Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Berlin today. The police are sending many officers to the state visit and are introducing special measures. Snipers will be used. Officers will patrol the Spree, security sources say. Sniffer dogs search all the buildings.
There are massive traffic restrictions due to the state visit. These not only affect drivers, but also passengers of Deutsche Bahn and the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have to be prepared for a change in timing, interruptions and even cancellations.
According to the traffic information center, there may be massive traffic restrictions in the area, particularly during Zelensky’s arrival and departure Berlin-Brandenburg Airporton which City highways A113 and A100 as well as the Berliner Downtown come.
In addition, there are significant closures during Zelensky’s stay in Berlin Brandenburg Gate area, Bellevu Castlee and that Government district to be expected. The VIZ advises drivers to avoid the entire area as much as possible or to avoid it completely.
Zelenskyj visit: U5 does not stop at the Bundestag subway station
The BVG subways will continue to operate largely normally. The BVG announced on Friday morning that the U5 subway line does not stop at U Bundestag station until further notice.
It is currently unknown how severely the BVG bus service will be limited. The BVG’s current fault reports are on the company’s website website visible.
State visit to Berlin: Changed timing on the S-Bahn
Especially on the S-Bahn route between Zoo Station and Ostbahnhof, traffic was significantly thinned out from the morning onwards. The section runs along Bellevue Palace, the seat of the Federal President. The Ringbahn also runs less frequently, and fewer trains run on the north-south lines in the city center.
Am Freitagdem October 11, The following routes differ from the regular timetable:
- S1: Scheduled 10-minute service between Wannsee – Frohnau
- S2: from around 10 a.m. every 10 minutes only between Nordbahnhof and Buch
- S26: canceled from around 8 a.m
- S3: from around 10 a.m. every 10 minutes only between Erkner and Ostbahnhof
- S41/42: from around 8 a.m. every 10 minutes
- S45: canceled from around 8:30 a.m
- S5: from around 9 a.m. only between Strausberg Nord/Hoppegarten – Warschauer Straße every 10 minutes
- S7: from around 9 a.m. 10-minute intervals only between Ahrensfelde – Ostbahnhof and Charlottenburg – Potsdam Hbf
- S75: only runs Wartenberg – Lichtenberg
- For the duration of the state visit, there may be further short-term rail restrictions that are not yet known. Long-distance and regional transport can also be affected.
Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance transport and regional transport are also affected. Some ICE trains should not stop at the main station. The disruption is expected to last until the evening hours, it said. The regional trains RE8 and RB23 will not run to and from BER until the early evening hours, the airport said. But the FEX continues to run.
The @DB_Bahn Long-distance transport is also due to the #StateVisit restricted. ICE, IC and EC connections fail. pic.twitter.com/WdcoKItSs2
— Berlin Traffic Information Center (VIZ Berlin) (@VIZ_Berlin) October 11, 2024
