“Now it’s getting exciting”: the sentence comes out spontaneously as the S8 rolls into the main station. Then the woman next door grabs the handle of her hard-shell suitcase, grins at you and says: “I love excitement.”
Anyone who currently wants to use public transport to get to the airport asks themselves this one exciting question: How long will I be on the road? Because Deutsche Bahn (DB) is building again – and this time the direct connection to the airport with the S-Bahn has been completely cut off for the first time in its history. There will be no trains running between the airport visitor park and the terminal until November 13th because the DB has to replace tracks. Until November 3rd, the S8 only runs to Ismaning, where switches are being replaced. From there, replacement buses continue to the airport.
Until then, the visitor park can only be reached with the S1, but only every 40 minutes. There too you have to change and take the bus to the terminal. That will change on November 3rd: until the end of the construction period, only the S8 will run to the visitor park.
There is enough space – because there is little going on
That sounds more complicated than it is. The DB has taken precautions, among other things, with all sorts of notices at the train stations and with information on its digital channels. Nevertheless, there are still imponderables that immediately become apparent when changing trains in Ismaning. Because it’s not just the woman who likes it exciting who has a large suitcase with her, the rail replacement bus (SEV) quickly fills up with luggage. There is just enough space for everyone, this time no one has to wait for the next bus – but only because there is little going on on this early Wednesday afternoon. Then it goes on relatively quickly, after stops in Hallbergmoos and at the visitor park, you reach the terminal after a total of one hour and 15 minutes travel time, faster than expected. The suitcase caravan moves calmly towards check-in.
There are several buses available at the visitor park. The approximately 50 passengers who come from the S1 over the bridge to the stop all find a place. Some are annoyed because the escalator on the platform is broken. But here too, the anger literally disappears as they approach the terminal and a little closer to their holiday destination.
At the airport itself, the exits to the S-Bahn are closed. The SEV signage is bilingual and understandable, waiting times at the stop are limited, although a little patience is definitely required. You just have to be careful which bus you get on: some only go to the visitor park, others continue to Ismaning.
If that’s too complicated for you, you can also take the Lufthansa Express bus to Munich Central Station. The Germany ticket is also valid here. But many people are currently coming up with this idea; the queue at the airport stop is enormous and not everyone gets a seat.
The company Autobus Oberbayern, which operates the express, uses additional and larger buses. But even that isn’t enough, as a company spokesman admits. The spokesman for the railway blames this: they could have prepared better for the situation with more time in advance. The train’s SEV is also inadequate, which is why many passengers switched to the Lufthansa Express bus.
Some are looking for other alternatives, such as the 635 bus to Freising. It only takes a good quarter of an hour to get to the train station there, and the regional express takes you to Munich main station in another half hour – of course there are possible waiting times.
The return journey with SEV and S-Bahn to Munich main station in a full bus and an equally full S8 then takes a good hour and 45 minutes – even replacement buses are not spared from traffic jams on Zentralallee. If you’re not in a hurry, you can accept it calmly; there won’t be any “chaos” that many people talk about and write about on social media on Wednesday afternoon.
Nevertheless, the railway is receiving a lot of criticism these days. The Pro Bahn passenger association is annoyed by what it sees as inadequate communication from the DB. This also criticizes the Munich Tourism Initiative because some of the construction site information is only available in German and is therefore not understandable for international guests. In addition, not only is the airport harder to reach, but the main route is also completely closed this weekend and partially closed on the following weekends. This is a “very significant burden on tourism in Munich,” says the initiative.