CDU wants to trial barriers on three Berlin U-Bahn lines

The Berlin faction of the CDU is once again pushing to install barriers at U-Bahn stations across the city, but first wants to pilot barriers at stations on three lines.

CDU pushing for Berlin U-Bahn barriers

“A closed U-Bahn system with barriers offers many benefits for passengers, transport staff and public security,” the Berlin CDU has argued in a motion to the city senate, which MPs adopted during a meeting in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The centre-right party first wants to pilot U-Bahn entrance barriers on three lines, namely the U5, U7 and U8, in the hope of expanding the barrier system to U-Bahn stations across the capital.

Speaking to the dpa, party representative Dirk Stettner said that installing barriers would deter people who risk riding without a ticket (Schwarzfahrer), thereby bringing in more money from ticket sales and “reduc[ing] vandalism”. A previous Tagesspiegel report estimates that the construction project would cost around 400 million euros.

In the longer term, Stettner and fellow CDU MPs say the barrier systems would form the basis of adopting dynamic pricing across the U-Bahn network, for example charging passengers different amounts depending on when and how far they travel.

Construction would be expensive, and difficult

While this is the first time the Berlin CDU has said which U-Bahn lines it would include in the barrier pilot, it is not the first time the CDU has pushed for barriers to be installed. 

Stettner initially proposed installing barriers in October 2025. Back then, the proposal was met with criticism from the government and the BVG, the local transport association in Berlin.

Transport Ministry spokesperson Petra Nelken told BZ, “Construction is met with special challenges [...] such as questions about preserving historical monuments, lifts which connect the platform and the street, fire safety and possible emergency exits.”

While the CDU-SPD city government tested barriers at stations on the U8 line in 2000, plans were abandoned due to safety concerns following a fire at Deutsche Oper U-Bahn station in Mitte.

BVG spokesperson Franziska Ellrich agreed that “many stations are too small or not set up to construct barriers” and that it would “not be possible” to integrate a barrier system in lifts which have direct access to the street.