by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

Local operators reported a train collision incident today in Dorsfeld, a city northwest of Germany located 30 km from Cologne.

The collision occurred on the critical rail line between Aachen and Cologne, one of the key cargo routes in the German rail network.

As a result, the incident is expected to cause significant disruptions and rail cancellations.

The collision adds pressure to the rail congestion already existent in Germany after a lightning strike, and signal issues disrupted rail transport on the Hamburg-Hannover and Bremen-Hannover routes last week.

Operators add that no immediate solution is foreseeable for the current issues, which are anticipated to be resolved by early January 2025.