“Measure and balance lost”
Bahn counters fan accusations about chaos in Gelsenkirchen
19.06.2024, 01:07
Public transport in Germany is making negative headlines internationally. After the European Championship match in Gelsenkirchen, British fans were stranded at the main train station. They vented their anger on social media. Their blanket criticism of Deutsche Bahn fell on deaf ears.
Deutsche Bahn believes that the criticism of the alleged train chaos after a European Championship group match in Gelsenkirchen is far exaggerated. “There was a general criticism of the city and its residents that lost its sense of proportion and balance,” Ralf Thieme, the board member responsible for the infrastructure division, told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. “You can argue about how often trains have to run at an event like this – in Gelsenkirchen they left every few minutes after the match. But when 50,000 people stream out of the stadium, it’s natural that not everyone gets the first train.”
Declaring the city a “non-place in Germany” does not do justice to the issue, added Thieme. At the next games, the railway will be making more emphasis on alternative travel routes. In addition, a special train will be used from Gelsenkirchen to Düsseldorf and Cologne at the next game.
After the European Football Championship match between England and Serbia last Sunday, fans complained about chaos when leaving Gelsenkirchen. The platforms were still overcrowded hours after the final whistle, as videos on social media showed. The city administration had previously rejected the sometimes harsh accusations of the British fan organization “Free Lions”. The local transport company Bogestra also countered the criticism. A spokesman told “Spiegel” that they had faced challenges that are not unusual at major sporting events: “As a transport company, we did an adequate job.”
Apologies to 150 Austrian fans
On the other hand, the train apologized to fans from Austria who did not arrive in Düsseldorf until the second half of their national team’s match on Monday due to construction work. “We will find a good and accommodating way to compensate them,” promised Thieme. Only this one construction site was not finished in time for the start of the tournament because a construction machine broke down there during the night from Sunday to Monday. The board contradicted reports to the contrary that there could be no talk of thousands of stranded fans. There were around 150 fans affected, for whom the delay was “totally annoying.”
Otherwise, Deutsche Bahn is satisfied with the start of the European Championships: the company counted 1.2 million passengers on the first weekend, including 100,000 fans. There were no violent attacks. “The first weekend was completely peaceful,” says Thieme. In addition to 6,000 federal police officers and 4,000 of its own security personnel, police officers from the home countries of the national teams, who accompany their fans, ensure this.