When the timetable changes in December 2022, the cards in regional transport Berlin-Brandenburg will be completely reshuffled. It remains with the two providers Deutsche Bahn and Odeg. Both had won two lots each in the tender. But the railway is felt to be the loser, it has lost the most popular line 1 between Frankfurt (Oder) and Brandenburg / Havel to the competition.
A week after the Odeg, the railways presented their new trains on Thursday, which will run from December. While Odeg bought brand new trains, the state-owned company “only” presented used material. The 20-year-old double-deck coaches and the “Talent” multiple units (ten years old) were repainted bright red and modernized on the inside.
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The railway promises “more comfort, more seats and W-Lan”, for which 150 million euros have been invested. The money stayed in the region: the 41 “Talents” were refurbished by Alstom in Hennigsdorf, and the 145 double-deck coaches in DB workshops in Wittenberge and Dessau. Since this is happening gradually, commuters in the region can already be lucky enough to catch one of the new trains.
Berlin’s Transport Senator Bettina Jarasch (Greens) praised the trains: “Not new, but as good as new”. Jarasch and her Brandenburg colleague Guido Beermann (CDU) once again demanded more money from the federal government for the traffic turnaround.
DB regional boss Carsten Moll called the modernization “a sign of sustainability and resource conservation”. From December 2022, passengers can enjoy power sockets in almost all seats, better seats and hotel-style toilets. The W-Lan was a requirement of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin Brandenburg (VBB).
There are only minor improvements for cyclists. In the “talent” it remains with the mini compartments, only in one per train will there be no folding seats in the future.
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There will be no real bicycle trolleys in the Elbe-Spree network, as they are now on the two lines to the Baltic Sea, RE3 and RE5. The VBB decided that. In the new Odeg “Desiro” trains, the folding seats can be locked in the bicycle compartments. This is intended to defuse the dispute over space in the compartment.
It is more important that significantly more and significantly larger trains will be running from December, and the frequency will also be increased on several lines.
According to the VBB, 28 million train kilometers have been ordered by the federal states, 30 percent more than is currently on the network. The VBB had stipulated that the two most important lots 1 (RE1) and 2 (RE2, RB10, RB14, airport express) go to two different companies.
