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Trains are running as normal again following the completion of the major construction work at the main station – though some follow-up work is likely to be required as part of the track renewal. Also: A burst pipe temporarily disrupted the drinking water supply in several towns in the east of Leipzig. The LZ summarises the key events from Tuesday, 18 August 2026, in Leipzig, Saxony and beyond.
Track system at the main station: further adjustments are likely to be needed
Just in time for the start of the new school year after the summer holidays, the track system at the main station was reopened following weeks of construction work – that’s the good news. However, it has now emerged that the result has not turned out as hoped: “There were quality issues with the construction work,” confirmed LVB spokesperson Marc Backhaus on Tuesday afternoon in response to an enquiry from the LZ. The new structure was actually supposed to withstand the strain of daily traffic for ten years. That does not appear to be the case at the moment.
The immediate consequences for passengers are still manageable at present: “After weighing up the options, we have decided to keep services running,” said Backhaus. “The track is operational.” Public transport is running according to schedule. For the time being, however, a 10 km/h speed limit applies to trams in the Kurt-Schumacher-Straße area. Buses are currently not permitted to use the tracks, which means that routes 72 and 73 terminate at the main station, Goethestraße platform J. They depart from the temporary stop at the main station, level with the pedestrian crossing (Mobi-Turm). Bus 89 serves a temporary stop level with the Westhalle. It cannot serve the main station stop (platforms A–D); Nightliner buses are also stopping at the kerb.
Backhaus announced that remedial work on the tracks would be co-ordinated with the construction partner and communicated to the public in good time. Since the beginning of July , during the summer holidays , the LVB had been having the track curves on the west side of the main station renewed . In addition, drinking water pipes were replaced on the east side.
Burst pipe: residents temporarily left without water
The drinking water supply in eastern Leipzig was temporarily disrupted during the night leading into Tuesday. The waterworks reported that the cause was a burst pipe, the effects of which affected the areas of Althen, Borsdorf, Engelsdorf, Paunsdorf and Zweenfurth. This led to reduced water pressure and restrictions in the supply.
The fire brigade had been on the scene since 02:15. In Borsdorf, Neue Straße was closed. According to the Leipziger Volkszeitung , the water supply had been restored by Tuesday morning. A burst main water pipe in the Panitzsch district of Borsdorf is believed to have caused the problems. Water is no longer leaking from the pipe.
What the LZ reported today:
22 August: The Westflügel Leipzig Puppet Theatre Centre invites you to the Lambe-Lambe Festival
Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Tuesday, 18 August 2026 begins
On 22 August, it’s that time of year again: the Bach Museum invites you to its summer festival
10,900 rent increases: Petition against the city-owned housing association LWB
What else has been happening:
Disciplinary proceedings are underway against Freiberg’s mayor, Philipp Preißler: the 41-year-old is alleged to have recently caused a disturbance at a hotel in Leipzig city centre and injured police officers.
Thuringia’s Minister-President Mario Voigt (49, CDU) is putting on a calm front after two BSW members announced they no longer wished to support the governing coalition. Since December 2024, Thuringia has been home to a so-called ‘blackberry coalition’ comprising the CDU, SPD and BSW – the first of its kind in Germany. A similar model had failed in Saxony.
Better late than never: the trial of a man accused of murdering a US tourist almost 32 years ago began at the Koblenz Regional Court with a confession. The violent crime, which took place in September 1994, was only recently linked to the suspect – who is now 81 – thanks to new DNA analyses.
The major fires in Belgium are also having an impact as far afield as Germany.
Calendar entry: 50 years ago, the pastor Oskar Brüsewitz set himself alight in the GDR
On 18 August 1976, the Protestant pastor Oskar Brüsewitz doused himself with petrol in full view of the public on Zeitz market square and set himself alight, after having attached protest placards against the GDR’s repressive church policies to his Wartburg car. Four days later, the 47-year-old man died from his severe injuries. Although security forces quickly removed all traces of the incident, they were unable to prevent the ‘Brüsewitz case’ from becoming known to the public and being covered in the West German press.
The GDR’s official line slanderously branded the deceased – who was known for his piety and uncompromising opposition to SED policies – as a psychopath. Church representatives, critics and opposition figures, on the other hand, view it as an act of desperation. Church historian Friedemann Stengel speaks today on Deutschlandfunk of an “act on the very edge of what is morally justifiable, arising from an incomparably powerful testimony to a desperate situation – not of a single person, but of an entire country”.
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