Workers are seen in the tunnel of the U2 construction site at Alexanderplatz during a press event.
© dpa
After months of restrictions, the U2 metro line is scheduled to return to normal service from 28 August.
"From what we know today, the goal is still to resume passenger service here on 28.8," said Rolf Erfurt, chief operating officer at Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), during a walk-through of the construction site in the underground tunnel on Monday.
Since October, traffic on the U2 has been restricted at Alexanderplatz. The Covivio company is building a high-rise there. Due to the construction work, the neighbouring tunnel tubes of the underground sank several centimetres. Since then, the trains between the Senefelderplatz and Klosterstraße stops have only been running on a single track in shuttle service. And instead of the usual 5-minute intervals on the U2, they only run every 15 minutes - to the annoyance of many passengers. Repair work on the damaged underground tunnel has been underway since last March. Liquid cement was pumped into the subsoil via so-called injection lances to stabilise the tunnel, which had sunk by about four centimetres. Track work is currently taking place in the area of the construction site.
The renovation work is being carried out at Covivio's expense. The company paid in advance for the repair costs of around ten million euros. "As of today, the state of Berlin has not suffered any financial damage," emphasised BVG's chief operating officer Erfurt. A subsidence of up to three centimetres had been predicted, Kutscher explained. However, the so-called subsidence had occurred too early and too concentrated in one spot. A further significant subsidence of the tunnel when the tracks are put into operation is unlikely. A measuring system that monitors the movements in the tunnel remains installed. "We will continue to keep an eye on it," Kutscher assured.