Berlin's Magnet Train: Transport Senator Bonde Reveals Strategy Document
Berlin's Transport Senator, Ute Bonde, has proposed a new plan for a magnetic levitation (maglev) train in the capital region, aiming to revolutionize public transportation in the city. The plan, which includes a new ring line between the existing S-Bahn and the city border, has generated significant media attention and highlights the Berlin Senate's commitment to the topic.
The working group, consisting of representatives from VBB, BVG, and the Berlin Senate, has been discussing the potential construction of an urban maglev system since summer 2023. The discussions include visualization provided by GRAFT Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, and the strategy paper outlining Bonde's vision for mobility in Berlin by 2035 includes the maglev train as a potential technology.
The proposed route would make it possible for passengers to check-in or at least drop off their luggage in the city center, offering a seamless travel experience. The route would allow the carriers to be easily installed by running parallel to the highway.
Ute Bonde justifies her plan by stating that the maglev train is now financially supported by the federal government. The federal government's changed stance on maglev technology could now provide fresh impetus for the idea. The magnetic levitation train is intended to give the topic new momentum and be compared with other traffic carriers in feasibility studies.
Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) proposed the idea of using maglev technology to better connect the outskirts of Berlin at the beginning of 2024. The plan includes a specific route for the maglev train, starting at the former congress center in the west of the city and leading to the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). The route would also allow for a potential connection between the Charité locations in Berlin-Mitte and Wedding.
The first pilot project for implementing maglev technology in the Berlin metropolitan region was initiated in the beginning of the 1980s, but the last attempt to establish maglev technology in the region failed in February 2000. However, the prospects for a possible realization of the project have changed, as the federal government now supports the maglev train technology.
The maglev train is mentioned in the current coalition agreement of Union and SPD at the federal level for the community traffic financing law. Reservations against the technology favored by the Berlin transport administration seem to have been resolved. The public announcement of the current plans has generated significant media attention, highlighting the Berlin Senate's commitment to the topic beyond mere lip service.
Ute Bonde plans to present a strategy paper in the fall of 2025 for the realization of a magnetic levitation train in the capital region. The proposed Maglev route in Berlin could potentially allow passengers to check in and drop off luggage in the city before traveling directly to the airport by Maglev, reducing heavy truck traffic in the city center and benefiting logistics distribution centers in Brandenburg. The magnetic levitation train could provide a new and exciting transportation option for Berlin residents and visitors alike.
