Cottbus Becomes Third Centre For Refugees From Ukraine

On 23 March 2022, the city of Cottbus/Chóśebuz became the third hub for refugees from Ukraine in Germany, adding to the two existing centres in Berlin and Hannover.

The city's geographical location in the south-east of Brandenburg and its good connection to the DB network make it ideal as a transfer hub for refugees. In the future, up to 2,500 refugees a day may be transported here to safety in Germany. To this end, up to six DB Regio shuttle trains will run daily from Wrocław to Cottbus.

From there, the refugees will then be able to continue their journey: special trains run twice a day to Hannover, and there are buses that take people to reception facilities in the region and to other federal states.

The journeys from Wrocław to Cottbus are organised in close cooperation with employees of Polregio, DB Arriva and KD (Koleje Dolnośląskie). The trains provide refugees with snacks, drinks, baby food, blankets, pillows, cuddly toys and power banks. There is also always Russian and/or Ukrainian speaking staff on board to provide support.

DB-Personenverkehr director Berthold Huber said: "Cottbus shows how aid can be organised pragmatically and quickly across national and country borders. I would like to express my thanks to our Polish partner railways, as well as the Länder of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Berlin and the city of Cottbus. VBB, a number of bus companies and humanitarian organisations with their numerous volunteers have quickly developed a comprehensive refugee assistance concept together with DB. Together with Poland and France, intensive work is also being done to set up additional centres to enable the distribution of refugees to other EU countries.“