Overview
- Early June reports say Salzgitter has already reduced blast-furnace production and Arcelor‑Mittal has made initial cuts at its Brandenburg plant because rail deliveries of iron ore, coal and scrap were delayed.
- The delays stem from a cluster of overlapping infrastructure projects on key northern corridors, including works on Hamburg–Berlin, Hamburg–Schwerin and upgrades between Hamburg and Hannover, that have caused line closures and capacity losses.
- Steel firms and the private freight-rail association blame DB InfraGO for insufficient prioritization of freight traffic and say the operator has no visible plan to quickly restore reliable supply.
- Freight cannot be replaced by passenger-style measures, so companies report longer transit times — transports that took about five hours now need up to eight — plus costly detours and extra handling.
- Industry warns of rising corporate costs and wider economic damage if disruptions persist, and the Deutsche Bahn says it has formed a taskforce and proposed simplified compensation procedures for affected operators.