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Berlin (dpa / bb) - Passengers from the north of Berlin are to receive a direct S-Bahn connection to the main train station from next winter.
The new line of the S21 from Wedding to the main station will go into operation with the timetable change on December 12th, said a railway spokesman.
Construction is currently underway at the stop under Invalidenstrasse north of the main station.
Rails, ballast and signaling technology are also processed on the route.
The connection is the first section of the so-called City-S-Bahn, which will one day lead to Südkreuz.
Originally, trains were supposed to run on the first construction phase between the Wedding or Westhafen train stations and the main train station in 2017.
However, rescheduling and changed construction procedures repeatedly led to delays.
A start this summer was last envisaged.
The Berliner Zeitung recently reported on the new delays.
"The delays are due to the corona," said the railway spokesman.
However, the test drives on the track should begin in summer.
How expensive the construction phase will be in the end is not yet certain.
The costs had increased again and again in the past few years.
Deutsche Bahn speaks of an investment of a good half a billion euros.
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The station under Invalidenstrasse is intended as an interim solution.
After further work, the trains should run to the main station in 2026.
Until then, S-Bahn passengers can reach the central station through an underground passage.
Line 21, which has been planned for a long time, is to become a new north-south axis for the S-Bahn, which goes up to 20 meters below the parliamentary and government district and leads over the main station.
This will then be accessible from all four directions by S-Bahn - so far there has only been an east-west connection.
The second construction phase is between the main train station and Potsdamer Platz.
Last year there had been negotiations about the exact route of the two tunnels at the Reichstag and at the memorial for the Sinti and Roma of Europe murdered under National Socialism in the Tiergarten.
According to the railway, it has not yet been determined which variant will be submitted with the plan approval application.
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"We want to start building as soon as possible," said the spokesman.
But a point in time cannot yet be named.
It is planned that a tunnel boring machine will work underground at the Reichstag.
There should be an open construction pit in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Railway press releases
Project website Deutsche Bahn