A high-speed ICE train travelling from the resort island of Sylt to Berlin was forced to make an unscheduled stop at Hamburg-Bergedorf station on Saturday after it ran out of toilet paper, with the conductor disembarking to buy supplies from a nearby supermarket.
The conductor of train ICE 2075 purchased three large packs of toilet paper, paying out of pocket. Deutsche Bahn confirmed the incident and said it would reimburse the conductor in full. The railway attributed the shortage to a last-minute staff absence that prevented normal pre-departure provisioning, including restocking of onboard supplies. The train arrived in Berlin roughly 45 minutes behind schedule.
A Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said the company plans to conduct more frequent spot checks of onboard supplies going forward. A video of the incident had garnered more than 700,000 views on Instagram by midweek.