Brandenburg transport minister defends ending direct RE3 train connection to Schwedt

Minister defends end of direct train to Schwedt

Brandenburg's Transport Minister Robert Crumbach (SPD) is defending plans to restructure rail services toward Schwedt, a town in the Uckermark region of northeastern Brandenburg. The current RE3, which provides an hourly direct connection to Schwedt, is set to be discontinued at the timetable change in December 2026. Under the new arrangement, the RE3 will terminate at Angermünde and continue hourly toward Stralsund on the Baltic Sea. Passengers traveling to Schwedt will need to transfer from the RE3 to the RB61 regional train at Angermünde for the final leg of their journey. The change affects commuters, day-trippers, and holidaymakers who currently use the direct RE3 service to reach Schwedt.

Under the current timetable, the RE3 runs hourly from Berlin through Angermünde, with every second train continuing to Schwedt and the others proceeding toward the Baltic coast. The new plan would see all RE3 services continue past Angermünde to Stralsund, creating a consistent hourly connection to the coast while the Schwedt branch is served by the RB61 shuttle.

Crumbach justified the restructuring by citing a substantial disparity in daily ridership between the two branches of the route. He noted that more than 4,000 people travel by train toward Prenzlau each day, while only 1,300 use the service toward Schwedt.

Toward Prenzlau, over 4,000 people travel by train every day. Toward Schwedt, it's only 1,300. Just looking at these numbers, you can see that it's much smarter to run the hourly service all the way toward Stralsund, because many more people ride it.

Impact on Schwedt commuters

The minister acknowledged that passengers heading to Schwedt will face a change in their travel routine. Under the current system, they need to transfer every two hours. From December 2026, they will need to change trains at Angermünde every hour instead. However, Crumbach downplayed the inconvenience, stating that the additional travel time would be negligible.

It's in the range of about three minutes.

He argued that the hourly shuttle service between Angermünde and Schwedt on the RB61 would run more reliably than the current arrangement. Crumbach expressed confidence that the increased frequency of the Angermünde-Schwedt connection would make the route more stable than it has been, resulting in a better overall service for passengers.

And then we have an overall significantly improved service.

Ridership disparity drives decision

The restructuring rests on the gap in passenger numbers between the two route branches. The Prenzlau and Baltic Sea direction carries far more daily riders than the Schwedt spur. By extending the hourly RE3 through to Stralsund rather than splitting it at Angermünde, the transport ministry aims to concentrate capacity where demand is highest.

From December 2026, the RE3 will no longer serve Schwedt directly. The line will instead run hourly to the Baltic coast, reflecting the ministry's prioritization of the higher-demand route. Schwedt passengers will depend on the RB61 shuttle from Angermünde, with a transfer required every hour and an estimated three additional minutes of travel time.