New railcars for Oberlausitz: more space and travel connections!

New railcars for Oberlausitz: more space and travel connections!

In Upper Lusatia, a lot is happening in the area of local public transport. The Zvon (Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Oberlausitz-Lower Silesia) has recently announced that new railway lines are summarized under the name "Ostsachsenverkehr". This applies to exciting connections such as the RE 1 from Dresden via Bautzen to Görlitz and the RB 60 from Dresden to Görlitz. The RE 2 to Zittau and the RB 61 are also part of this attractive transport offer. Alles-lausitz.de reports on this harmonized solution, which is intended to improve local transport in the region.

Another highlight of the current developments is the order to Länderbahn GmbH (DLB - Trilex), to procure additional vehicles for Eastern Saxony. From 2027, five new railcars will be available, which are to travel around 750,000 kilometers a year. The ZVON association assembly has already confirmed the expansion of the vehicle fleet and will invest 1.5 million euros annually in this measure from 2027. In particular, more seats should be available in the future on the important connection between Dresden and Görlitz, which in particular will look forward to commuters and frequent drivers.

Germany ticket and rising passenger numbers

An important factor that contributes to these changes is the Germany ticket. This apparently caused a real boom: the passenger numbers have sometimes doubled! The citizens seem to make lively use of the new travel options, which makes additional capacity adjustments necessary for the regional trains between Görlitz and Dresden. From 2027, these will be operated in particular with two railcars for regional train trains and three railcars for regional express trains. This planning shows that the ZVON takes the current developments very seriously and acts with foresight in order to meet the needs of passengers.

The current vehicle fleet of local trilex trains has so far consists of 28 Siemens Desiro diesel railcars. These offer around 125 seats and a top speed of 120 km/h. The introduction of the Germany ticket has not only come to the passengers, but also brings a new dynamic to the discussions about the traffic concept in Upper Lusatia, which is to be adapted at the latest from 2031.

The overall view of the transport associations

But how does the Upper Lusatia are in the context of the other transport associations in Germany? In Saxony there are a total of five transport associations that ensure a complete coverage within the federal state. In the current state of affairs, a clear trend towards more integration and mobility as well as better service for travelers is formulated. Especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bavaria, transport associations are active in the development of their offers. wikipedia.org gives a comprehensive overview of how various areas in Germany are organized with regard to rail traffic (SPNV) and it remains to be seen how the competition will be made between the railway companies.

Overall, a positive picture for mobility in Upper Lusatia is emerging. With new trains, more seats and a correspondingly adaptable traffic concept, the signs are on progress.