BVG | Berlin: Tram M1 will be chopped up for years

M1 track construction site at Hackescher Markt at the end of August. Photo: Nicolas Šustr The passengers on the M1 tram line are used to grief. In recent years, sections of the connection from Mitte to Niederschönhausen and Rosenthal have repeatedly been interrupted for months. Since August 1st and originally announced by the BVG until December 13th, this has been the case for the entire southern section of the line in Prenzlauer Berg. There, trains coming from the north turn onto Bornholmer Straße and end at the loop on Björnsonstraße.

The reason is track renewals in Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte: in Kastanienallee and Rosenthaler Straße. According to a recent announcement from the BVG, the work on Rosenthaler Straße will now be completed on December 21st at the earliest. You won't be able to complete the entire planned workload, but only the section from Hackescher Markt to approximately halfway between Sophienstrasse and Gipsstrasse.

Things should get really big from 2027 onwards. The most lengthy construction site will be the replacement of the Schönhauser Allee bridges over the Ringbahngraben. The M1 line should therefore be interrupted in this area by 2032. From the north, the line should end at the loop in Björnsonstrasse, as it currently does.

"The feasibility of an intermediate terminus on Dorotheenstrasse is still being examined."

From the south, a new connection of the directional tracks under the elevated railway at the level of Gleimstrasse should ensure that trains continue to reach the interchange. According to information from the BVG, the construction work for this will last a full four months: from February to June 2027. According to the current status, replacement buses will run between Bornholmer and Eberswalder Straße throughout February and March and from April 12th to 19th, as insiders add.

Shortly before that, the U2 will be interrupted for twelve days, as can be seen from a BVG tender. The elevated railway viaduct will be closed from March 30th to April 11th, 2027. The elevated railway bridge is almost independent of the road bridges. However, it rests partly on the same foundation, which is why a support structure has to be built for the subway structure.

Two further closure breaks are scheduled on the U2 from September 27th to October 3rd and from November 15th to 21st. Then the M1 has already been eliminated as a construction site bypass.

But there are further closures on the M1. In April 2027, the track construction work on Rosenthaler Strasse, which the BVG is unable to complete during the current closure, is scheduled to be carried out.

From the beginning of July to mid-August 2027, the entire northern part of the M1 will be closed for construction work. Afterwards, only operations to Schillerstrasse will be resumed; the branch towards Rosenthal is scheduled to remain out of service until mid-December.

Even at the southern end of the M1, Kummer remains a loyal companion for passengers. Due to construction work by the water company and work on the Pergamon Museum, the long block loop through Am Kupfergraben street will probably not be used from mid-December up to and including January 2028. This means that the trains on lines 12 and M1 no longer reach Friedrichstrasse station. For years there have been considerations of installing switches on Dorotheenstrasse shortly before the start of the loop so that the transfer junction can still be reached. But so far without result or appointment. “The feasibility of an intermediate terminus on Dorotheenstrasse is still being examined,” explains the BVG press office when asked by “nd”.

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