Jusos demand solutions for dilapidated local transport between Hamburg and Hanover

On January 5, 2025, the Jusos Celle and the Jusos Uelzen/Lüchow-Dannenberg expressed significant criticism of the dilapidated local transport between Hanover and Hamburg. The young people demand a quick and coordinated solution to the existing problems from the responsible traffic authorities. The most common complaints include recurring delays, poor infrastructure and inadequate communication between the actors involved.

Johannes Flügge from the Jusos Uelzen/Lüchow-Dannenberg reported considerable delays caused by long-distance trains, as well as problems with train toilets. Yannis Naumann from the Jusos Celle said that the situation should have been better by mid -December 2024, but the difficulties remained. While progress was recognized by the Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft, fundamental problems remain unsolved. Flügge also emphasized that the familiarization of train drivers on the complex route is a challenge.

infrastructure and coordination problems

Naumann called specific infrastructure problems, such as defective signals and soft, as well as delays when changing passengers as the causes of the delays. The Jusos also criticize the lack of coordination between the companies involved, including the metronome, the Lower Saxony State Transport Society (LNVG) and DB Infrago. They require a clear and coordinated strategy to remedy the local transport problems and a rapid implementation, especially with regard to planned route renovations in 2026 and 2029.

parallel to the demands of the Jusos, the state of Lower Saxony plans negotiations to prematurely end the transport contract for the Hansenetz with the private rail operator Metronom. According to a report by TAG24, the LNVG supervisory board commissioned the management in a special meeting to work out a corresponding draft contract by the end of February 2025. The aim is to revoke the existing contract that is still running until June 2026 and to rewrite the affected routes such as Hamburg - Bremen and Hannover - Northeim - Göttingen.

The metronome railway company is forced to maintain traffic only to a limited extent due to lack of personnel, which has led to a replacement timetable with reduced trips since the end of August 2023, which has been extended by July 29, 2025. Transport Minister Olaf Lies emphasized the need to maintain traffic by June 2026 and to improve the quality and reliability of the offer. The trains used by Metronom belong to the LNVG, which enables an operator change without major investments. Metronom has signaled that the company is ready to apply again for a new advertisement.

The current financial conditions and the shortage of skilled workers have deteriorated significantly for private railway companies since the beginning of the contract in 2018. Carmen Schwabl, managing director of LNVG, therefore calls for more financial support from the federal and state governments for local and regional transport. Around 80,000 people use the trains of Metronom every day, which has operated the routes of the Hanseatic network since the end of 2011 and whose current contract runs regularly by December 2033.