Friday, September 8, 2006

The rail transport exhibition Innotrans is holding its traditional open weekend (Publikumstage at the Messe Berlin (Messegelände, Berlin's exhibition center) on the weekend of September 23 - 24, where the general public get to crawl all over the latest innovations in rail technology. There'll also be a real live steam engine there, although that presumably isn't one of the innovations.

Entrance is entirely free and gates are open from 10am - 6pm on both days. The location is the Frei- und Gleisgelände der Messe Berlin and access is via the Haupteingang Süd (main entrance south) in the Jafféstrasse, nearest station is Messe Süd (Station) (S75, S9). It'll probably be possible to follow the crowds from the station - Berliners love their traditional freebies and will probably turn up en masse. Note that this is also Berlin Marathon weekend, so it'll probably be easier to use public transport unless you're coming in from the west.

Some more information and photos of past events are available here (German only).

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

It was supposed to be finished in 2007 - the ceremony marking the beginning of construction took place at midday Tueday. Yes, Berlin's new airport - Berlin-Brandenburg International, to be built at the site of the existing Schönefeld Airport, is finally officially under construction.

Delays in planning, financing, the odd bit of dodgy corruption and lawsuits from noise-plagues residents all combined to prevent the airport from being built to anything like the original schedule. The opening date is now tentatively set for 2011, but don't worry too much about keeping your diary open for the opening ceremony: all bets are on further delays.

This does however mean one shorter term to Berlin's airports: Tempelhof is scheduled to close in 2007, now that a replacement is in sight.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Bad news for small airlines operating mainly turboprop aircraft, good news for residents of Neukölln and Kreuzberg: it's apparently finally officially irrevocably decided: Tempelhof Airport will close its doors to all air traffic on October 31, 2007. The authorities have been trying to shut it down for years, arguing that two airports are enough, but all sorts of legalities have been getting in the way.

I wouldn't be surprised if something gets in the way of that date though - Tempelhof has been declared "dead" so often it's taken on an almost zombie-like existence. My money's on the sudden discovery of a unique species of kerosine-eating beetles which can only exist on the drops of fuel emitting from taxiing aircraft, forcing operations to continue until an expensive project to resettle them to another airport can be carried through.

In other airport news, the contract for the construction of a rail link from the Berlin-Hauptbahnhof to the new airport ("Berlin-Brandenburg International") to be constructed at Schönefeld has been signed. The link should be finished by the new airport's scheduled opening date in 2011, although the way things work round here I wouldn't expect the opening ceremony much before 2018.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Schönefeld Airport's main attraction is its role as a low-cost airlines hub. Unfortunately it's also a fair slog from the city centre, as anyone flying in for one of Berlin's frequent exhibitions and shows such as the IFA soon finds out.

So for anyone not willing to navigate the (actually quite good) train system, or risk a conversation with one of Berlin's many friendly taxi drivers, or is just in a hurry, Germanwings is testing a helicopter shuttle service from the airport to the Messegelände, with a flight time of just 5 (yes, five) minutes. Prices begin from €29, which compares well to the price of a taxi.

If successful, the shuttle service will be continued for other major exhibitions.

Monday, August 14, 2006

No, not that U2. The other one, Berlin'sU-Bahn line 2, which normally runs betweenPankow andRuhleben. It seems that a section of bridge over a century old betweenGleisdreieck and Bülowstraße is no longer as young and sprightly as it once was and will have to be replaced, putting that section of line out of action from August 18 2006 to ca. March 21, 2007.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

If you've ever use the S-Bahn in the eastern side of Berlin, you'll have probably made your acquaintance with Ostkreuz (literally: Eastcross), the connecting station between the Stadtbahn and the eastern side of the Ringbahn. Despite being Berlin's busiest station (with around 100,000 passengers daily) it is - literally - falling apart, and has been that way for more than half a century. It's been patched up where absolutely necessary, and there have been many plans to rebuild it, but because of the complex nature of the station and its role as a major hub in eastern Berlin's S-Bahn network neither the East German Reichsbahn nor its successor Deutsche Bahn have managed to do any construction work apart from putting together some very impressive models.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The recent oil price rises are beginning to hit home, even in a city like Berlin where half of all households don't own a car. The BVG has calculated that its costs for diesel are likely to double in comparision with three or four years ago and has been looking round for alternatives.

They reckon hydrogen is the best bet - the other alternatives would have been fuel cells, bio-diesel and natural gas - and the first two hydrogen buses are due to be put into service in Spandau in the next few weeks. In the next couple of years they plan to convert 20% of their fleet to this new propulsion form.

Personally I wonder why they didn't try the sauce they put on currywurst, that certainly makes me go.