Important gaps in the rail network will be closed with the timetable change on December 14, 2025 and the commissioning of the Dresdner Bahn between the Berlin-Südkreuz and Blankenfelde stations. "Brandenburg's business community is delighted about the improvements to Brandenburg's rail network and the more attractive connection to BER Airport. At the same time, we must not forget how long all this has taken: around three decades from the first initiatives to reopen regional and long-distance services on the line to the now completed closure of the gap. That is a pace that puts Germany behind. Our state must become much faster here in the future," says Jens Warnken, President of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), on behalf of the Brandenburg IHKs.
There is a big plus for Königs Wusterhausen, Lübben and Lübbenau: there will be three trains per hour from Lübbenau to Berlin in future. By doubling the frequency of the Airport Express FEX between Berlin Central Station and BER to every 15 minutes and almost halving the journey time to 23 minutes, the capital is attractively connected to the region. The FEX with faster connections and better links also benefits Brandenburg regions via transfer connections. The new hourly RE20 service between Berlin Central Station and Lübbenau via the Dresdner Bahn and BER will sooner or later strengthen Lusatia. The journey time to Lübbenau will be just 50 minutes. With the second track after 2027, the connection will also be available to Cottbus.
The RE8 line in the direction of Elsterwerda will be accelerated by around ten minutes. The previously split RE8 line will become one line running from Wismar or Wittenberge via Berlin-Hauptbahnhof, Südkreuz and Wünsdorf-Waldstadt to Elsterwerda. The only downside for Elbe-Elster is the loss of the IC stop in Doberlug-Kirchhain on the way to Dresden.
"More transfer-free connections from southern Brandenburg to BER Airport will increase the attractiveness for air travelers and for employees at BER and in the entire airport area. These improved travel conditions are therefore expressly to be welcomed," emphasizes Warnken.
However, it is important not to lose sight of other urgently needed ICE stops at the BER train station and the extension of the subway to Rudow. Solutions must also be found as soon as possible for the bottleneck at Königs Wusterhausen station. "A complete reconstruction of the station, including the relocation of the S-Bahn by one track width to the east, is urgently needed from a business perspective. However, the planning for this must now be accelerated if funds from the structural change funding are to be used for the conversion by 2038," Warnken makes clear.
The state working group (LAG) is a cooperation of the three chambers of industry and commerce in the state of Brandenburg. It represents the interests of around 160,000 companies from industry, trade and services.