Czech train leaves 630 passengers stuck in German heat

Around 630 passengers on a Czech Railways service from Hamburg to Prague were stranded in the Prignitz district of Brandenburg, Germany, after a storm‑blown tree knocked out the overhead power line. The loss of electricity disabled the train’s air‑conditioning and locked the doors, causing interior temperatures of roughly 40‑50 °C. Three passengers were hospitalized with circulatory problems. Firefighters prioritized evacuating children, pregnant women and seniors, while the remaining travelers spent the night in a sports hall that was turned into an emergency shelter. A diesel locomotive later towed the train to Karstädt, where buses transferred about 500 passengers to the station for onward travel by ICE trains. A separate regional train near Gransee also lost power, leaving 70 passengers stranded for a few hours until the fault was fixed.

The incident highlights the challenges faced by rail operators during the ongoing heat wave, with both Czech Railways and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn coordinating rescue and onward transport for the affected travelers.