Berlin – Leipzig, Dresden, Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Rostock: These and many other cities can be reached directly from Berlin Südkreuz. The train station, which is also easily accessible by S-Bahn, long-distance buses and the BVG, plays an important role in capital city traffic. Not only residents of the neighboring West Berlin districts get a chance there, thanks to the good connections, many East Berliners also get on and off at Südkreuz. But now observers fear that the long-distance train traffic there will be greatly thinned out for the upcoming timetable change. From mid-December 2022, numerous ICE stops could be omitted, it is said. The railway does not rule that out.
Winners and losers: You can also find them at Berlin train stations. The main train station, which opened more than 15 years ago, benefited from the changes in rail traffic in the capital. The Spandau and Gesundbrunnen train stations also gained in importance – as did the Ostkreuz recently. Lichtenberg and Schöneweide, important junctions for long-distance train traffic in GDR times, were among those who were relegated years ago. In 2006 the Zoologischer Garten station was also downgraded to a regional train stop. The Ostbahnhof later lost numerous ICE stops.
179,000 visitors and travelers per day
The Südkreuz, where regional and long-distance trains have stopped since 2006, was able to hold its own. The bright building in which the Ringbahn crosses the north-south routes, with its spacious halls and good shopping opportunities, is not only considered a pleasant place to stay. Measured by the average number of travelers and visitors in 2019, the station in Tempelhof-Schöneberg is also the fifth most important station in Berlin according to the federal government – after the main station, Friedrichstrasse, Ostkreuz and Gesundbrunnen. On average, around 179,000 users were counted every day.
But it is not ruled out that Südkreuz will also end up on the list of relegated members in December 2022. This is currently being discussed at Drehscheibe Online, an internet forum on rail transport. Not only train fans who have nothing to do with trains professionally take part in the exchange of information and opinions, employees of train companies also participate in the debate.
This forum now states that Deutsche Bahn (DB) wants to convert the 55-kilometer section between Berlin-Südkreuz and Jüterbog to the European train control system ETCS. During the work, which is scheduled for three years, the top speed will have to be reduced from 200 to 160 kilometers per hour. The result is that the ICE trains run a few minutes longer. However, this cannot be compensated for in the timetable because otherwise important connections in regional traffic would be lost in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. And so a study by DB Netz for the new timetable provides that the ICE of the lines from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart and Munich as well as to Leipzig, Erfurt, Nuremberg and Munich pass through the Südkreuz without stopping. Only the sprinter trains could continue to stop there.
“At this point in time, we cannot give any specific information about the timetable change in December 2022,” said a rail spokesman when asked by the Berliner Zeitung. “The timetable will only be drawn up in the course of this year. We will provide detailed information in due course. ”It is clear:“ ICE trains will also stop at Südkreuz station in the future, ”said the spokesman. But it remained unclear: how many – and which ones.
“If everything goes as planned here, then good night”
For the Pro Bahn passenger association, the possible cancellations at Südkreuz are already an issue. “All in all, the whole thing shows that people are still working with the aim of building as cheaply as possible,” said Lukas Iffländer, the deputy federal chairman. “Three years for ETCS between Berlin and Jüterbog is far too long. Even if we were to assume that the interlockings would be completely replaced, it would have to be possible with a few months of actual passenger restrictions. ”
imago / Stefan Zeitz
One of the more pleasant train stations in Berlin: View into a hall at Südkreuz.
It should be possible to relocate the transponders that communicate with the trains at ETCS without having to switch off the current security system. “I see a clear case of ‘not wanting’ instead of ‘not being able to’,” complained Iffländer. The Pro-Bahn Vice-Vice President hopes that the new Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) will quickly implement the mandate from the coalition agreement to convert DB’s infrastructure operations to non-profit. “Then such insane approaches, which will certainly lead to an at least temporary shift in the direction of aircraft / cars, will hopefully soon come to an end,” said Iffänder. “This is also urgently needed if we really want to digitize the entire network and equip it with ETCS Level 2. If everything goes as planned here, then good night. “
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