BVG | Tram Ostkreuz threatened with the next loop

"Nobody knows when the tram will open. Nobody knows when the planning approval process will be completed. And nobody knows whether the next round will be the last," says BVG service planner Helmut Grätz when asked what will happen next with tram line 21 at Ostkreuz.

As is well known, Line 21 is supposed to directly connect to Ostkreuz station via a new, approximately 1.2-kilometer-long line through Friedrichshain's Sonntagstraße. Currently, it misses the railway junction by a few hundred meters on Boxhagener Straße. However, even almost a decade after the originally announced opening date of 2016, it remains unclear when the planning approval process for the line will be completed and construction can begin.

"Next round," the phrase used by Helmut Grätz at the BVG passenger consultation day of the Berlin Passenger Association (IGEB) at the Lichtenberg depot on Monday evening, is a cause for concern. The documents have already been made available four times in the planning approval process, which has been ongoing for eight years. And there's a real threat that they will have to be revised and made available again – a fifth time.

"Discussions are underway with the planning approval authority," Andrea Paulo confirmed in response to an inquiry from "nd." The goal is to achieve the greatest possible legal certainty for a planning approval decision, explains the BVG department head for subway and tram infrastructure projects. There are fierce opponents of the new line who would exploit any weakness in the process to legally challenge a building permit.

It's an unexpected new twist in the story surrounding the new line to Ostkreuz. Just a few weeks ago, there was confidence that planning permission for the connection could be granted as early as September. "What we do know, however, is that tram line 21 between Holteistraße and Marktstraße will no longer be operating from November," says BVG representative Grätz. On November 21, the line will carry passengers for the last time on the approximately 900-meter-long section. The approximately 40-year-old tracks in this section of Boxhagener and Marktstraße are so worn that no longer allow regular service. Line 21 will be split in two from this date. "There is no explicit replacement service in between, but there is bus line 240, which runs exactly on the route," explains Grätz. A switch will be installed between the Wismarplatz and Holteistraße stops so that trams can switch tracks.

Contrary to previous statements by the BVG, the outbound track in the section closed to passenger service will remain operational, according to tender documents. This would allow trams to continue running between Marktstraße and Blockdammweg during the track replacement planned for 2026 on Ehrlichstraße in Karlshorst. Only during the critical phase of connecting the new turning track on Blockdammweg, which is also scheduled for construction next year, would replacement buses be required.

But there's also more encouraging news from the BVG cosmos. "The introduction of the new JK trains is going absolutely according to plan," reports Felix Fischer regarding the deployment of the new JK trains on the U2 line. After years of delays, the first eight-car train was officially put into passenger service on September 8th. Since then, one more train has entered service every week. It took just three days from delivery by the manufacturer to commissioning on the network, Fischer proudly explains.

"Nobody knows when the tram will open."

Helmut Grätz BVG - Service Planner

In the so-called "Kleinprofil" (small profile), which includes lines U1 to U4 with their narrower vehicles, reliability has increased by almost seven percentage points to just under 95 percent, reports BVG CEO Henrik Falk. Across the entire subway network, 97.3 percent of all scheduled journeys are currently taking place. In the second half of 2024, this figure was 92 percent. The BVG has also become more reliable on the surface. For trams, the figure rose from 95.8 to 98.4 percent in the same period, and for buses from 98.4 to 99.1 percent – ​​however, service on these lines has been reduced by 6 percent since December 2023 and continues to be reduced compared to the Senate's original order. With his mantra "stability before growth," Henrik Falk once again clearly rejects any possible expansion of service before 2027.

Before the two-hour presentation and question-and-answer session in a meeting room at the depot, the BVG invited the attendees of the passenger consultation day to the track area. There, they were able to inspect the latest tram model: At almost 51 meters, the Urbanliner is the longest vehicle type on the Berlin tram network to date.

Three pre-production vehicles are now operating on the BVG network for test and approval runs. Passenger service was originally announced for spring 2025. It is currently assumed that the trains will actually be able to begin service on the M4 by the end of the year. The delays are said to have been caused by many small issues rather than a few major ones. 65 trains have been firmly ordered so far, about half of which are needed for the M4 line alone. Therefore, it will take about another three years before another line can be converted. A prime candidate is the M2.