Stranded ÖFB fans

Service scandal! Soccer fans stranded in Passau

Andreas F. arrived at the stadium with his son only in the 70th minute after a 15-hour horror trip on the Deutsche Bahn. Levi was able to laugh again in the stadium.(Bild: Zur Verfügung gestellt)

What a nightmare with Deutsche Bahn! The Viennese Andreas F. and his son Levi, who had left Vienna at 7.15 a.m., only arrived at their seats in the Düsseldorf stadium in the 70th minute. They had previously been stranded in Passau and later in Würzburg. In the end, there were still people on the tracks near Cologne, so the train had to take a detour.

The track construction work between Passau and Regensburg was well known. And yet at 9.30 a.m. there was only one bus available as a rail replacement service. The Austrian soccer fans were also poorly informed. According to the fans on site, communication only took place with the police. Deutsche Bahn ducked away, there were not even any announcements. Andreas F. from Vienna says of the Deutsche Bahn service scandal: "People were very patient for a long time, but at some point the mood changed." He and his son got to know other ÖFB fans from Lower Austria and Burgenland and formed a community of suffering.

The community of suffering tried to take the stress with humor. In the end, this was hardly successful.(Bild: zVg)

After Passau also stranded in Würzburg
Also not funny in Passau: cabs were rare. And the fare to Regensburg was 300 euros. Andreas F., whose son Levi's birthday is on Tuesday and whose ticket was his greatest wish come true, said with gallows humor: "I knew that taking the train was an adventure, but I never thought it would be such a big adventure." When they changed trains in Nuremberg at 15.34, they were still in good spirits to be in Düsseldorf by 8pm.

Levi was able to laugh again in the stadium
But then they were stranded in Würzburg because a train was canceled. The next train was also late. There were also people on the tracks near Cologne, so the train had to take a detour. Shortly before 10 p.m., they actually arrived at Düsseldorf airport station. They took a cab to the stadium, where they at least experienced the thrilling final minutes. Andreas F. said after the horror trip: "At least Levi was able to laugh again in the stadium."