Bonn's transit authority has temporarily withdrawn 60 of its 75 light rail vehicles from service starting Monday after routine inspections revealed premature material fatigue on components of older rolling stock. The affected trains, manufactured between the 1970s and 1990s, will remain offline for safety checks expected to last through next week, according to a statement from Stadtwerke Bonn.
Lines 18, 63 and 68 in Bonn and the surrounding Rhein-Sieg district are impacted by the disruption. Officials have declined to arrange replacement bus service, saying they want to avoid adding traffic to city streets.
The Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe has stepped in to help, lending 20 light rail cars to Bonn. In return, Cologne is running reduced holiday schedules, thinning frequency on Line 5 to single-car trains and cutting Line 18 to 10-minute intervals.