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Potsdam and Berlin are to be better connected by train. Brandenburg and Berlin therefore want to reactivate an old section of the rail line, the so-called Potsdamer Stammbahn.
Regional trains are to run again in the future on the route between Potsdam-Griebnitzsee, Zehlendorf and Potsdamer Platz, the Berlin-Brandenburg transport association announced on Monday (May 23, 2022). It remains to be seen when the line could go into operation, as the planning approval process alone will take years.
Rail connections in the northwest of Berlin are also subject to improvement. According to the plans, the section of the Prignitz Express (RE6 and RB55) between Velten and Neuruppin will be upgraded to two trains per hour and direction by 2026. Plans also call for the S-Bahn to run every ten minutes between Berlin-Schönholz and Hennigsdorf and for the S-Bahn to be extended to Velten.
"The Potsdamer Stammbahn and the Prignitz Express corridor will make life much easier for commuters and strengthen connections to the Brandenburg hinterland as a whole," assured Berlin's Transport Senator Bettina Jarasch. The Stammbahn was Prussia's first rail line in 1838, but was not fully restored to service after destruction during World War II. For a long time, there had also been considerations to resurrect the Stammbahn as an urban railroad.
However, a stronger supra-regional effect can be achieved with regional trains, it was said on Monday. Up to four trains per hour in each direction are possible. However, not all of them will be able to enter the tunnel at Potsdamer Platz, which is overloaded according to VBB. Therefore, a connection in the direction of Ostkreuz is also being considered. For budget reasons, the idea of having the Prignitz Express run parallel to the S-Bahn directly through Reinickendorf to Gesundbrunnen was also rejected. Many commuters will therefore continue to change trains in Hennigsdorf.