Thick snowfall brings severe travel restrictions to Hamburg

The port city's transport authorities were caught off guard on Thursday morning when heavy snowfall defied milder predictions by weather forecasters, the Hamburger Morgenpost reports.

The German Weather Service had predicted light snow or rain to fall over night, but locals woke up to find their city lying under a thick coat of snow.

Deutsche Bahn was caught off guard by the late winter weather, with the S1 line hit by delays. Meanwhile intercity trains from Hamburg to Berlin were not running early on Thursday after the lines was blocked by a fallen tree between Schwarzenbek and Büchen. Services resumed later in the morning but significant delays are still expected.

Regional trains around Hamburg were also hit hard. The line between Kiel and Lübeck was one of several completely closed down due to fallen trees.

Underground services in Hamburg were also running irregularly on the U2 and U6 lines. Both had been impacted by fallen trees on overground sections and were running rail replacement services.

Meanwhile Hamburg’s fire service have warned drivers to show particular caution on the city's roads.

With drivers picking their way through the slushy streets, traffic jams built up around the Elbe tunnel and on the A255 autobahn.

The worst delays were to be found on the A1, which was closed after a truck driver lost control of his vehicle near Wildeshausen. Commuters driving into Hamburg on the busy motorway were stuck in a long tailback.