At least nine people have been killed in a powerful storm that has lashed Germany and Austria, police say, as rail companies struggle to restore service in the storm's wake.
The toll includes four killed in Germany and Switzerland when trees fell on passing cars, three German deaths when cars skidded after roads suddenly iced over, a German killed when a wall toppled on him and an Austrian man blown off a ladder to his death.
The cyclonic storm, named Niklas by German meteorologists, was one of the most powerful of recent years in central Europe with gusts up to 192 kilometres per hour.
German railways said on Wednesday they were unable to provide full service because trains and staff were still being repositioned.
"Not all of our personnel can be at the stations where the schedule calls for them to be," said a spokeswoman for Germany company Deutsche Bahn.
A main line from Munich, Germany to Salzburg, Austria was cut by storm damage.
Frankfurt airport, Germany's biggest, had to cancel 180 take-offs and landings because of the high winds.
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