Press release of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour
The draft timetables for the 2024 timetable year were presented at the annual timetable conference for local rail passenger transport (SPNV) with the public transport authorities, the transport companies and the passenger associations in the state.
The VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (VMV) informed the participants in particular about the service extensions planned for the coming year and about changed connection times between train, bus and tram. "Our goal is to make local public transport even more attractive in order to encourage more people to switch from car to train. That is why we have launched a significant expansion of transport services on numerous lines in local rail passenger transport (SPNV)," said Reinhard Meyer, Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour.
As a result of the timetable conference, the service extensions are now being finalised by the state's railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The aim is for the railway undertakings to be able to register their train paths with the infrastructure managers on behalf of the state at the beginning of April. The finished 2024 annual timetable will then be presented in autumn 2023. "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a tourism state. That is why we also want to prepare for possible additional demand from the Deutschland-Ticket. This way, guests and day trippers can also discover our state by public transport," said Meyer.
"With the draft 2024 timetable, we are planning one of the largest increases in local rail transport services in the history of the VMV. If we can fully implement all the plans, the service in our country will grow. Together with the Deutschland-Ticket, we will thus offer all possibilities for a climate-friendly alternative to the car. It is particularly important to me to exchange timetables with the authorities responsible for bus transport in the state in order to be able to offer our customers a continuous travel chain," adds Daniel Bischof, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
In 2024, there will be additional services in all parts of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania while continuing the proven services. The planned expansion of services in the individual regions is as follows:
In the western part of the country:
On the regional express line RE1, the trips between Schwerin and Hamburg, which were previously only offered during the week, will now also be offered at the weekend. This means that there will be hourly services between the state capital and the metropolis of Hamburg throughout the week.
On the route of the regional train line RB14 between Ludwigslust and Hagenow, two additional journeys will be offered in future during the week (each return journey). For the following years after 2024, it is planned to expand this service and the service of the regional train line RB13 Rehna - Parchim to an hourly frequency.
In order to be able to take the growing passenger volume into account, the trains of the regional railway line RE4 between the Hanseatic city of Lübeck and Güstrow are to run at times with two railcars instead of only one railcar as usual. In this context, trains travelling from Szczecin to Lübeck will have to change trains at times in Güstrow. This measure is to be implemented in the course of 2023 and continued in 2024.
In the central part of the country:
VMV plans to introduce a new express S-Bahn service between Rostock and Güstrow in the 2024 annual timetable. During the week, three additional S-Bahn trains will run between the two cities without stopping. On weekends, six additional pairs of trips will be offered as night connections between Rostock and Warnemünde. This means that the S1 will also run every 30 minutes at night on weekends.
Also new is the planned introduction of the additional regional train line RB20 from May 2024, which will run every two hours between Rostock and Neustrelitz. Together with the RE5, there will then be an hourly service between Rostock, Waren and Neustrelitz. In Neustrelitz, there is a connection for the RB20 to and from Berlin.
On the regional train line RB12 between Rostock and Graal-Müritz, the previous restriction of the service in winter will be abolished. In future, trains will run at hourly intervals all year round and also at weekends.
On the regional railway line RB15 Malchow - Waren, an additional train pair in the evening will be anchored in the draft timetable, thus also establishing the connection to the IC node in Waren at 9 pm. Between Neustrelitz and Mirow on the regional railway line RB16, an additional train pair for the morning and evening is under consideration.
In Western Pomerania:
The regional express line RE10, which currently runs between (Rostock-) Stralsund and Züssow, is to be extended to Pasewalk with up to nine trips per direction during the week, subject to pending tests. Together with the RE3, there would then be an hourly service between Pasewalk, Anklam, Greifswald and Stralsund. At weekends, the service is also to be extended with slightly fewer journeys.
The regional train line RB26 between Bergen and Lauterbach Mole will be extended in future with an additional train journey (in each direction) in order to close a previously existing gap in frequency in the morning.
Construction measures 2024
Another topic at the timetable conference was the major construction measures planned by Deutsche Bahn AG for 2024 on the state's railway network. Intensified construction activities are expected to affect the SPNV in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern extensively on the Schwerin - Hamburg line from mid-August to mid-November 2024 with a total closure between Hagenow Land and Hamburg Bergedorf due to single-track operation.
A closure is also planned on the line between Karstädt and Wittenberge from 16.08.24 to 12.12.24, which will have an impact on services in the country.
From 25.03.24 to 25.05.24, total closures are planned on the regional railway line RE5 between Neustrelitz and Neubrandenburg. As a result, the Gnevkow stop will only be offered with rail replacement services. There are further (shorter) total closures on sections of line north of Neubrandenburg.
At the Rostock Hauptbahnhof junction, construction work already underway will continue, affecting in particular lines S1/2/3, RB11, RB12.
The draft timetables of all SPNV lines in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for the coming timetable year (2024) are available on this website (https://www.vmv-mbh.de/fpl24/).
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