Monday, August 18
Airport in 20 minutes: The new Berlin–Dresden line set to open
After eight years of construction, it’s finally here. In December 2025, the new Berlin–Dresden railway line will open, cutting travel time from Hauptbahnhof to BER airport to just 20 minutes, and reaching the Saxon capital in under two hours.
The route itself is not entirely new. Even in the time of the Kaiser’s era, trains ran from Anhalter Bahnhof via Südkreuz and Lichtenrade to Dresden. But World War II and the division of Germany left the line unusable. Attempts to revive it began in the late 1990s but stalled for decades amid residents’ complaints and competing proposals.
The breakthrough came when the project was tied to the construction of BER airport. Now, five years after the airport’s delayed debut, the railway link is finally ready. Airport express (FEX) trains will run every 15 minutes, with the total cost of the Dresdner Bahn estimated at €560 million.
