“Hellooooo, we have arrived on Sylt. […] We are happy to be on Sylt! Chaos Days ’22, we’ll be there live!”
That’s what it sounds like when punk suddenly breaks loose on Germany’s most popular island – it’s made possible by the 9-euro ticket, with which we can now use regional Deutsche Bahn trains and public transport for three months.
When the government plans became known, the social networks were overheated. And in Germany the question arose as to how best to use the cheap ticket. Unanimous opinion: off to Sylt, no matter where!
In fact, the call to “board Sylt” made the rounds in left-wing groups – and thus awakened memories of spring 1995: At that time, rioters followed the call for autonomous people and traveled to Sylt with the 15-mark weekend train ticket to cause “chaos ” to spread. Several dozen rioters who had previously rioted on two Deutsche Bahn trains were arrested at Westerland train station over a weekend at the end of March.
Photo: Bodo Marks/dpa
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/anyway-schon-gut-besucht-touristen-schlendern-am-montag-ueber-die-strandpromenade-in-westerland-726ad37319de4725badb14015cb23ad3-80281198/ picture/4.picture.jpg”/> Already well attended: Tourists stroll along the beach promenade in Westerland on MondayPhoto: Bodo Marks/dpa
Is Sylt now threatened with another rush or even chaos? Yes, says Karl May Hellner, who runs several fashion shops on the island and is chairman of the “Sylter Unternehmer” association. Although one adjusts to additional guests on the weekends. But he doesn’t think “that we will be overrun”.
The main focus is on the approximately 4,000 commuters who come to work on the island by train every day, said Hellner. “Our biggest concern is that our employees, who commute daily (…) then have to travel in even narrower trains.” Now the island is preparing for the Pentecost days, traditionally a well-attended weekend on the island. “Pentecost is definitely the first 9-euro stress test.”
Of course, one hopes that there will be no problems “which unfortunately have been announced,” said entrepreneur Hellner. The island still wants to be prepared for any chaos days. “There have been some discussions in different circles.” If it should come to that, it is also a matter for the state and the federal government. “They have to support us then.”
Bahn expects overcrowded trains
Not only in the direction of Sylt, but also in other popular tourist destinations, the transport companies expect additional burdens – but how many people will actually get on buses and trains is still completely open.
A spokesman for the railway only said on Wednesday: “At Pentecost, the trains are already well filled.” In addition, the number of passengers on the railway has recently increased again significantly, even without special tickets. Over Easter, the group even counted more travelers on the trains than Easter 2019 – before the crisis.
Many regional transport companies have already announced that it will not always be possible to take bicycles everywhere. The transport association Nah.SH (Schleswig-Holstein) expects fuller trains on the Marschbahn route from Hamburg to Sylt on the Pentecost weekend. An excessive number of travelers are also expected to go to the other popular destinations on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. It is advised to travel at off-peak times or less frequented locations.
The railway subsidiary DB Regio Bayern also warned of “an additional increase in capacity utilization” in regional trains to tourist locations such as Kochel am See, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Oberstdorf and Lindau on Lake Constance. In express trains such as from Munich to Nuremberg or from Würzburg to Bamberg, it can also get full because of the 9-euro ticket.