The BVG, Berlin’s public transport provider, wants to expand the city’s S-Bahn and U-Bahn network to double its current size by 2050. Perhaps most significantly a second, outer Ringbahn line is now on the cards.

Berlin train and tram network could soon double in size

An internal BVG plan seen by German newspapers Berliner Morgenpost and Tagesspiegel has revealed that Berlin’s already sprawling transportation network could significantly expand in the not-so-distant future.

The so-called BVG 2050+ plan would extend the public transport network from its current 155,4-kilometre length to stretch 318 kilometres around Berlin and its suburbs. The current system covers a “disproportional amount of the inner city,” the report says. To remedy “gaps and create strong transport connections” the BVG will expand the nine existing U-Bahn lines, with the exception of the U5, so that suburban areas are better integrated into the network.

The BVG 2050+ paper also outlines plans for a new “Ringlinie UO” circular Ringbahn train in the capital. Berlin’s current Ringbahn is the backbone of its transport network, connecting underground lines as they begin to stretch out into the suburbs. With the network development, an outer Ringbahn would be built to better connect the tail end of U-Bahn lines further out of the city.

Berlin BVG plans better north-south connection

According to the internal paper, the north and south of the city would be better connected with the new BVG expansion. The U3, U4, U6, U8 and U9, which travel between the north and south, will all be expanded to reach the border between Berlin and the neighbouring state of Brandenburg. From east to west, Berlin’s U1 would be extended to Antonplatz, and the U2 line to reach the city’s borders.

Under the plan, the tram network in the German city will also be expanded. Thanks to the public transport policy of the GDR, Berlin’s current tram network is broadly limited to the former East. Now, the BVG wants to expand to the west, as well as add more bus lines. 

The grand scale of the plan means that the transport association has not given specific details of a timeline. “We know that this vision can only be brought to life step by step,” the report explained, calling the plan a “marathon”. 

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