Embankment fire near Bernau: rail traffic paralyzed – travelers affected!

Embankment fire near Bernau: rail traffic paralyzed – travelers affected!

Today, June 16, 2025, there was a significant incident in the Bernau im Barnim region that severely affected rail traffic. Loud tagesschau.de An embankment fire broke out, which not only damaged the infrastructure, but also led to massive restrictions on regional transport.

The fire damaged cables along the railway line, which meant that the RB24 regional train line can no longer run between Berlin-Lichtenberg and Bernau. The RE3 long-distance transport line, which runs from Berlin Central Station to Bernau, is currently interrupted. As a result, some ICE trains that have connections from Binz via Berlin to Munich and Frankfurt am Main had to be rerouted, resulting in canceled stops.

Diversions and alternatives

However, there is a ray of hope for commuters and travelers: the S-Bahn is not affected and can therefore be used as a bypass option. However, repair work on the damaged infrastructure is likely to take some time. Deutsche Bahn expects train services to resume on Tuesday evening, according to current information.

The situation in Bernau is not alone. Also today, several embankment fires in Thuringia, particularly between Eisenach and Gotha, caused massive disruption to rail traffic. The fires were discovered at 2:30 p.m., which meant that the east-west connection between Erfurt and Fulda was temporarily completely closed. Here too, long-distance trains were particularly affected. Many passengers on DB long-distance services were stranded, while some regional trains were able to be rerouted tag24.de reported.

The fires in Thuringia were put out in the evening, but rail traffic is expected to take some time to return to normality. Passengers currently have to prepare for delays of up to 180 minutes as well as partial closures and diversions.

Conclusion and outlook

Today's events show once again how vulnerable rail traffic is to environmental influences such as fires. Deutsche Bahn users should find out about current developments and, if necessary, make alternative travel plans. You can find more information about data protection and user rights at Deutsche Bahn on this page bahn.de/datenschutz available.

Travelers in the region are well advised to keep an eye on developments and prepare for longer travel times. The damage to the infrastructure is regrettable and will take time to repair, but hope for a timely resolution remains.