During the Easter holidays, the railways are doing major construction in and around Frankfurt, Offenbach and Friedberg. There is an urgent appeal for passengers.
Frankfurt – Passengers in Frankfurt and Offenbach have to face weeks of hardship. The city tunnels in both cities will remain closed for three weeks during the Easter holidays due to construction work. From the west, the S-Bahn ends at the main train station, but some go to the Hauptwache. The S6 route from Frankfurt to Friedberg is also closed. Bahn and Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) are putting together plenty of replacement offers. But they don’t always explain themselves immediately.
Urgent appeal from Frankfurt for all passengers
“Please inform beforehand and leave prepared,” Frankfurt’s elected future head of the mobility department, Wolfgang Siefert (Greens), makes an urgent recommendation to the passengers. From March 31 at 9 p.m. to April 24 at 4 a.m., the railway will close the main artery of the Rhein-Main S-Bahn. There are no S-Bahn trains from the Hauptwache to Offenbach-Ost or Frankfurt-Süd. From April 1st to 17th there will be no trains on the Frankfurt-Friedberg route, including the S6.
The reason: In the Frankfurt City Tunnel, Deutsche Bahn is replacing nine kilometers of track and ten switches for 15 million euros and doing maintenance work, for example on the weir chamber gates, which seal off the tunnel under the Main in the event of water ingress and are intended to protect the remaining tunnel network from flooding. In the neighboring Offenbach city tunnel, the stations are being renewed, for example their fire protection. The railway is already preparing the work on the site of the former platform of the Oberrad station. This is where the new pieces of track and points are assembled and then later moved into the tunnel by crane.
An important station is even closed from March 27th
40 employees will work around the clock during the three weeks, announces project manager Oliver Hinkelmann. So that they have enough oxygen in the tunnel, the railway has to install a huge ventilation system. This ventilation system will be installed in the Ostendstraße station from this Monday (March 27th), which is why the station will be closed from this day – and also for a few days beyond the full closure. “We have to build, otherwise that would not be good for the stability of operations in the Frankfurt hub,” emphasizes Klaus Vornhusen, railway representative for Hesse. In other words: without maintenance, there would be even more disruptions. The railways put the construction work into the holidays because there were far fewer people on the road then. “We know that it will be demanding for the passenger,” admits Vornhusen. Otherwise, 375,000 people commute to the Main metropolis every day.
Many alternatives for passengers
RMV Managing Director André Kavai swears by the customers to another eight hard years. “We are facing a general overhaul of the infrastructure in the Frankfurt hub.” RMV had been fighting for this for years, the “decade of construction” would finally be implemented so that trains could then run more frequently and more punctually, for example the S6 every 15 minutes -Takt to Friedberg or the S5 via Maintal to Hanau. “The frequency of the construction work will not stop.”
RMV and Bahn have put together a large package of alternative transport so that customers can get to their destination. “It will often take a little longer than usual,” admits head of department-to-be Siefert. The city is increasing tram traffic from Offenbach’s city limits in Oberrad to the southern and central railway stations, underground lines run with more cars and more often, two bus lines with articulated buses. The S8 will be diverted from the airport to Offenbach via Südbahnhof. At times, the S1 remains through between Wiesbaden and Rödermark and runs via the main and southern train stations. Replacement buses are running continuously on three lines to connect the severed branches of the S-Bahn.
RMV brings diesel commuter train to an unusual route
The replacement service for the S6 should work better this time than during the long closure last summer, asserts Harald Hartmann from Deutsche Bahn. “That’s what we learned.” This time there will be quality management that will ensure that all replacement stops are well signposted and easy to find. When selecting the bus companies, care was taken to use local companies and drivers who know their way around, emphasizes RMV boss Kavai. This time there is even an extra rail service: an hourly diesel shuttle train Frankfurt-Friedberg via Bad Homburg with double-decker carriages. This is unusual: only small trains usually run there, because there is no overhead line between Friedberg and Friedrichsdorf, and there are no other through trains on this connection. Pro Bahn Hessen had previously criticized the poor quality of the substitute transport – even before the concept was published.
Instead of the S-Bahn, you can take the train, subway, tram, bus or rental bike
Replacement buses for city tunnels: SEV1 Offenbach-Ost via Kaiserlei and Frankfurt-Südbahnhof to the airport, SEV2 Offenbach-Ost via Kaiserlei and Frankfurt-Ostbahnhof to Konstablerwache, SEV3 Offenbach-Ost via Kaiserlei to Frankfurt-Südbahnhof. Bus routes M34 (Gallus-Bornheim) and 61 (Südbahnhof-Flughafen) run continuously with articulated buses. Many subways and trams run with more cars and more frequently.
S6 Lock Replacement: Frankfurt-Friedberg shuttle train every hour; Regional trains diverted via Hanau and Frankfurt-Süd; Express replacement bus S6X between Frankfurt main station and Groß-Karben via Konstablerwache and Bad Vilbel; Replacement bus S6E between Groß-Karben and Frankfurt-West along the S6 line; in Frankfurt, among other things, bus route 25 from the north extended to the U5 terminus in Preungesheim.
Rental bikes for one hour free of charge from March 31 to April 23 from “Call a Bike” and “nextbike” at most S-Bahn stations from the main train station to Frankfurt-Süd and Offenbach-Marktplatz/Central Station as well as from March 31 to April 17 from ” nextbike” along the S6.
Bundled under all info. (Dennis Pfeiffer-Goldmann)
