Press release of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour
Meyer: More services, new S-Bahn, faster connections, better infrastructure and seasonal services in the 2024 regional rail timetable year
The new 2024 annual timetable for local rail passenger transport (SPNV) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern starts on Sunday (10 December 2023). The state has ordered service expansions on the Rostock - Güstrow - Neustrelitz, Schwerin - Hamburg, Züssow - Pasewalk, Rostock - Graal-Müritz, Waren (Müritz) - Inselstadt Malchow, Neustrelitz - Mirow and Bergen auf Rügen - Lauterbach Mole routes. "The mobility campaign for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is starting to take effect. With the largest service offensive for many years, 1.2 million more service kilometres are being ordered for our state, which corresponds to an increase of seven percent. This is the largest increase in services since the railway reform in 1994/95," said Reinhard Meyer, Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour.
More services and more frequent connections by rail
The strong demand associated with the Deutschland-Ticket in the 2024 timetable year will require an increase in capacity on the regional rail network. Additional journeys will also be offered on the Southern Railway and to the Sassnitz ferry harbour during the season. "For all other routes in the state, the usual timetable will continue unchanged in the new timetable year. However, due to construction work, there will be timetable adjustments and traffic restrictions on some sections in the course of 2024," said Meyer. The railway companies will provide information on all restrictions in regional rail transport in good time.
The Line RE10which currently starts and ends in Züssow, will continue to Pasewalk in future. The local transport service between Stralsund and Pasewalk will be upgraded from every two hours to every hour. This will create an alternative to the RE3 line, which is particularly busy at summer weekends, especially for journeys within our state. As a result, Pasewalk and Anklam will have a direct connection to Rostock twice a day from Monday to Friday. The new through trains to Rostock will depart from Pasewalk at 05:11 and 13:09, and from Anklam about half an hour later. The trains in the opposite direction depart from Rostock at 08:11 and 16:11. The journey time between Pasewalk and Rostock is just under three hours.
The new regional railway line starts at the end of April RE50 between Rostock, Güstrow and Neustrelitz. The new line increases the frequency of the existing service (RE5 Rostock - Berlin) from every two hours to every hour. In Neustrelitz there is a connection to the RE5 to and from Berlin.
As early as the timetable change on 10 December 2023, a new express S-Bahn (S2X) between Rostock and Güstrow. There are now non-stop services from Güstrow to Rostock at 08:02, 16:02 and 18:02 in just 22 minutes. In the opposite direction, the express S-Bahn leaves Rostock at 07:33, 15:33 and 17:33.
On weekend nights between 00:30 and 04:30, 13 additional S-Bahn journeys are organised on the Warnemünde - Rostock route The new service will run every 30 minutes throughout the day. This will significantly improve mobility for night owls between Rostock and Warnemünde and improve the connection between the densely populated north-west of Rostock and the city centre with its leisure and cultural facilities.
The express S-Bahn and the additional S-Bahn trains to Warnemünde are subsidised by the federal government as part of the MIRROR project.
To coincide with the timetable change, the state is strengthening the high-demand line at the weekend RE1 from Schwerin to Hamburg. This means that the service on this route will be increased to an approximately hourly service at weekends throughout the year.
On the line RB12 between Bad Doberan and Graal-Müritz, additional trains have been ordered by the state at the weekend. The line, including the new stop "Rövershagen Karls Erlebnisdorf", which is due to open in 2023, will now be served every hour instead of every two hours, even outside the summer season.
The offer on the line RB15 between Waren and the island town of Malchow will be improved by additional evening connections. The 20:25 journey from the island town of Malchow, which was previously only offered at weekends during the season, will now run all year round from Monday to Friday. In the opposite direction, there will be a completely new service from Waren (Müritz) at 21:10.
Also on the line RB16 The service between Mirow and Neustrelitz will be extended. The Kleinseenbahn will have additional morning and evening connections. During the week, additional trains will run from Neustrelitz at 06:10 and 20:15 and from Mirow at 05:22 and 19:18. At weekends, there will be new departures from Neustrelitz at 08:15 and 22:15 and from Mirow at 07:18 and 21:18.
A new pair of trains runs daily at midday on the RB26, 11:40 from Bergen auf Rügen to Lauterbach Mole and back at 12:00. At weekends, there is now a journey from Putbus to Bergen at 08:11. The previous 08:50 journey from Putbus to Lauterbach now starts daily at 08:40 in Bergen.
Introduction of cross-district bus routes - annual timetable 2024
"We are laying the foundations to initiate a sustainable switch to climate-friendly public transport systems for the people of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern by expanding services in the cities, but especially in rural areas. However, this will not happen overnight. That is why we are taking a step-by-step approach. To summarise briefly, we have ordered the biggest service offensive in local rail transport for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for many years. In addition to this, the MV regional buses will run at the same frequency. The aim is to close the gaps between the state's centres with a superordinate network of bus routes. Then comes the MV call bus - this will be gradually introduced from 1 January 2024," said Meyer.
Together with transport companies and local authorities, the state wants to improve mobility in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Among other things, regional bus routes and a state-wide on-demand bus system with uniform quality standards are to be introduced. The aim is to improve the range of existing bus routes in the area and to create new continuous regular-interval routes. The planned regional bus routes will run every hour and every two hours, regardless of school and holiday times. The Regiobus services will be extended, particularly at weekends and during off-peak times. The buses generally run from Monday to Saturday between 5 am and 10 pm and on Sundays and public holidays between 8 am and 8 pm. In addition, the Regiobus routes are linked with rail services to create a dense network for the whole of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The first Regiobus routes will be launched with the timetable change
The Line 170 from Schwerin to Sternberg via Cambs and Brüel is operated by the Ludwigslust-Parchim transport company (VLP). The regional buses run every hour from Monday to Friday. At weekends, where previously only on-call buses were offered, there will be a two-hourly service for the first time, which will be reinforced by additional on-call bus journeys.
The Line 012 from Neubrandenburg to Waren (Müritz) via Penzlin is operated by Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersche Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVVG). The regional buses run every hour from Monday to Friday. At the weekends, there is a two-hourly service, which is further increased on Saturday mornings.
The Line 330 from Wismar to Grevesmühlen via Gägelow is operated by Nahbus. The regional buses run every hour from Monday to Friday. At weekends there is a two-hourly service.
The next Regiobus routes will be available in spring 2024. New services are planned between Sanitz and Greifswald via Marlow, Tribsees and Grimmen as well as between the Königsstuhl and Klein Zicker via Sassnitz and Binz. The five regional bus routes of the regional transport companies mentioned above will receive a total of around 3.1 million euros in funding from the state in the coming year.
The on-call bus system will complement the regional bus system and cover the so-called "last mile". The on-call buses connect the municipalities in the area with the higher-level rail and bus lines in the region at connection points. Passengers must make a booking by telephone or online before starting their journey. The development, maintenance and operation of the on-call bus system will be supported by the state government with around 13.5 million euros in 2024.
The districts of Rostock, Ludwigslust-Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg will kick off the system in 2024. The districts of Ludwigslust-Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg will offer on-call buses across the board when the state-wide on-call bus system starts on 1 January 2024. The district of Rostock is also increasing its on-demand bus services and plans to have them available throughout the district by the third quarter of 2024. The districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Greifswald are improving and optimising their existing on-demand bus systems, such as ILSE and Friedrich. In the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, an on-demand bus system is gradually being set up.
State continues southern railway seasonal services and the feeder service to the ferries in the port of Mukran
The seasonal service on the Mecklenburg Southern Railway between Waren (Müritz) or Parchim and Plau am See will continue every two hours at Easter (28 March - 1 April) and from May (8 May) to September (8 September) on Fridays and at weekends in 2024. In combination with the VLP buses, there will once again be an hourly service between Parchim, Plau and Malchow. As in the previous year, trains between Schwerin and Parchim will be increased from every two hours to every hour at weekends during the season. During the summer holidays, the RB15 line will be extended from Malchow to Alt Schwerin on Mondays to Fridays, as it was for the first time in summer 2023. This means that the new Malchow Krebssee stop, which opened last summer, can also be reached every two hours from Waren (Müritz) during the week.
The new seasonal service will serve the Line 74, which runs from Plau am See to Meyenburg in Brandenburg and on to Neustadt/Dosse.
Travellers on the route from Bergen on Rügen to Sassnitz, to the ferry port of Mukran Port, will once again be able to reach the "Bornholmslinjen" ships to Denmark and the "FRS Baltic" to Sweden by train directly at weekends between May and October in the 2024 summer season. The specific organisation of the service is currently being discussed with the local partners - the shipping companies and Mukran Port.
Better infrastructure for more climate-friendly mobility options
"To make rail transport attractive, we need better infrastructure - not only for our passengers in the state, but also for climate protection. Investment in a modern and efficient infrastructure is essential for the realisation of our plans from the mobility offensive in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The state has defined its own goals and wants to realise them together with the infrastructure operators," says Daniel Bischof, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mbH.
Between 17.08.24 and 14.12.24, there will be extensive construction work between Wittenberge and Hamburg, which will lead to longer full closures in various sections. DB Netz AG will use the full closure to upgrade the branch to Schwerin in Hagenow Land. The single-track bottleneck will be widened to double track by adding additional points. In future, the new switch connections can be travelled at 100 km/h instead of 60 km/h, which should significantly improve the overall operating quality and create additional capacity. As a result, the RE1's susceptibility to delays should be significantly reduced.
The second focal point of extensive construction work is the Neustrelitz - Stralsund corridor, which is subject to various full closures by DB AG. Extensive infrastructure measures are being carried out there. SEV will be operated. Among other things, the platforms at eight stations on this route are to be renewed, extended and made barrier-free for new vehicles.
Full closures with train cancellations and rail replacement services (SEV) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
As extensive construction work is planned on many lines in the country in the 2024 timetable year due to the renewal of the rail network by DB, the following full closures will occur:
- between Hagenow Land and Büchen, extensive SEV for approx. 6 weeks, fourth quarter 2024,
- between Hagenow Land - Ludwigslust from 17/08/2024 to 13/09/2024,
- between Wittenberge and Ludwigslust, fourth quarter of 2024, construction project: upgrading of the slab track, various preparatory measures for the general refurbishment of the Hamburg-Berlin high-speed corridor,
- between Neustrelitz and Stralsund from March to the beginning of August 2024 in various construction phases.
Smaller measures with full road closures lasting several days:
- There will be timetable restrictions on the Rostock S-Bahn from September 2024 and a two-week full closure from the beginning of December.
The times of full closures may change during the course of the timetable year. For updated information, travellers on your routes should always check in advance!
The "MV FÄHRT GUT" journey planner
The state-wide timetable information app "MV FÄHRT GUT" for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern takes into account all changes to the new timetable. The state's free app contains all public transport timetable data in M-V and is available for Android and iOS (www.fahrplanauskunft-mv.de).
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