Gas prices are currently high, and there will also be restrictions on the A111 between Berlin and Brandenburg over the next two weeks. So things aren’t easy for drivers right now—and as we now have to report, next year will also be a challenge for rail commuters. Anyone who regularly commutes via Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof or through the city center must prepare for massive disruptions in 2027: From June 11 to September 2, 2027, the S-Bahn tracks between Friedrichstraße and Tiergarten will be closed.
The closure will last about two and a half months and will also affect the S-Bahn station at Berlin Central Station, which will not be served by S-Bahn lines running on the Stadtbahn during this period. At times, the closure could even be extended as far as Zoologischer Garten and Charlottenburg. The lines affected are the S3, S5, S7, and S9, which normally run via the Stadtbahn. The reason for this extensive closure is major renovation and maintenance work on the track. Among other things, a total of ten track-level crossings are to be replaced, and switches in the area of the Tiergarten S-Bahn station are to be renovated. In Charlottenburg, rail replacement is also planned. Additionally , track cleaning, rail milling, and work on switches and sound absorbers are scheduled . Work on the bearings is also planned for the railroad bridges over Cuxhavener Straße and Alt-Moabit.
For passengers, the closure means that an important east-west connection on Berlin’s S-Bahn will be temporarily interrupted. However, an additional connection has been in place since June 2026: The new S15 line connects the Central Station with Wedding and Gesundbrunnen. According to Deutsche Bahn, it runs every ten minutes and takes about five minutes to travel the route between the Central Station and Gesundbrunnen. For trips toward Tiergarten and into western Berlin, however, it does not fully replace the closed light rail line.
Exactly what the replacement service will look like during the closure and what other alternatives will be available to you has not yet been determined. The S-Bahn plans to announce the specific plan for rail replacement service at a later date. However, it is already certain that regional trains are scheduled to run on the light rail line again in 2027 and could thus offer an alternative connection for some passengers. For the Bellevue and Tiergarten stations, however, this is not a complete alternative, as regional trains do not stop there.
