Extreme weather events and road and rail transportation in Germany

Abstract

Civil protection authorities, transport companies and operators need detailed information about the impacts of weather extremes on transportation systems in order to adapt risk and emergency management strategies. Due to the lack of data for Germany a pragmatic strategy to establish links between extreme weather events and adverse effects on road and rail transportation is proposed exploiting official annual reviews of the German Weather Service (DWD). In Germany road transportation is mainly disrupted due to ice and snow while rail transportation is most vulnerable to strong winds and winter conditions as well. Through the empirical evidence provided, hotspots for risk and emergency management in road and rail transportation concerning extreme weather events can be set. Recommendations for instruments to integrate extreme weather events into the risk and emergency management of road and rail transportation are given.