S45 hits Neukölln, Südkreuz, and Hermannstraße without a change
The S45 S-Bahn runs from BER Terminal 1-2 station up the southern ring to Südkreuz, stopping at stations like Waßmannsdorf, Grünbergallee, Adlershof, Schöneweide, Köllnische Heide, and Neukölln. Trains usually run every 20 minutes in the daytime and take around 35–40 minutes from BER to Südkreuz. If you live or stay along the southern loop (lines S41/S42/S46 area), S45 often beats the airport express on overall door-to-door time.
You board the S45 at “Flughafen BER – Terminal 1-2” deep under Terminal 1, about 7–10 minutes’ walk from Arrivals via escalators and elevators. The train belongs to Berlin’s S-Bahn system and runs in fare zone ABC, so a single ABC ticket (around €4.40 as of 2024) or a valid Berlin ABC day pass covers the whole ride. The line currently terminates at Südkreuz, where you can transfer to S2, S25, S26, or long-distance ICE/IC trains.
Trains use standard S-Bahn rolling stock with longitudinal seating and standing space near each of the doors; there are 3 double doors per carriage side, so boarding with a 23 kg suitcase is fine if you stand by the door area. Travel time from BER to Neukölln is roughly 30 minutes, and to Schöneweide around 20 minutes. The S45 does not go through Berlin Hauptbahnhof or Alexanderplatz, so if you need those, you change at Südkreuz or Neukölln for S41/S42 or S46.
Tickets are sold at the red DB machines and yellow BVG machines on the station concourse level, just above the S45 platforms, and you must validate (stamp) paper tickets in the small red or yellow validators before going down to the trains. Fines for riding without validation sit at €60, and plainclothes inspectors often board at Neukölln or Schöneweide. If you already hold a contactless Deutschlandticket valid for Berlin ABC, you just walk straight to the platform.
Step-by-step: Using the S45 from BER
- 1. From Arrivals in Terminal 1, follow “Bahn / Train” signs and walk 7–10 minutes straight ahead and down to the Airport Railway Station “Flughafen BER – Terminal 1-2”.
- 2. Buy a Berlin ABC ticket from a DB or BVG machine; a single ABC ticket costs about €4.40 and a 24-hour ABC day ticket roughly €10.70 in 2024.
- 3. Validate your ticket in a red or yellow stamping machine on the concourse level before descending to the platform signed “S45 Richtung Südkreuz”.
- 4. Board any S45 train; they usually depart every 20 minutes and take about 20 minutes to Schöneweide, 30 minutes to Neukölln, and 35–40 minutes to Südkreuz.
- 5. Change at Neukölln or Südkreuz if needed for S41/S42 ring services, S46 toward Westend, or mainline ICE/IC trains at Südkreuz to cities like Leipzig or München.
- 6. On the way back to BER, take any S45 toward “Flughafen BER – Terminal 1-2” and plan to arrive at the airport station at least 90 minutes before a Schengen flight or 2 hours before a non-Schengen flight.
One practical tip: if your hotel is near an S-Bahn ring station like Hermannstraße, Neukölln, or Südkreuz, skip detouring via Hauptbahnhof and just ride S45 plus one ring-line transfer; it often cuts 10–15 minutes off the trip.