Friday 24 July 2026: Construction work at the main station marks the start of the second phase; LVB continues to use the same joint sealant

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We’re heading into the home straight! The second and final phase of construction is set to begin on Monday at the huge LVB building site on the west side of Leipzig Central Station. For three weeks, however, this will once again throw the timetables for many trams into disarray. An intriguing question has now been answered: will the same joint sealant be used on the newly laid tracks as the one that recently collapsed in the early summer heat? The LZ summarises the key events in Leipzig and beyond on Friday, 24 July 2026.

Construction site at the main station heralds the second phase

The major excavation work at the main station is proceeding smoothly according to plan. There is a hive of activity involving various trades around the track layout on the west side. Everything here must be finished in just over three weeks, as transport services are due to return to normal by the start of the school year on 17 August. The tracks and points, worn down by heavy use, will then have been replaced with new ones.

The LVB were pleased to report today that the first phase has been successfully completed. From 27 July, work will move into the final second phase. As ALL four tracks directly in front of the station will have to be taken out of service during this phase, the route maps will be significantly altered in some cases. Tram stops are now split between the west side and Wintergartenstraße. Here are the key facts:

West side of the main station (platforms E, F)
Lines 1 and 9 are now forming what is known as a ‘line network’ here. In practical terms, this means that the tram now runs from Lausen via the main station towards Thekla.

From Monday, lines 12 and 14 will also form a similar service integration. Accordingly, this line will then run from Gohlis via the Zoo and the Central Station to Eutritzsch and St. Georg Hospital.

And there will also be a third route combination: lines 15 and 16 are joining forces. This route will run from Miltitz via the main station towards the exhibition grounds.

Only line 11 is not joining in with this network hype. It runs independently from the main station via Thomaskirche to Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz – and then on towards Südvorstadt.

Main Station–Wintergartenstraße (platforms G, H)

First of all, what remains the same: tram lines 3 and 8 will continue to run along the tracks without any changes during the new construction phase.

Line 7, on the other hand, is changing its route and will now curve southwards via the Ring. Coming from Reudnitz, it will travel via Wintergartenstraße, then across Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz and Westplatz to Waldplatz – where services will resume as normal – and continue as usual from there. And once again, there’ll be no rail replacement bus service all the way to Böhlitz-Ehrenberg! Local residents will be delighted.

A special feature is the two specially installed construction tram lines: the 31 and the 36. The 36 will operate as part of a joint service with the 4. It therefore runs as the number 4 from Naunhofer Straße via Reudnitz to Wintergartenstraße, before becoming the temporary number 36, which then follows the actual route of the number 16 to Lößnig.

The same principle applies to construction tram line 31. In the eastern section, this completely replaces lines 1 and 15. The 31 therefore runs directly from Mockau via Schönefeld and Eisenbahnstraße to Wintergartenstraße. From there, its route continues via Augustusplatz and Prager Straße as far as Meusdorf.

You can find a complete overview of the route changes during the second construction phase via this link.

LVB continues to use the same joint sealant

“Yes, we are using the same material again,” confirmed Stefan Röll, Head of Infrastructure at LVB. This refers to the joint sealant that kept the whole of ÖPNV-Leipzig on tenterhooks for a week and a half during the recent early-summer heatwave. During today’s on-site visit at the main station, Röll explained the decision as follows:

“We discussed at great length whether it made sense to leave the joint sealant in place, to use a different material, or to use the material we had previously used. We also consulted with the expert involved and, from both our technical perspective and that of the expert, have concluded that reinstalling the joint sealant is the sensible course of action. We have agreed on separate monitoring systems for this, primarily organisational procedures.

As temperatures rise, different monitoring procedures will be implemented. This will involve local temperature measurements for the rail and the bituminous joint. And we have once again emphasised to our construction supervision team, which carries out quality assurance on our behalf, that we have installed and documented these joints in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations. At present, it is an approved material and an approved state-of-the-art process.”

Teenager hit by car

Unfortunately, the west side of Leipzig Central Station was also the scene of a tragic road accident yesterday evening. Shortly after 6 pm, a 16-year-old girl was attempting to cross Kurt-Schumacher-Straße here in the direction of the central station. To do so, she apparently jumped over the kerb of a tram stop without paying attention to the traffic. A 28-year-old Skoda driver was unable to avoid the teenager and struck her with his car.

The young woman was seriously injured in the accident and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance, the Leipzig Police Headquarters reported today. The traffic accident investigation unit is now looking into exactly how the incident unfolded. There was also damage to property, estimated at around 4,000 euros.

Tram accident in Wiederitzsch

Just a few minutes earlier, another young woman had also been involved in a road accident. The 23-year-old was driving a Skoda Octavia north-west and intended to move into the left-turn lane at the junction of Delitzscher Landstraße and Messe-Allee. However, she failed to notice a tram travelling behind her. The two vehicles crashed into each other. In addition, two further cars – travelling behind the tram – also collided with the tram.

Fortunately, the young Skoda driver sustained only minor injuries; the police make no mention of injuries to other people involved in their report today. However, there was considerable damage to the vehicles. Two of the three cars involved in the collision were no longer roadworthy and had to be towed away. The damage is estimated at around 20,000 euros. Investigations into the circumstances of the accident are now underway here too.

What the LZ reported on today:

50 years of Grünau: Discover six works of art on building façades in the district with the KunstWANDerung

Resistance to the expansion of Leipzig/Halle cargo airport: How can you support the legal action brought by opponents of aircraft noise?

Hello Leipzig: this is how Friday 24 July 2026 kicks off the weekend

Embedded: Leipzig-based Wolfgang Zarnack is filming a 50-part anti-war series without a crew

Wilhelm Büchsel: The lavish biography of a German admiral amid the naval fever of the German Empire

What else was important:

The well-known battery manufacturer Varta has confirmed a total of four insolvency filings
. The companies affected are Varta AG, Varta Microbattery GmbH, Varta Micro Production GmbH and Varta Storage GmbH. The company now faces being broken up, as key creditors want to split the group up.

In its report published today, the European Commission continues to criticise the Chinese social media platform TikTok. It claims the platform is not doing enough to protect underage users. For instance, the account settings continue to allow unwanted contact, cyberbullying or exploitative behaviour. TikTok, however, has rejected the allegations.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has today announced a number of changes to the cabinet: the former Federal Minister for Health, Nina Warken (CDU), is to become the new head of the Chancellor’s Office. Thorsten Frei (CDU), who previously held this position, is taking over as leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, replacing the resigning Jens Spahn (CDU). CDU Secretary-General Carsten Linnemann, meanwhile, is set to fill the resulting vacancy at the helm of the Federal Ministry of Health. Finally, Philipp Amthor (CDU) is set to replace Michael Meister, the former Minister of State for Federal-State Cooperation in the Chancellor’s Office.