Erfurt: Light rail traffic will return to normal from August 2025!

Erfurt: Light rail traffic will return to normal from August 2025!

There is fresh news for all commuters and local transport fans in Erfurt! From August 11, 2025, the Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe AG (EVAG) light rail service will finally return to its regular schedule. This was confirmed by CEO Mario Laube, who described this step as important for the city and public transport. After a long phase of restrictions due to staff shortages and cases of illness, it is now possible to reintroduce the usual cycle times.

The restrictions affected many lines and led to certain routes coming to a complete standstill, especially on Saturdays. In November 2024, EVAG implemented an adjusted timetable that was to apply until the end of January 2025 because the number of employees had fallen sharply due to illness and part-time quotas. The pressure on the labor market also prevented many skilled workers from staying with the company. This situation meant that cycle times of 20 or even 30 minutes had to be introduced on many lines, including the popular lines 1, 2 and 6.

Personnel offensive with perspective

But there is light at the end of the tunnel! Since the beginning of 2025, EVAG has already hired 57 new drivers, primarily through lateral entry programs. In order to address the staff shortage, a comprehensive personnel offensive was launched, which includes, among other things, increasing the number of driving instructors and new training courses for bus drivers. A new driving school course for tram drivers will start from November 1, 2024, with further courses in the following months.

Those interested will have the opportunity to receive information about the profession at the start of an “applicant track” through Erfurt on November 28, 2024. EVAG is particularly looking for career changers who can benefit from a variety of attractive conditions, including a 38-hour week, 34 days of vacation and punctual salary compensation.

The return to the usual schedule

From August 1, 2025, passengers can look forward to new timetables, which will be distributed via various channels such as the EVAG app, the website as well as the service telephone and the mobility center on Anger. What is particularly pleasing is that after the successful return to the full timetable, bus line 9 will also see a planned expansion from 10 to 7.5 minute intervals after the newcomers have been trained.

In summary, EVAG's commitment and the positive development in the personnel situation is a clear step in the right direction to regain the trust of passengers. Local transport in Erfurt has promising prospects when the first passengers can enjoy their usual commute times again in summer 2025.

By the way, passenger numbers in the first three quarters of 2024 were 7.5% above the 2019 level, and that is clearly thanks to the Deutschlandticket. There will be many exciting developments worth keeping an eye on in the coming months.

Further information about the timetables can be found on the official EVAG website: www.evag-erfurt.de