Closing the Gap at Berlin Wall Trail

The Berlin Wall Trail runs for 160 kilometres along the old Berlin Wall. For years, users had to take a long detour via Lichtenrade due to the re-established regional train line between Berlin-Lichtenrade and Blankenfelde as well as the current rebuilding of the railway line Dresdner Bahn. The completion of the underpass under the regional and long-distance railway tracks (more on this project: expansion Desdner Bahn) makes the original wall trail passable again, and the 2-km-long detour preventable, making history even more perceptible.

For a long time the project was hanging in the balance: reaching a consent about the financing between the states Berlin and Brandenburg, Deutsche Bahn as well as the municipality Blankenfelde-Mahlow took several years. To integrate the underpass in the Dresdner Bahn expansion project already started by Deutsche Bahn, things had to move quickly after the final approval. After only two years of construction, the underpass was completed at the end of July. Attended by a close circle of local politicians, it was opened for cyclists and pedestrians on 25 July. The official opening ceremony took place on 19 August in the presence of Blankenfelde-Mahlow’s mayor Michael Schwuchow, Dr. Saskia Ellenbeck (district council chairwoman Tempelhof-Schöneberg), Alexander Kaczmarek (company representative Deutsche Bahn) and the long-time supporter of the Berlin Wall Trail Michael Cramer (Alliance 90/The Greens).