doo-DOO-doo: Berlin S-Bahn door closure warning to be phased out

An EU law means that the recognisable door closure warning tone on Berlin’s S-Bahn trains will slowly disappear from the city’s soundscape.

Berlin S-Bahn warning sound to change

Anyone who has regularly travelled with the S-Bahn in Berlin will be familiar with the doo-DOO-doo (or G,B,G) warning tone which plays before train doors close. Those reassured by the dulcet tones should savour them, because they are to disappear.

An EU law to standardise technical specifications across rail systems to aid people with disabilities or reduced mobility, means that all trains operating in the EU will have a similar door closure warning sound. The sound must use fast, pulsing tones and six to 10 pulses per second.

The EU law was initially signed in 2014, and in 2021, the 483/484 S-Bahn model, which used tones compliant with the regulation, was rolled out in Berlin. Passengers who use the Berlin S-Bahn are becoming more familiar with these new models, which use a fast beeping sound when doors are closing and also have interior screens with route information.

However, due to delays with a billion-euro tender for parts of the Berlin S-Bahn network, Deutsche Bahn will need to run existing, older S-Bahn models on the tracks until the mid-2030s. While these trains have been renovated, the G,B,G closure tone remains.

G,B,G door closure tones around since 1986

Berliners have Gerhard Iben to thank for their daily Berlin soundtrack. Working in the repair shop for the East German Reichsbahn in the 1970s, Iben and colleagues were asked to develop a door closure warning sound for the S-Bahn in East Berlin.

They initially agreed on a simple “Zurückbleiben, bitte” (“Stay back, please”) announcement, a phrase which is still used to announce the Berlin U-Bahn door closure today. On reflection, Iben and colleagues agreed the command was too harsh.

This is when the now unmistakable G,B,G tone was developed, and first rolled out on East Berlin S-Bahn services from 1986. Beyond the 2030s, it will remain immortalised in the hit Train by electronic DJ Paul Kalkbrenner.