Friday, July 25
Summer holidays in Berlin kick off with jams, delays, and a few rail repairs
It’s the first day of school holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg, which means it’s also the unofficial start of traffic hell. Roads are expected to clog, the airport will hit peak capacity, and the rail network is bursting at the seams. And just to keep things interesting, the S-Bahn has timed some “urgent” repairs for the same week.
While Thursday was busy, Friday and Saturday are likely to bring the real chaos. According to airport officials, BER expects around 3.7 million passengers over the summer break, with 85,000 travellers due on Friday alone—the highest daily total this year. A spokesperson described the morning as “orderly, with a slight uptick in volume,” and noted a “noticeable increase” in families with children.
For drivers, however, there’s not much relief in sight. Brandenburg’s most reliable traffic jam remains the Berlin Ring, with hotspots at the Barnim and Havelland junctions and along the A10 near the Tesla gigafactory. Starting Monday evening, a five-day full closure is planned between Spreeau and Freienbrink heading toward Hamburg.
Trains aren’t exactly an escape route either. Deutsche Bahn is adding extra RE3 services between Berlin-Gesundbrunnen and Pasewalk to accommodate the rush to the Baltic. But the Berlin S-Bahn is using the holiday lull to carry out sweeping construction work. For anyone hoping to escape the city with minimal stress, an early departure is advised (ideally before 6:00) or a late-night dash after 20:00.
