The timetable change this weekend will also bring some improvements for the north-east – albeit on a manageable scale. Traveling by train is becoming more expensive, but not necessarily more punctual.
Berlin/Rostock (dpa/mv) – With the timetable change this weekend, things should improve, especially for long-distance passengers. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, this applies to the Stralsund-Berlin route from spring onwards. According to Deutsche Bahn, a pair of trains that previously only ran on weekends will be offered largely daily from March 31, 2023.
According to DB information, departure from Berlin is at 11:44 a.m., arrival in Stralsund at 2:40 p.m. The return train departs at 1.20 p.m. from Stralsund to Berlin (4.14 p.m.). In most cases, the ICE continues to travel from/to the Baltic Sea resort of Binz on the island of Rügen without having to change trains. Other stops include Züssow, Anklam, Pasewalk, Prenzlau, Angermünde and Eberswalde.
What is also new is that the Saturday ICE Sprinter from Warnemünde (10.14 a.m.) and Rostock (10.36 a.m.) via Berlin (at 12.39 p.m.) to Halle (2.13 p.m.), Erfurt (2.48 p.m.) and Frankfurt am Main will also be available in the winter months moves.
The change in the timetable should not change the current major unpunctuality of the trains, feared the honorary chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, Karl-Peter Naumann. “The infrastructure just doesn’t allow it.” Numerous construction sites slowed down long-distance traffic this year. In some months almost every second ICE and IC was late.
In addition, long-distance train travel will be more expensive this weekend. Deutsche Bahn will then raise long-distance transport prices by an average of five percent. The so-called flex tickets then even cost almost seven percent more. The prices for the three Bahncard subscriptions, with which passengers receive a discount of 25, 50 or 100 percent per journey, will increase by 4.9 percent. If you book your trip up to and including December 10th, you can still travel at the current prices.
According to Bahn, however, the saver and super saver prices remain unchanged, of which a certain quota is always available from 21.90 euros or 17.90 euros per trip. The cost of reserving seats also remained the same, the railway said.
