International commuters between the Netherlands and Germany were stranded for more than two hours on 15 November when signalling problems near Emmerich triggered the suspension of Deutsche Bahn and NS International services on the key Arnhem–Düsseldorf corridor. The disruption, logged from 12:20 to 14:45 CET by Dutch rail tracker Rijdendetreinen, coincided with increased border-police presence testing new Entry/Exit System (EES) handheld devices on selected services.
![Cross-border rail link Arnhem–Düsseldorf resumes after midday outage, highlighting EES rollout pinch-points]()
While operators stressed that the fault was technical, union sources told Global Mobility News that repeated ‘stop-and-go’ orders from police conducting EES dry-runs have created timetable compression, leaving less margin when infrastructure glitches occur. With daytime ICE connections carrying large numbers of consultants and air-crew shuttling between Schiphol and Düsseldorf, knock-on effects spilled into German domestic routes.
Implications – Corporates relying on rail for green-travel KPIs should factor in extra buffer time on EES pilot routes until full automation is in place. DB said it will add a spare set to the Arnhem-Oberhausen fleet for the winter schedule to mitigate future incidents. Passengers delayed more than 60 minutes can claim 25 % fare compensation under EU Regulation 1371/2007.
While operators stressed that the fault was technical, union sources told Global Mobility News that repeated ‘stop-and-go’ orders from police conducting EES dry-runs have created timetable compression, leaving less margin when infrastructure glitches occur. With daytime ICE connections carrying large numbers of consultants and air-crew shuttling between Schiphol and Düsseldorf, knock-on effects spilled into German domestic routes.
Implications – Corporates relying on rail for green-travel KPIs should factor in extra buffer time on EES pilot routes until full automation is in place. DB said it will add a spare set to the Arnhem-Oberhausen fleet for the winter schedule to mitigate future incidents. Passengers delayed more than 60 minutes can claim 25 % fare compensation under EU Regulation 1371/2007.
