Notes

I had made quite a plan for my time in Berlin and managed to do nearly two-thirds of it. Not on the plan was Berlin Lichtenberg. That was a mistake that might have been painful if I didn’t accidentally look out the right window while passing through.

Lichtenberg is a combined S-Bahn and normal railroad (in Berlin known as “Fernbahn”, far or long-distance railroad) station a little outside the S-Bahn Circle. It’s rather ugly, and even though it has received new signs it feels and looks a lot as if the republic was still german democratic around here. However, a few colorful private railroad companies call here. And of course, there is this.

The VT 18.16, after 1970 class 175, was the premium product of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) of the GDR, and with a top speed of 160 kph (100 mph) in fact the closest this company ever came to high-speed rail. The highly luxurious train was mainly used as a prestige object and could be found in many international trains, for example the Vindobona to Vienna via Prague. While the Vindobona was (and still is) operated with other vehicles and the VT 18.16 could be found on other services as well, the impact of this train was so large that both are still considered synonymous. The one here in Lichtenberg is being preserved, but currently not operational.