local transport | Subway: BVG is looking for master gluers

The BVG believes that there is no heart here. A glue crew is supposed to change that. Photo: Nicolas Šustr Heart offensive in the Berlin underground: 2,224 hearts are to be emblazoned on the Berlin subway fleet by the end of the year. Ten years after the introduction of the heart logo, the Berlin public transport company wants to literally replace the old sign with the lettering in the yellow square on its subway cars.

The state company is now looking for contractors through a tender to replace old stickers with the Berlin state coat of arms, BVG logo and the signet of the Berlin-Brandenburg transport association with new ones.

But that is only part of the mission. “A total of around 19,444 pictograms/foil stickers with emergency and safety instructions as well as general information must be replaced in the entire subway fleet of the Berlin public transport company,” it says in the tender.

Among other things, the stickers inside the car that mark the emergency unlocking of the doors should be replaced. In the future they should be green instead of red, “to minimize the risk of confusion with the alarm handle,” as explained.

"A total of around 19,444 pictograms/foil stickers with emergency and safety instructions as well as general information must be replaced in the entire subway fleet of the Berlin public transport company."

The red stickers that are still emblazoned on the handles that previously served as emergency brakes will now read “SOS” instead of the current “Alarm”. In addition, there will be new stickers with the inscription “Call for help opposite” – the alarm handles are only on one side of the vehicle.

It is noteworthy that even on the cars of the latest vehicle generations J and JK, which have only been in service since September last year, the decals are to be changed. The window stickers indicating the area for strollers, wheelchairs and bicycles should disappear; New stickers inside and next to the outside doors serve as replacements.

According to the tender, the initial requirement is to “remove existing foil stickers in accordance with the BVG’s specifications”; This should be free of tears, odors and residues. Ultimately, the new copies should be attached “according to the adhesive regulations for all BVG subway train types” and “exclusively on previously cleaned and testable surfaces.”

The adhesive instructions can also be found in the tender documents. On 49 PDF pages, detailed photo documentation explains where the stickers to be removed can be found and where the new copies should be positioned.

Not everyone can apply for the job. According to the advertisement, employees must be technically suitable and trained by the contractor. “Evidence (courses, qualifications) of the qualification for the professional attachment and removal of information labels on painted surfaces must be presented,” it continues.

Already stuck in the new green version: the notice about the emergency opening of the subway doors. Photo: Nicolas Šustr The work is scheduled to begin immediately after the contract is awarded at the end of September or beginning of October. They should be finished by the end of the year. They will take place in the company workshops in Britz, Friedrichsfelde and at the Olympia Stadium train station.

Also noteworthy is the file that lists exactly which vehicles require how many stickers. This is how sticker requirements are calculated for vehicles that have now been parked due to the delivery of new vehicles. At the same time, many more new vehicles are listed than are even expected to be delivered by the end of the current year.

The back calculation shows that the list assumes a vehicle population of 1,602 subway cars by the end of the year. According to the mostly very reliable statistics from the fan site berliner-linienchronik.de, 1,424 subway cars are currently listed as being in use. According to BVG information, a maximum of 64 new vehicles should be added by the end of the year. In return, a significant number of existing vehicles are likely to be parked.

In fact, it does not seem to have been noticed during the tender for the sticker campaign that at least a significant proportion, if not all, of the new cars in use on the U5 are at least already provided with the new BVG logos and the new markings for multi-purpose compartments and the emergency door opening.

This means that not even 2,000 BVG hearts will be stuck on Berlin subway cars by the end of the year. But the fact that the BVG tends to exaggerate is nothing new.

The “nd.Genossenschaft” belongs to those who read and write it. With your contribution, you ensure that our journalism remains accessible to everyone - without any media corporation, billionaire or paywall.

→ report independently and critically → focus on overlooked topics → give marginalized voices a platform → counter misinformation → initiate and further develop left-wing debates

You can make the difference with “Voluntary Pay” or a cooperative share. You help keep this newspaper alive. So that nd remains.