Fire Knocks Out Three Berlin Subway Lines
How long will it take until the U-Bahn train lines U1, U2 and U3 are back to normal?
On September 18th, 2026, a devastating fire at the Wittenbergplatz subway station in Berlin has crippled three U-Bahn lines, with full service not anticipated to resume for over a week. The Berlin transport authority BVG reported that the U1 line is entirely out of commission, while the U2 and U3 lines are partially affected, with service disrupted between various stations.
A temporary bus service has been established to facilitate travel on the affected U3 stretch, with plans to enhance the service in the days ahead. Passengers traveling toward Kurfürstendamm have the option to switch to the U9 line at Spichernstraße. The Wittenbergplatz station is entirely shut down and cannot be accessed by any line currently.
BVG recommended that travelers seek alternate routes using other U-Bahn lines such as the U7 or the S-Bahn.
BVG confirmed that the U3 service on the affected segment between Spichernstraße and Gleisdreieck was expected to restart that morning. However, they cautioned that regular service on the U2 line will remain suspended for an extended period. Based on current forecasts, BVG predicts the U2 line may be back to normal operations by the following week. The U1 line's outage is projected to endure for an even longer duration.
The fire ignited within a switching room at the Wittenbergplatz station during a maintenance period when the station was not in regular operation. BVG attributed the fire to a technical malfunction. Firefighters managed to swiftly douse the flames, and police confirmed that there were no casualties.
Written by urgent.news from The Berlin Spectator's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
