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U-Bahn service disruptions in Berlin highlight systemic issues

For eleven days, every third train on the U1 line between Warschauer Straße and Wittenbergplatz in Berlin has been cancelled during daytime hours, Tagesspiegel reported on Friday. In the evening, every second train is cancelled. Berlin's municipal transit company (BVG) had temporarily discontinued the U1 there since July 7th. Passengers can instead take the U3, which runs in parallel along the affected section. It's trains have been correspondingly packed. Asked for comment, BVG explained in a lengthy statement: "Due to the known operational may be temporary adjustments on the U1 the operational situation allows, the U1 will of course run as usual." However, an insider reportedly summed it up much more concisely: "No drivers." Further U-bahn disruptions According to Tagesspiegel , BVG didn't clarify when the U1 line would start running from Warschauer Straße again. As of Friday morning, the BVG's service disruption page noted the interruption. The affected time was listed from 4am on July 18th until 1:30am on July 19th. But the Berlin passenger association Igeb has been tracking the continued U-Bahn disruptions. Screenshot of a Bluesky post by the passenger association Igeb. "Is the U1 running in Kreuzberg today? No," wrote Igeb in a Bluesky post on Thursday. "Day ten of the line's near-complete closure, resulting in deteriorated service quality on the busy Kreuzberg elevated line." In another post on day seven of the line's closure Igeb had written, "It would be more honest to officially adjust the U1 timetable..." Advertisement Similarly, the U4 has only been running every 20 minutes for months. BVG's timetable, as displayed in the BVG app and on station platforms, is based on the theoretical schedule rather than real-time data. Cancelled trains and individual disruptions need to be entered manually, which is why the display boards are sometimes wrong. BVG has emphasised that disruptions on the U1 and U4 are not related to structural issues at the Nollendorfplatz station. Damage to the ceiling there is set to be repaired starting from the beginning of 2026, with the station expected to remain closed for repairs from January to April. Fewer staff, less trains A worker shortage has intensified across industries in Germany and it seems that transport is no exception. BVG workers have complained about increasingly demanding schedules as the staff have been stretched thin. These complaints tend to get attention during public transport strikes, the most recent of which were resolved in April and resulted in a new collective agreement that amounted to a pay rise for workers and plans to set terms for a 35-hour work week (down from 37.5) by 2027. But stressful working conditions - made worse by a diminished workforce - continuously wear on employees. A BVG bus driver previously told The Local how relentless timetables cut into drivers' break times. 'Many of my colleagues leave the profession within two years,' he said. READ ALSO: 'No family life' - A Berlin bus driver explains why public transport workers are striking According to BVG, the punctuality of its metro has actually improved in the last six months - from 92 percent in the second half of 2024 to 93.6 percent in the first half of this year. But at least part of that improved punctuality may be due to an intentional thinning of services. BVG's bus services were reduced in 2023, for example, in an effort to set timetables that could be better sustained. Advertisement One glimmer of hope for improved services is seen an uptick in job applicants the company has received since it signed a new collective bargaining agreement with Verdi earlier this year. BVG says it has hired 800 people so far in 2025, with the goal of hiring 700 more by the end of the year. However, Berlin's public transport system is also plagued by aging infrastructure including both dilapidated tunnels and U-Bahn stations and old trains. For now, and into the foreseeable future, passengers would be advised not to hold their breath waiting for the U1 between Warschauer Strasse and Wittenbergplatz.