Objects on the track halt five Berlin S-Bahn lines at Hackescher Markt

What happened

On the morning of Thursday, 12 November, train services between Alexanderplatz and Friedrichstraße at Berlin's Hackescher Markt station were interrupted because of objects lying on the track. The S-Bahn Berlin said the disruption affected the S3, S5, S7, S75 and S9 lines. Early reports gave no reason for the objects. A spokesperson for the S-Bahn later told Der Tagesspiegel that one of them was a shopping trolley, which had to be recovered from the line.

Affected lines

The S3 ran only between Erkner and Alexanderplatz and between Friedrichstraße and Spandau. The S5 operated between Strausberg Nord or Hoppegarten and Warschauer Straße. The S7 was split into two sections, Ahrensfelde to Ostbahnhof and Zoologischer Garten to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof. The S75 ran between Wartenberg and Lichtenberg. Reports differed on the S9. According to the S-Bahn's own list, reproduced by Der Tagesspiegel, it ran between Flughafen BER and Spandau without stopping at Hackescher Markt. Berliner Zeitung instead described it running between BER and Treptower Park and between Friedrichstraße and Spandau.

Alternatives and open questions

The S-Bahn recommended passengers use the U2 and U5 underground lines as a bypass, and from Friedrichstraße the S1, S2, S25 and S26. Early reports said the duration of the restrictions was unclear, and the operator had not said when normal service would resume. A dpa report published later that morning carried the headline that the stretch was free again, but the copy available did not add details on timing.