Senate - Working group dedicated to the use of magnetic levitation trains
A working group involving the Senate Chancellery is looking into the possible use of maglev trains in Berlin. The transport administration is also involved, as a spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. "The maglev train is an innovative transport idea, it could be another means of transport in Berlin's public transport network." However, this is currently only a consideration that needs to be examined.
Working group meets irregularly
The working group is led by the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association. There are irregular meetings at which discussions take place, a VBB spokesperson said on request. For example, the question of a pilot route in the capital is discussed. With the announcement that the CDU parliamentary group was campaigning for such a project, its chairman Dirk Stettner first made a lot of headlines on Monday last week and then attracted even more criticism.
At the time, it was not clear that the issue had been under discussion for some time. VBB Managing Director Ute Bonde had already brought up the topic in May. "We could test a magnetic levitation train in Berlin. What's wrong with that?" she told the Berliner Zeitung at the time. "From our point of view, it would be possible and sensible to try out such technology."
VBB boss welcomes new push on the issue
"In principle, Ms. Bonde welcomes the fact that this topic is being tackled and has found its place in the right places," said the VBB spokesperson. A maglev train could help to meet Berlin's ever-increasing mobility requirements and optimally complement the existing mobility services.
Bonde was a member of the 2021 election campaign team of CDU top candidate and current Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) as an expert on transport when she was still Managing Director of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). Wegner himself - as CDU state chairman - had already campaigned for a magnetic levitation train in the capital in 2020: The elevated train system would be environmentally friendly and virtually silent. "An elevated train with magnetic levitation technology will be a beacon for Berlin."
According to the Senate Chancellery, Wegner got to know the Max Bögl company and its maglev system while he was still a member of the Bundestag.
It remains to be seen where maglev trains could be used. The "Tagesspiegel" (Thursday) reports that this is conceivable on all the new lines being considered, i.e. the U0, the U3 to Falkenberg and the U1 Spandau-Alexanderplatz. Or for a line between the two Charité sites in Wedding and in Mitte at the main station.
Report in the "Tagesspiegel" Interview with Ute Bonde in the "Berliner Zeitung"
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- The working group, led by the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association, examines the possible application of magnetic levitation trains in Berlin's public transport network, with the involvement of the Senate Chancellery and the transport administration.
- For instance, during their irregular meetings, the group discusses the possibility of a pilot route for a maglev train in the capital.
- VBB Managing Director Ute Bonde had suggested this idea back in May, expressing her belief that testing magnetic levitation train technology in Berlin could be possible and sensible.
- Kai Wegner, a CDU politician and Berlin's Governing Mayor, had previously campaigned for maglev trains in the capital, stating that they would be environmentally friendly and nearly silent.
- Dirk Stettner, the CDU parliamentary group's chairman, attracted significant attention when he advocated for a maglev train project last week, but the topic had already been under discussion for some time.
- According to the "Tagesspiegel", potential locations for the implementation of maglev trains in Berlin include the new lines for the U0, U3 to Falkenberg, and U1 Spandau-Alexanderplatz, as well as a line between the two Charité sites in Wedding and Mitte at the main station.
Source: www.stern.de
