Train traffic in Brandenburg and Berlin: Punctuality in danger!

Train traffic in Brandenburg and Berlin: Punctuality in danger!

Bernau bei Berlin, Deutschland - Deutsche Bahn today, on June 16, 2025, informed about significant timetable changes in long-distance transport in Brandenburg, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The reason for the changes is a defective signal box between Berlin and Eberswalde. Since this date, travelers have to adapt to impairments in the connections, especially for the ICE trains from Berlin via Eberswalde to Pasewalk, Greifswald and the popular Baltic Sea resort of Binz. Affected stops such as Bernau, Eberswalde, Angermünde, Prenzlau, Pasewalk, Anklam, Züssow and Greifswald could be omitted, whereby a replacement retention is being set up in Neustrelitz. The DB's staff is already working with high pressure on the disruption and asks all travelers to find out about the current connections before their journey, whether about Bahn.de or the DB Navigator.

The punctuality of the long -distance trains of Deutsche Bahn turns out to be problematic in 2023 - only about 64% of the trains arrived on time, which represents a decline compared to the 65.2% in 2022. Terrifying 36% of the trains had a delay of at least six minutes. In comparison, the DB Regio trains were in an impressive punctuality of 92-93%in the first quarter of this year. The reasons for this unpunctuality are diverse: construction sites, renovations, disturbances in vehicles as well as technical problems on the guiding and safety system or on the rail network still represent major challenges, such as [News.de] (https://www.news.de/Amp/reisen-und-leben/858703954/deutsche-news-fuer-Brandenburg-berin-und-mecklenburg-vorpommern-beistraechtungen- and

additional impairments by cable damage

The situation is additionally tightened by the announced restrictions in train traffic from and to Oberstdorf from November 3, 2023, such as the Deutsche Bahn . A solid cable damage in the signal box requires complete renewal, which results in the construction of a new electronic signal box. During this time, only one track in Oberstdorf train station can be used, which results in massive restrictions on train traffic. Travelers should prepare for extended travel times - about 20 minutes for regional connections that lead from and to Oberstdorf. Alternatives are offered in the form of bus connections, while long -distance trains from cities such as Hamburg and Dortmund are no longer available.

The challenges for Deutsche Bahn no seem to find an end. In the first half of 2024, punctuality in rail transport in Germany is only 89.9%, with DB long -distance transport showing 62.7% a continued deterioration. This is in stark contrast to the almost 90.1% punctuality in DB rail passenger traffic. Above all, the aging and overload of the infrastructure, personnel bottlenecks and many construction sites have a negative impact on operating quality. To counteract this, measures to stabilize the operating quality were created. In an action plan for improving punctuality, accelerated measures are to be taken to stabilize the situation, as can be seen from the reports on zbir.de.

travelers are well advised to inform themselves about their connections and bring patience to them, because timetables and availability could change at short notice. Deutsche Bahn is working intensively to improve the service and bring punctuality back to an acceptable level. Until then, it remains exciting on the rails from Brandenburg to Oberstdorf.