After 16 years without a connection to long-distance traffic, Chemnitz has been an IC train stop again since June. But not everyone is happy with the current situation.
Chemnitz (dpa/sn) – Chemnitz has had a connection to long-distance transport for almost half a year – from the point of view of the Chemnitz Railway Initiative, however, the offer is not sufficient. The poor connection is the core of the problem, said the spokesman for the initiative, Sebastian Drechsler. “This is not a real, viable offer that will make many people switch.”
Since mid-June, rail customers have been able to travel to Berlin twice a day – at 6:26 a.m. and 8:26 a.m. – without having to change trains. The double-decker IC takes two and a half hours to BER Airport. A three-hour journey is planned to get to Berlin Central Station. When asked, the railway announced that the occupancy rate was in the “low double-digit” percentage range. However, it is still too early to make a statement about the demand on the section of the route. “Our goal is to make the new connection even better known, since there is still capacity available,” said a railway spokeswoman.
Drechsler criticized the fact that the railway made further expansion of the connection dependent on the interest of the passengers. “You make a cheap offer and say: If you don’t use it, it’s your own fault.” However, the offer is not attractive for commuters to Berlin because there are too few travel times and the direct train takes longer than a connection with a change in Leipzig.
The 9-euro ticket has shown that there is great interest if the offer is good, said Drechsler. “For a mobility turnaround, we need good connections and regular intervals.” The responsibility for the expansion should not be passed on to the passengers.
