Many Berliners use the regional trains even on the hottest day of the year (archive photo) Photo: picture alliance
From BZ
On the hottest day of the year so far, many rail travelers around Berlin had a hard time.
While a particularly large number of people were planning trips in the summery weather on Saturday, many trains were canceled, were delayed or were very full.
The railway subsidiary DB Regio announced on Saturday for trains of several regional lines such as RE1, RE3 and RE4 via Twitter, for example, that “due to the exceptionally high number of passengers” no more people could board and no bicycles could be taken.
When asked by dpa, a railway spokesman said that the 9-euro ticket was popular and meant that more people were traveling by bus and train.
In the Berlin and Brandenburg region, however, construction sites and “a slightly higher level of sick leave” are currently also affecting the quality of regional transport, he emphasized.
A spokesman for the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) had already said on request before the weekend that passengers in both federal states would have to be prepared for train cancellations and delays due to staff shortages and construction sites.
The discount campaign with the 9-euro ticket started at the beginning of June. It is intended to support commuters and also help to persuade new users to switch to local public transport on a permanent basis.
Several regional express lines to the Baltic Sea were extended over Pentecost, and additional trains are being examined for the holidays; however, there are not many reserves.
