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It is one of the largest and newest interchange stations in Europe and yet it is plagued by problems: 35 of the 52 escalators at Berlin Central Station are out of order.
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It comes much to the chagrin of the 300,000 or so travellers who have to change platforms here every day, along with their luggage.
Now, even Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner is putting the pressure on.
“The Governing Mayor expects Deutsche Bahn to rectify the problems with the escalators in Berlin as quickly as possible,” the Tagesspiegel newspaper quotes German press agency dpa as saying.
A Deutsche Bahn spokesperson tells Euronews: “This week, technicians from DB and KONE began repairing the defective escalators at Berlin Central Station.”
Specialists have travelled from Finland especially for this purpose. Spare parts have been ordered worldwide. It is unclear how long the escalator chaos will last.
“The failure of the escalators at Berlin Central Station is due to a technical fault in the escalators. The fault lies with the manufacturer,” explains Detlef Neuß from the passenger association Pro Bahn.
“The escalators can suddenly stop, which can potentially cause passengers to fall,” says Neuß. “Where the escalators are out of order, barrier-free access to the platforms should be guaranteed by functioning lifts.”
Steffen Krach, top candidate of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, previously told the Tagesspiegel newspaper: “I’m almost embarrassed to ask this, but can the governing mayor of the German capital please call Deutsche Bahn and invite them to speak plainly, or is the responsibility for the big picture out of order as well as escalators at the main station?”
It remains to be seen how long it will take for Berlin Central Station to return to normal operation.
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