#456: Power cut ongoing, anti-queer crime, delivery boats

Transport disruptions in 2026

Jan 06, 2026

Dear 20 Percent,

Last week, many of you answered my poll question about your general feeling about living in Berlin. The results:

I was a little thrown off by 22% responding with “So over it”. I’m sorry that it’s come to this — and hope you can all find a better match of a city. I’d love to hear what exactly your issue is with Berlin. If none of the options apply, feel free to comment below. I’d love to get a better sense of the topics you care about.

🤓Wednesday January 14th, I’ll be hosting the third 20% Berlin News Quiz at Electric Social near Alexanderplatz. At the last two it was a lot of fun nerding out on some deep Berlin trivia. And I love getting to know our readers in person. The event is free but please register!

News below.

Maurice

Blackout chaos continues

25,500 homes and 1,200 businesses in southwest Berlin remain without electricity on Tuesday morning following an arson attack on a cable near a gas-fired power plant in Lichterfelde, according to Tagesspiegel. A left-wing group known as Vulkangruppe has claimed responsibility — citing climate change concerns — for the Saturday attack. It has claimed similar attacks in the past. But some, including Anonymous Deutschland, think the note from the group bears signs of Russian secret services. Police have never arrested a member of the group. Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and the city adminstration have been heavily criticised for reacting too slowly and for poor preparation following a blackout in September. This could cost Wegner big in the September 2026 elections. Power should be returned Thursday.

Swiss victim treated in Berlin

An 18-year-old victim of the nightclub fire in Crans-Montana Switzerland is being treated at Berlin’s Unfallkrankenhaus (Trauma Clinic). The Swiss man suffered severe burns on his face and hands as well smoke inhalation. Forty people died and 119 were injured in a fierce fire at a bar in the ski resort on New Years Eve, thanks to sparklers setting the ceiling alight. About half of the victims are being treated abroad, including at numerous German clinics.

DHL boats

DHL says a second solar-powered boat will be begin delivering parcels to waterside Paketbox pick-up lockers in southeastern Berlin this year, according to Tagesspiegel (paywall). The route runs from Köpenick via Oberschöneweide, Rummelsburg and Treptow and ends at Osthafen near Oberbaumbrücke. A similar solar-powered vessel has delivered 300,000 packages on a Westhafen-Spandau route in the west of the city since it launched 2022. DHL says the boats get trucks off the roads and reduce emissions — and believes that 15% of packages in Berlin could potentially be delivered via the the Spree, Havel and Dahme rivers.

2026 transport round-up

Currently, the Ringbahn (S41/S42) isn’t stopping at Wedding, thanks to vandalism at that station. To reach the station, replacement buses will be running between Gesundbrunnen and Wedding every 10 minutes until further notice. 😢
Repairs due to fire damage on the U9 means shuttle service between Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz and Walther-Schreiber-Platz and replacement buses between Walther-Schreiber-Platz and Rathaus Steglitz. Until further notice. 😢
Rennovations at U-Bahnhof Nollendorfplatz mean U1, U3 and U4 won’t be running through the station from January 12 til May. Schienenersatzverkehr buses will replace the disrupted train lines. The U2 is not affected.
Alexanderplatz station is due for a massive overhaul this year. All shops out. Large-scale disruption.
From June to December, the Stadtbahn, the East-West line that runs straight through the city will be closed for maintenace. Just regional and long-distance trains. S-Bahn not affected. Phew.
Some good news: Deutsche Bahn says the new S21/S15 S-Bahn will begin operating between Wedding and Hauptbahnhof from March 28.

sponsored

Nicolas is updating All About Berlin‘s guides and tools for 2026. These are the big changes he noticed:

💺 More expensive public transit: €63 Deutschland Ticket, €4 AB ticket, €5 ABC ticket
🍽️ Reduced VAT in cafés and restaurants: previously 19%, now 7%
💶 Higher minimum wage: previously €12.82, now €13.90 per hour
🩹 More expensive health insurance; the starkest price hike in years. Use the health insurance calculator to see the new prices, and ask an expert if switching to another insurance makes sense.
👷‍♀️ Higher minimum salary for Blue Cards: previously €48,300, now €50,700
👨‍💻 Higher income requirement for freelance visas and student visas.

He has just finished a map of Berlin median rents, and now focuses on tenant and labour rights

🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺

🏭 Can Germany escape its economic slump in 2026?

🛂 Asylum applications down by half in 2025

🖋️ How Hannah Arendt helps us understand our world

Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin

🕰️ TIME TRAVEL HEAR TODAY
Wed-Sat, 7–10.01, 8:30 - 10:30 pm. Neue Nationalgalerie. €17.
Four nights, four unique constellations with immersive concert installation with Moor Mother, ensemble mosaik, Alya Alsultani, Dudu Kouaté, and more. Experimental hip hop, free jazz, philosophy, performance.

🪩 8 Years of arkaoda
Friday, 09.01, 8 pm-late & Saturday, 10.01, 8 pm-8 am. arkaoda, Karl-Marx Platz 16, Neukölln. €12.
One of my favorite bars in Berlin turns 8. Two nights across two floors with Turkish bites, bar music, and a packed lineup: The Zenmenn and Charlotte Colace play live Friday at 9 pm, Saturday extends into the morning hours.

🪩 VERTX w/ Daniel Avery, Lena Willikens
Saturday, 10.01, 11:59 pm - 8 am. RSO.BERLIN, Niederschöneweide. €20-25.
Daniel Avery's in his darkest phase yet: distortion, noise, restless rhythms. Two floors: Avery plus Koloah live set on ROBUS; Lena Willikens on SUMME. Strong line-up

🍿 Mark Reeder's Mystery Movie Night Monday, 12.01.2026, 7 pm. Backhaus Projects, Weserstr. 168. €8 MFS label founder/producer (New Order, Depeche Mode, B-Movie doc) screens a favourite film - won't tell you what until the night.

Factoid

Sad stat today: The police has released its annual data about anti-queer crime in 2025 — both on the streets and online. By December 30, the police had recorded 544 crimes against LGBTQ+ people, compared to 579 in 2024. In 102 cases, the crime involved violence, a similar number to the previous year. However, Anne von Knoblauch, the Berlin police’s contact person for LGBTIQ issues, noted that crimes had become more brutal over the past year. The report said many of the perpetrators were linked to the far-right or Islamist ideology.