A section of Berlin's underground U5 line, which connects Hauptbahnhof to the Marzahn neighbourhood in the east, is closed for construction work which is expected to last until September 21st.
The work involves replacing switches and installing additional track junctions to make operations more flexible in the future.
The work was originally scheduled to begin on June 30th and last until the end of August. According to BVG, the start was delayed due to the late delivery of the necessary switches.
How are passengers affected?
A replacement bus service has been set up to shuttle passengers between Frankfurter Allee and Tierpark stations.
Individual trains will also run between Tierpark and Biesdorf-Süd stations as a shuttle service.
Journey times are expected to be significantly longer with the replacement service, especially for the section between Frankfurter Allee and Biesdorf-Süd. The BVG is currently recommending that passengers use alternative connections such as the S5 where possible.
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Immediately after completion of this section of track work, more work is planned on the U5 on the section between Cottbusser Platz and Kaulsdorf-Nord, which will also lead to restrictions.Â
The long closure period for the Frankfurter Allee and Biesdorf-Süd section (around seven weeks) is partly due to the complicated working conditions in the narrow underground tunnel, where there is limited space for storing materials or using heavy equipment.
The work on the points requires a lot of manual labour and safety precautions, which significantly extends the construction time, according to media reports.
More information about current and ongoing U-bahn, tram and bus disruptions in Berlin can be found here.
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