Do you get many issues with your overheads coming down? In the UK we have a fair amount of trouble with headspan overheads coming down (by headspan I mean the ones supported by a single pylon each side of the line and all the catenary suspended from a cable between the pylons) but they appear to be very common throughout Germany spanning vast areas of track but don't appear to suffer from the issues we have.
I have actually heard that this isn't all too rare in England. Thankfully, it is indeed very rare in Germany. However, we're just as susceptible to foreign objects finding their way in there, which of course cause major delays too (random things during a storm, or balloons...). But for the actual power line to fall down is definitely a very rare occurance.
On some routes it can even happen during a service. The IRE Friedrichshafen - Ulm - Stuttgart leaves Friedrichshafen with a 218, which is uncoupled in Ulm. A 146 is then coupled to the rake for the remainder of the journey to Stuttgart.
Indeed, this is mostly done on long distance trains where the traction is changed, but it's also done on some EuroCities if the engine has to change sides, or if a new one is fitted.
It also seems to be the case (though I think I read this was changing) that a set will usually be taken out to sidings for servicing and then shunted back "wird fuer Sie bereitgestellt" before use. Quite a costly operational style.
This does actually happen an awful lot, sometimes it's just to make space for the platform, sometimes it's to clean or service the train, and sometimes a combination of those factors. It isn't always immediately obvious from our work plan why we're doing it, but when the time comes then the reason usually becomes apparent, and with time you learn the regular occurrences without even realising.
