A type 485 S-Bahn train.
© dpa
The last trains from GDR times still in operation on Berlin's S-Bahn and subway lines are gradually being taken out of service.
These old trains are the model BR 485 in the S-Bahn network and the so-called Gisela vehicles on the subway lines. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn and a spokesman for the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB) said that 44 of the 30-year-old S-Bahn vehicles are currently still in service.
The BR 485 trains run, for example, on the S46, S8 or S85 lines and are to be replaced by the newer 483, 484 and 481 series this year and next. According to VBB, the vehicles do not have the ZBS train protection system, which is expected to be required on all lines of Berlin's S-Bahn network from the end of 2023. The BR 485 series dates back to GDR times, but the trains still in service were not built until after the fall of the Wall.
On the subway lines U1 to U4, 100 of the so-called Gisela vehicles are currently still in use. These trains were built in 1988/89. According to current plans, the vehicles will be retired from 2029 after a service life of around 40 years and replaced by a new generation.