Special trip with the new Express S-Bahn S2X

Press release of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour

Meyer: From Rostock to Güstrow in 22 minutes - new connection is an important part of the mobility offensive in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The new express S-Bahn line S2X between Rostock and Güstrow runs three times a day from Monday to Friday at peak times from Güstrow and in the opposite direction from Rostock main station, each time non-stop with a journey time of just 22 minutes. The Minister of Economics and Transport Reinhard Meyer, the Managing Director of VMV Daniel Bischof, the Chairman of the Regional Management of DB Regio AG, Regio Nordost, Carsten Moll and the Managing Director of Verkehrsverbund Warnow (VVW) Stefan Wiedmer opened the new line with a special trip. "With the S2X, passengers will be able to travel between the two largest cities in the Warnow transport association several times a day without stopping in just 22 minutes. The number of departures between Güstrow and Rostock will be increased and the second largest city in the network area, the district town of Güstrow, will be better connected to the regional centre. The expansion of services on this route is another piece in the mosaic of our mobility offensive for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," said Reinhard Meyer, Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour, on site.

In Güstrow, there will be an improved transfer connection to and from Teterow to the regional express line 4 in future. This will meet the demand of the region around the medium-sized centre of Teterow for a faster connection to the regional centre of Rostock. The new connection is part of the MIRROR model project to strengthen local public transport. The measures include new and better connections from transport companies, digital passenger information and more attractive tickets such as a new tenant ticket in cooperation with local housing associations, an attractive participation ticket for use in the Rostock region and the expansion of the semester ticket to the entire network area. In 2022, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) selected Verkehrsverbund Warnow (VVW) together with the transport companies in VVW, the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock, the district of Rostock, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and other stakeholders to implement the pilot project from 160 applicants across Germany. The BMDV sent the funding decision totalling 29.3 million euros. The state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is topping up the federal funding for the pilot project with a further 2.9 million euros. In addition, the state is making a financial commitment as part of its responsibility as the authority responsible for local rail passenger transport with two projects to expand services on the Rostock S-Bahn network.

"The S-Bahn S1 night service will offer thirteen additional journeys between Rostock Central Station and Warnemünde, and the large housing estates in the north-west will be better connected to the city centre and the Baltic seaside resort of Warnemünde on weekend nights from Friday to Sunday between 00:30 and 04:30, creating a continuous 30-minute interval," says Daniel Bischof, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mbH.

Residents of the residential areas along the route will thus have the same mobility options as residents of the city centre. Mobility for night owls between Rostock city centre and the Baltic seaside resort of Warnemünde is significantly improved.

"We are delighted to be able to offer our passengers in the network area these extensive improvements to our rail services. Thanks to the MIRROR public transport model project and the cooperation with our project partners VMV and DB Regio Nordost, we are creating more attractive public transport for our region," said Stefan Wiedmer, Managing Director of Verkehrsverbund Warnow (VVW).

Carsten Moll, Head of DB Regio Nordost, adds: "It is an outstanding success for the region and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern that the MIRROR project was one of only twelve projects to be honoured nationwide. This was made possible by the close conceptual cooperation of all stakeholders in the Rostock metropolitan region. We are delighted that DB Regio Nordost is able to make an active contribution to sustainable mobility with the night services, the express S-Bahn and the retrofitting of 60 machines for contactless payment!"

The timetables for the new S-Bahn can be found here (timetable as pdf) or online in the state-wide timetable app "MV FÄHRT GUT". 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).