MID Saxony Transport Authority (VMS) announced on March 3 that Chemnitz will rejoin Germany’s inter-city network from June 2022 after a 16-year hiatus.

VMS has signed an agreement with DB Fernverkehr (DB FV) for the extension of two existing IC 17 Warnemünde - Rostock - Berlin - Dresden services to Chemnitz. The daily services will begin on June 12 with northbound trains departing Chemnitz Main Station at 06.26 and 08.26. Southbound services will depart Warnemünde on the Baltic coast at 13.52 and 15.52 and Berlin Main Station at 16.26 and 18.26, arriving at 19.30 and 21.30 respectively. Regional tickets will be valid on these services between Dresden and Chemnitz.

The service will provide Chemnitz with its first direct rail connection with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport, with a journey time of around two-and-a-half hours.

The €2.5m annual cost of extending the IC 17 services to Chemnitz is being financed by Saxony’s state for Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport (SMWA). The contract between VMS and DB FV runs for six-and-a-half years with optional extensions until June 2032.

To publicise the launch one of DB FV’s class 4110 IC2 Stadler Kiss double-deck EMUs, which will operate the service, visited Chemnitz Main Station on March 3. Each four-car train has 267 seats in second class and 28 in first class, with two wheelchair spaces and eight bicycle spaces.