The RE 1 regional express line is one of the busiest regional express lines in Germany. At the same time, passengers on this route are repeatedly faced with disruptions, engineering works, delays and train cancellations.

We are currently seeing this with the extensive train cancellations announced for the period from 10 July between Berlin-Ostbahnhof and Eisenhüttenstadt. We would like to see better coordination and more advance notice. 

The signatories of this appeal therefore welcome Deutsche Bahn’s announcement that it will invest in the modernisation of this route.

Nevertheless, the construction work must not cut off the capital region, eastern Brandenburg and the neighbouring Polish region from one another for months on end. A complete closure lasting for months would place an unreasonable daily burden on tens of thousands of commuters, students and schoolchildren. In particular, this would pose an acute threat to the economic development of an entire region.

We are already seeing, with train cancellations and disruptions, that the rail replacement bus service is reaching its limits.

We are therefore taking the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB InfraGO at its word and strongly urge it to ensure that the comprehensive refurbishment of the vital commuter route between Berlin-Ostbahnhof and Frankfurt (Oder) is carried out in a way that is both economically viable and passenger-friendly. By ‘passenger-friendly’, we mean carrying out the works on a single track and concluding binding contracts with bus operators in advance to ensure the quality and continuity of the rail replacement services, which will be necessary due to the reduced service frequency during single-track renovation.

We fear that a complete closure of the RE1 line lasting several months will have drastic consequences for a large number of businesses, employees and institutions in Eastern Brandenburg and Poland.

Signatories:

  • City of Frankfurt (Oder)
  • City of Fürstenwalde/Spree
  • City of Eisenhüttenstadt
  • Oder-Spree District
  • Frankfurt (Oder) Hospital
  • Viadrina European University, Frankfurt (Oder)
  • OSMAB Holding AG 
  • ALCARO Invest GmbH 
  • German Pension Insurance Berlin-Brandenburg 
  • East Brandenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce 
  • Campus Hütte