Railway prepares for 100,000 extra Oktoberfest passengers

Munich Central Station is preparing for up to 100,000 additional passengers each day during Oktoberfest, BR reports. The station already handles more than 450,000 people daily and is operating amid a long-term redevelopment project.

Deutsche Bahn plans to temporarily reopen a platform that is currently partly closed by pausing construction work during the festival. It also aims to complete a new entrance to the Starnberg station wing, serving tracks 26 to 36, within a week.

More than 500 additional or extended suburban train services are planned for Oktoberfest, running every 20 minutes late into the night. Regional trains are also expected to provide more space for passengers.

The railway will use special software to monitor crowding and improve passenger flows. It plans to deploy around a quarter more security staff than last year, along with more than 20 additional passenger guides.

White and blue arrow-shaped floor stickers reading “please keep walking” will be placed at potential bottlenecks. The signs show a white stick figure walking.

More security staff will also be deployed at Hackerbrücke, a suburban train station within easy walking distance of the Oktoberfest grounds. Together with the Federal Police, they will ensure that passengers follow the rules. Foil balloons, beer steins and glass bottles may not be taken from the festival grounds.

A drone will help detect people who illegally enter the tracks so that train services can resume quickly.

Christoph Kraller, Deutsche Bahn’s head in Bavaria, said the additional passengers would make every square metre at the station count. “We are creating more space at Munich Central Station, increasing our staffing levels and improving directions to the festival grounds,” he said, while appealing to visitors to show consideration and restraint.