New subway intervals due to Omicron from Monday

Der Fahrplan im Berliner Nahverkehr wird an diesem Montag (24. Januar 2022) weiter ausgedünnt.

"The entire network continues to receive reliable service."

Because a lot of staff are on sick leave or in quarantine due to the wave of Omicron infections, buses, subways and some trams are running less frequently. However, the BVG assured passengers: "The entire network will continue to be reliably served." A total of about one in 20 journeys is cancelled (4.8 percent). The passenger association Igeb called the cuts perfectly reasonable.

Taktverlängerungen auf einigen Linien

Konkret gilt von Montag an, dass Züge der U-Bahn-Linien 2, 5, 6 und 9 tagsüber im Fünf-Minuten-Takt fahren - bislang waren die Takte in den Stoßzeiten etwas dichter. Fahrgäste warteten höchstens eine Minute länger, versicherte die BVG. Auf ihren Abschnitten in Spandau und Reinickendorf fahren die Züge der U2 und der U8 nur noch alle zehn Minuten. Ein Zehn-Minuten-Takt gilt auch auf der U4, außerdem bei den Straßenbahnlinien M5 und M6.

Bus service already adjusted

The bus service has been thinned out since Wednesday already. As of Monday (Jan. 24), 21 of the 150 bus lines are affected. Especially on sections where buses of several lines run in parallel, the BVG has adjusted the timetable. The cuts were made in order to ensure that buses run reliably despite the rising Coronavirus infection numbers. The passenger association supports the adjustments and expects few resulting problems. Jens Wieseke, vice chairman of the Igeb (Interessengemeinschaft Eisenbahn, Nahverkehr und Fahrgastbelange Berlin), assumes that significantly more people are currently working from home than, for example, in the fall of 2021.

Duration of measures still open

The BVG had already thinned out its timetables for weeks at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020. It remains to be seen how long the precautionary measures will last this time and whether further steps will be necessary. According to a spokeswoman, the S-Bahn, which belongs to Deutsche Bahn, has so far continued to run as before.