Overview

• Verkehrssenatorin Ute Bonde has publicly endorsed exploring a magnetically levitated system, citing its autonomous operation, quiet performance and potential cost savings over U-bahn and Straßenbahn.
• She plans to publish an autumn strategy paper outlining Berlin’s mobility vision to 2035 and to evaluate all technologies, including maglev.
• The federal coalition’s agreement to include maglev under the Gemeindeverkehrsfinanzierungsgesetz grants it funding parity with trams and U-bahn for upcoming feasibility studies.
• Bonde has proposed several potential routes, such as a ring between the S-Bahn and state border, a direct link from the ICC to BER airport and a corridor along the western autobahn.
• Environmental groups and SPD politicians have branded the concept unrealistic and at odds with climate goals, keeping the proposal politically contested.