Friday, March 20
Dozens of escalators have been broken at Berlin’s main train station for weeks now, causing travel chaos. Deutsche Bahn has said that repairs are underway and given the reason for the problem: a transmission defect. However, how long the issues will continue remains unclear.
This transmission defect affected 70 out of 1,000 systems nationwide, half of them at Berlin Hbf, which sees the highest travel volume in Germany. The problems began a month ago. Berlin Südkreuz station was also impacted.
Railway teams and the escalator manufacturer, Kone, have been working under pressure for the last four weeks to repair as many escalators as possible as soon as possible. They said, “In the rest of Germany, many of the decommissioned escalators are back in operation.” However, Berlin Hbf remains an issue.
Individual escalators now work again on each level, so that there is a way for passengers to reach the bottom floor to top without taking the stairs. Railway support staff are also on site helping passengers to carry suitcases, with more than 40 employees working in shifts for this purpose.
However, specially trained specialists are needed for the escalator repairs, and it is taking time. “The pace of repair also depends on the extent to which the necessary spare parts for transmission components are available,” the Deutsche Bahn explained. The required parts could take up to several months to arrive due to long order periods.
It seems that, for now, Berlin Hbf’s escalator chaos continues. You might want to factor it into your travel plans.
