Around 300 passengers were evacuated from a regional train travelling near Ingolstadt, Bavaria, on Sunday after it broke down due to a technical fault.
The regional express train came to a standstill near Stammham, north of Ingolstadt, shortly after 5pm on Pentecost Sunday following a power outage.
A total of 300 passengers were stuck on the train for nearly two hours without air conditioning as temperatures soared to nearly 30C.
Emergency responders were deployed to assist passengers and coordinate the evacuation onto the open track.
As the train had been travelling on the ICE high speed track between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg, the main Munich–Berlin line was closed for several hours, according to Deutsche Bahn.
Passengers were taken to the nearby A9 to a bus for onward travel. For this purpose, a lane of the A9 heading towards Nuremberg was closed near the Ingolstadt Nord exit.
Bavarian police released a statement confirming the incident and the A9 lane closure.
According to the fire and rescue service, emergency teams later decided for safety reasons to reroute the buses to the nearby town of Appertshofen so they could continue on to Nuremberg.
Remaining passengers then had to walk around 1.5 kilometers to Appertshofen. People who could not manage the distance were taken by emergency services.
READ ALSO: What’s open and closed for Pentecost in Germany?
Train line reopened around 10pm
According to Deutsche Bahn, the train became stuck after it suddenly lost power. The problem was connected to the vehicle itself rather than the grid.
A high-speed train bound for Berlin had to return to Ingolstadt and was then rerouted via Treuchtlingen, according to local broadcaster BR. As a result, it arrived in Nuremberg nearly three hours late.
Other long-distance connections were also rerouted via Treuchtlingen.
Later in the evening, Deutsche Bahn said the technical issue was resolved.
The ICE line between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg finally reopened at 10:10pm. However, railway bosses said delays could still occur on Monday due to the disruption.
It comes during a busy weekend of travel in Germany – and a heatwave. Monday May 25th is Pfingstmontag – a public holiday, with businesses, schools and shops remaining closed.
READ ALSO: How to make the most of the Pentecost long weekend in Germany