Fotoeins Fotografie

Above: Berlin S-Bahn S15 icon, from Wikimedia, by users F84 (original) and Minoa (rework).

For me, living memories of countless times in Berlin since 2002 include public transport with her U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains and routes. Like many, I never want that S-Bahn three-tone door-closing signal to go away, but that only comes with the older Baureihe 481-482 vehicles used for the trains, which will go away with the requirement to comply with European Union regulations.

On my first visit in 2002, I immediately asked: why isn’t there a U-Bahn connection or an S-Bahn connection with the shiny Berlin central train station? The U5 finally answered the first question in 2020, whereas the S-Bahn connection is coming up in 2026. The S-Bahn line provisionally labelled S15 is part of the larger long-term S21 project to connect the north and south parts of the S-Bahn Ring with the central station, and helping to alleviate traffic along the existing north-south S1-S2 route. In late-2025, news came out with a scheduled opening: on 28 March 2026, the S15 will open for public service between Gesundbrunnen and Hauptbahnhof via Wedding, although I’m unsure why the latest map update doesn’t mark S15 service between Westhafen and Hauptbahnhof; see below.

Announcement items in German: RBB24 — Entwicklungsstadt.

In this coming summer of 2026, I’m looking forward to seeing how this works out.

Above: Berlin Hauptbahnhof, 1. Untergeschoss (Berlin central station, basement level 1), with signage for tracks 1 to 8 below on the 2nd basement level. Labelled at right is entry to a passageway for the operating U5 U-Bahn line and not-yet-for-primetime S15 S-Bahn line. Photo, 15 Jun 2025 (X70).

Above: Berlin Hauptbahnhof, 1. Untergeschoss (Berlin central station, basement level 1): sign for additional bus and tram connections up on street-level, as well as the U5 U-Bahn line and upcoming track 22 for the S15 S-Bahn line. At the time of this photo, there was no open access to track 22, which I’m guessing is behind that wall there in the background. Photo, 15 Jun 2025 (X70).

Above: Section of the Berlin AB-zone route map for 2026, from BVG. The updated map is effective 14 December 2025; see box at upper-right. At centre is a note about the S15 S-Bahn service scheduled to begin in the first-half of 2026. At left-centre are two arrows pointing to the end-stations Gesundbrunnen and Hauptbahnhof with the dashed-line in the same colour indicating the S15 route. However, I’m wondering why there’s no dashed-line from Hauptbahnhof west to Westhafen, which is supposed to be the other part of the “Y” connecting the S-Bahn Ring (S41-S42) with Hauptbahnhof.

Above: Berlin Westhafen station, facing east from bridge Putlitzbrücke. At upper left is the Moabit power station, and at lower-right is the S-Bahn station Westhafen. Visible at the very right is the Fernsehturm (TV Tower). Tunnels A and B, respectively, are double-tracks for the new S-Bahn S15 line from Hauptbahnhof, and double-tracks for long-distance rail bypassing the station. Also visible is a Deutsche Bahn InterCity Express train bypassing Westhafen station on approach to Hauptbahnhof. Photo, 24 May 2025 (X70).

I made three images above on 24 May 2025 and 15 Jun 2025 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime (X70); the other two images are from Wikipedia and the BVG. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-x3s.