Due to border controls: prolonged traffic jams caused by travelers

Fearing more contagious Corona variants, the borders with the Czech Republic and Tyrol are being rechecked. Travelers caused long traffic jams. Border controls with France are not excluded.

With the start of rush hour traffic, there were traffic jams at the German border crossings towards the Czech Republic due to border controls carried out since yesterday. Again MDR Traffic is reportedly jammed on Autobahn 17. Early Monday morning there were delays of more than an hour in the direction of Dresden between the Breitenau-Schönwald border crossing and Bahretal.

The trucks backed up on the E55 / D8 Prague-Dresden motorway to Usti nad Labem (Aussig on the Elbe). The police regulated the entrance to the tunnels. On the E50 / D5 in the direction of Nuremberg, a convoy of trucks more than 20 kilometers long temporarily formed. This arose from information provided by the highway administration and traffic information.

Traffic jams also in Bavaria

In Bavaria there were also longer delays, especially on the border with the Czech Republic on Autobahn 6 near Waidhaus. At the Philippsreut border crossing, traffic from the Czech Republic to Germany was temporarily jammed so intensely that truckers and motorists had to wait three hours, as a spokesman for the Federal Police in Passau said. One reason here is local conditions with a single common lane for trucks and cars.

However, in the direction of Tyrol, the Kiefersfelden border crossing remained fairly quiet, as was the case with car traffic on Sunday. In the case of trucks, however, traffic was stuck for more than 20 kilometers due to block handling in Tyrol.

Effects also on rail traffic

Already late Sunday night, there were hours of waiting in Saxony due to stricter entry controls, such as the Federal Police Situation Center in Pirna. MDR-Consult communicated. According to this, many drivers did not know anything about the new rules. Travelers generally lack digital check-in and proof of corona. Both could be made up at the border in Breitenau, he said.

The new entry rules also have an impact on rail traffic. As announced by the Länderbahn in Saxony, many Vogtlandbahn and Trilex connections have failed since Sunday. Long-distance traffic through the Elbe Valley is also affected. All Eurocity trains between Bad Schandau / Dresden and Berlin / Hamburg / Kiel are canceled. These trains are provided by the Czech State Railways and the Hungarian State Railways.

Freight forwarders warn of economic consequences

Faced with border controls with Austria and the Czech Republic, freight forwarders warn of the consequences for the economy. The Federal Transportation and Logistics Association (DSLV) announced that transportation sector employees would have to register their entry themselves for transit trips and show a certified negative corona test. These new obstacles threatened border congestion, extensive detours, and disrupted supply chains.

EU member states would have to react decisively to the dynamic development of the pandemic, but as a community. “We must not return now to a national policy of closed borders as in March 2020,” warned the president of DSLV, Axel Plaß. The work of freight forwarders is considerably hampered by the non-harmonized entry laws of many EU countries. “Under these conditions, shipping companies will no longer be able to meet demand-based delivery commitments.”

Exceptions for certain travelers

At the borders with the Czech Republic and the Austrian state of Tyrol, stricter entry rules have been in place since Sunday. For fear of the most contagious variants of the corona virus that are widespread there, strict controls are carried out at the corresponding border crossings in Bavaria and Saxony. Travelers with important tasks in systemically important industries can now travel to Germany.

However, there is still a lack of clarity regarding the current entry rules. By Tuesday, local district offices should rank which cross-border traveler activities are considered systemically relevant and which are not. The question of how this is handled is now partially unanswered.

No deadlock for German automakers

The auto industry fears the plants will stop. But it’s not that far yet. Bavarian automakers BMW and Audi haven’t had any major problems so far. “Our plants are currently supplied and are producing according to plan,” BMW said. An Audi spokesperson said: “We are currently producing without restrictions, we are monitoring the situation and future developments.” The situation at Volkswagen is similar. “There are no restrictions on our locations yet, but of course we will continue to monitor this,” a company spokesperson said. “As of today, all our German locations are working, including those in Saxony.”

Yesterday, at the beginning of the strict entry rules at the borders between Bavaria and the Czech Republic and Tyrol, more than 2,200 people were returned in the first 15 hours.

Sarre does not rule out border controls with France

There are currently no stricter border controls at the borders with France and Luxembourg, but Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans believes this is possible if the most dangerous variants of the coronavirus spread accordingly. “Depending on how these variants are spreading among our cross-border neighbors, we cannot rule out stricter controls on people crossing the border,” Hans said in a government statement to state parliament.

At the same time, he emphasized that commuters can continue to drive to work regardless of possible stricter controls. “But under no circumstances will we expose cross-border travelers to new difficulties.”