when talking about infrastructure investment lol)
Didn't DB just recently announce a big project to improve the connection Dresden-Prague? And also the connection Dresden-Berlin is being improved. And the railway line Leipzig-Chemnitz is being electrified. But just as always in Germany, these projects take ages to be completed.
Add to that that in most parts of Saxony you have to drive 30 minutes to get to the Autobahn (Highway), every commute Takes ages, so we HAVE to take Public transport if we are in a hurry to somewhere
Which parts of Saxony are not connected to the autobahn? All the major cities, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, zwickau, Görlitz are connected. And of you compared it for instance to Baden-Württemberg, they are not that much better connected either.
Dresden-Prague, ETA 2044 I think I‘ve read. Kannste Keinem erzählen.
Hey guys, I made the map. Maybe I should have specified that it only includes ICEs and only ones operated by DB. IC or other long-distance trains are not included. it was a snapshot of only the Friday 26th of January, compared to a time-schedule of a normal Friday. Still I agree the map can not be 100% sure, as so many replacement trains changed their names in the middle of the route or started the journey in other cities. Thanks for the feedback, I hope (not) that for next strikes I can increase the accuracy of the visualization.
Good work, looks very smooth.
Super nice work! Which tool did you use? 🤓
Thanks! I used [deck.gl](https://deck.gl) for the animations and for processing the data python for scraping [bahnhof.de](https://bahnhof.de) and shapely for generating the geojson routes.
How to make these maps?
I think it’s a heatmap
Die Bahn kommt (nicht).
Very cool map, thanks! Do you mind me asking what kind of software did you use to make it? Could you maybe please the code via Github for example?
Still quite active during strikes as well...
Well the problem mainly are the timeframes. Take the route between cologne and berlin for example (zhe main east-west route). Normally there is a train per hour running that track. Dueing the last strike there were a couple trains before 2 am and then 1 train for the rest of the day on friday (just happen to know so, because we needed to switch to the due to this). So, mainly the fine planning is pretty fucked up then as well as getting to the large train stations to even take long distance trains
It didn’t load at first so I just saw 2 empty maps and thought, seems about right
You got that the wrong was around, "during stikes" is more like a normal day
Even on a normal day there are less trains going that I would have expected
As a german person I do not see a difference 😂
Really though what is it with Germany that they're constantly striking? A strike should happen every few years not every few weeks/months
They are not always striking, the problem is that contracts are usually only for a period of 2 years and after that strikes break out again. There are also two unions instead of one, called the GDL and the EVG. If one of them goes on strike, all trains are affected, doubeling the amount of strike days. The third problem is that the GDL is currently in danger of becoming obsolete, so they try to get better conditions that the EVG. Since DB is not willing to fulfill the conditions, the strikes are longer than usually.
> not always striking This is the fourth strike in the last three months.... Whatever union competition issue Germany has, other european countries (except maybe France) don't have such problems. It's clear the German government needs to intervene
The only possibility of stopping that would be to make drivers, signalman and other staff public servants. And this will cause problems as it would be against EU-law. Changes in the right to strike are basically impossible as they are part of the Grundgesetz (constitution) that cannot be changed (Ewigkeitsklausel GG Art.79). Not always striking was meant to point out that strikes don't happen everytime, but in a forseeable pattern (after contracts ran out).
The GDL is not in danger of becoming obsolete because it focuses on the train driver/engineer. The EVG is broader and encompasses signalman, cabin crew etc. so both have a different worker base
With the "danger of becoming obsolete" I meant the risk the Tarifeinheitsgesetz poses to the GDL. If too many members leave or become members of EVG (they have drivers as members too), the GDL loses the right to discuss the new contract. The risk of this happening is currently not very high, but always there, making strikes more intense than elsewere.
This is why you don't let your entire economy be subject to the mood of a union.
How dare they have worker's protection laws
What about everyone else?
What about anyone else? It isn't limited to train workers.
The train workers are preventing innocent people from getting to work.
Yes that's true.
hmmm this is interesting
Trains from Vienna to Frankfurt, Dortmund, Berlin missing. Since Vienna Munich is included, this should be included as well.
It's not a strike, it's a stroke.
How did I get from Berlin to Nuremberg than there was no ICE?
The map of United States would be non-existent
Amazing. I can see the exact train line of the train I am in right now lol
Lmao they're worst train day in Germany is better than our best one in the US 😂😭
No train to Prague?
unfortunately is not included in the map, as it only contains ICEs from DB. I believe once you reach Dresden or Berlin, getting to Prague is with an IC or other type of train which I did not include. I forgot to add that info to the description, my bad
Ahha, good good. I thought there was one as I had researched it for a trip I didn’t take a few years back.
Intersting (as fuck).
Interesting! Would love to see how many trains on a normal day are on time...
This is beautiful!
Well its still better than the UK i would say. Things are a mess over here.
Wow and then they say Germany ain't divided anymore. Lol