US President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One.
© dpa
Due to the rescheduled visit of US President Joe Biden to Berlin, parts of the city centre will be cordoned off from this evening and then parts of the government district from Friday.
The area around Potsdamer Platz, where Biden is staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel after his arrival in the evening, is particularly affected by the security precautions. Barriers have been in place there since Wednesday. Parts of the area around Bellevue Palace and the Chancellery have also been cordoned off. The traffic information centre (VIZ) said that road users should avoid these areas and drive as far around them as possible.
Tomorrow, Friday, also marks the start of the autumn school holidays. Drivers must be prepared for road closures. Passengers travelling on S-Bahn and regional trains should expect cancellations and delays from Thursday afternoon and on Friday. Long-distance services will also be affected at times. It will be partially rerouted from Thursday evening. There should be hardly any restrictions on underground services.
With a view to Friday, VIZ announced that the combination of the first wave of travellers and the Biden visit would lead to massive restrictions in road and rail traffic. Drivers should expect delays on city motorways and arterial roads due to the heavy traffic and numerous roadworks. There could also be disruptions if travelling late Friday evening and Saturday morning.
The S-Bahn has already announced cancellations for Thursday afternoon. Traffic on some routes will be thinned out and some trains will probably have to run more slowly at certain times in the city centre, depending on the instructions of the police. This also affects the Ringbahn. There will also be restrictions on Friday due to the security measures on the S-Bahn network. However, they are expected to be less severe than on Thursday evening. S-Bahn trains between Ostbahnhof and Bahnhof Zoo will be cancelled or run less frequently at times because the line runs alongside Bellevue Palace, where Biden will be received. There will also be changes to regional trains and many long-distance trains that stop at the main station.
Biden will meet Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Friday. The American President is one of the politicians with the highest security level. The Berlin police will receive support from the federal police and other federal states. The usual programme for such visits to the government district includes police snipers on buildings, water police boats on the Spree, dog squads to search for explosives, closed airspace to prevent attacks from above and modern technical equipment to disrupt the flight and control of drones.