Commission has yet to endorse a draft for a directive safeguarding workers from risks associated with ionizing radiation exposure.
In the heart of Germany, a beloved documentary series is facing an uncertain future. "Eisenbahn-Romantik," a staple of SWR broadcasting since the early 1990s, has captivated viewers with its exploration of the country's rich railway history and traditions.
The series, which initially started as a filler in the SWR program, has become a hit, with numerous individual episodes available in the ARD media library and on the YouTube channel "SWR Eisenbahn Romantik." The vintage narrow-gauge locomotive of the Museumsbahn Ochsenhausen-Warthausen in Oberschwaben often graced the start of an episode, setting the tone for a journey through Germany's railway past.
Over the past decade, "Eisenbahn-Romantik" has achieved between 3.2 and 4.2 percent market share in the SWR broadcast area, attracting between 15,000 and 67,000 viewers each time. Across the rest of Germany, the series has maintained a market share ranging between 1.2 and 2.5 percent, with between 60,000 and 270,000 viewers tuning in.
The series' success has inspired railway enthusiasts like Ulrich Klumpp from Speyer to visit special tracks, train stations, locomotives, and carriages in the southwest and Germany. Klumpp, who started a petition to persuade public broadcaster SWR to continue producing the series, has collected around 13,000 signatures on the Open Petition platform since late June.
The petition was initiated due to SWR's announcement that it will discontinue the show. The AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament of Stuttgart has expressed disapproval of the show's cancellation, stating that it is deeply rooted in railway tradition in the southwest. The group has accused SWR of "cruelly cancelling" the show.
Hagen von Ortloff, considered the inventor of "Eisenbahn-Romantik" and the series' moderator until the end of 2015, has also appealed to SWR to keep the editorial team of "Eisenbahn-Romantik" intact. Ulrich Klumpp hopes to meet with SWR director Kai Gniffke to discuss continuing the production of the show.
The series' opening and closing theme was the jazz tune "Sentimental Journey" by Les Brown, setting a nostalgic and romantic tone for each episode. Individual videos have been viewed up to 1.6 million times, with many others receiving several hundred thousand views on YouTube.
As the future of "Eisenbahn-Romantik" remains uncertain, railway enthusiasts and viewers alike await a decision from SWR. The series has not only provided a captivating look into Germany's railway history but has also inspired a new generation of railway enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the country's rich railway heritage.
