Winter service in Bavaria
Trains and airports prepare for ice and snow
11/20/2025 – 07:33Reading time: 2 minutes
Deutsche Bahn and Bavaria airports are preparing for winter. Thousands of employees are ready to keep the tracks and runways ice-free.
Deutsche Bahn and the three Bavarian airports of Munich, Nuremberg and Memmingen have completed their winter preparations. Even if there were enough snow shovels to cover local sidewalks, some 10,330 kilometers of railway lines and several million square meters of airport areas in Bavaria should remain impassable amidst the snow and ice.
Deutsche Bahn uses an accurate weather forecast system that records 28 parameters at 17,000 train-specific points. A railway spokesman in Munich explained: “On this basis, precise forecasts are made up to eight days in advance, which flow directly into the operational decision-making process – from operational planning to operational control.”
In addition to forecasts from the German Weather Service (DWD), Munich Airport relies on a black ice early warning system with 18 measurement points. Robert Wilhelm, a spokesman for Munich Airport, explained: “In addition, braking values on the runway are constantly checked with the help of special vehicles.”
The dimensions of the winter service are extensive: at Munich Airport alone, the area to be cleaned covers 5.6 million square meters or more than 780 football pitches. “Cleaning the runway at Munich Airport, which is more than 4,000 meters long and about 60 meters wide, only takes about 30 minutes,” said Wilhelm.
There are 184 vehicles available for winter service in Munich, including 71 tractors from the airport area. More than 600 employees secured the space, 520 of whom came from regional agricultural and transportation companies.
57,000 tons of surface de-icing material is stored at Nuremberg Airport. Jan Beinßen of Nuremberg Airport reports: “Situations with very cold rain, for example, are very labor intensive.” Four special vehicles as well as 18 fixed vehicles and up to 20 jump troops are available to de-ice aircraft.
The Bavarian railway network has more than 10,000 points, 8,140 of which are equipped with point heaters. In extreme weather conditions, 14,200 cleaning crews can clean lines and switches by hand.
Special rules apply to de-icing agents at airports. The flight operations area in Munich is mostly mechanically cleaned. Wilhelm explains: “Snow plows, brushes and snow blowers are mounted on special trucks that remove snow without chemicals.” In the event of freezing rain or lightning hail, de-icing agents are also used.
