EXB issue 167 January 2018

Start 2018 off right by booking that mid-winter holiday you've got your eye on... but instead of flying, hit the tracks. In our new issue we tell you why trains are the only sustainable travel option, and fill your hungover head with fascinating facts and railway tales. Plus, underpaid drivers and corrupt controllers debunk the BVG's hip new image, four tips for sticking to your Berlin resolutions this year, the only CTM/Transmediale preview you need and much more!

SAVE THE WORLD: SEE IT BY RAIL! Why the EasyJetset needs to choo-choo-choose a greener way to travel.

CONFESSIONS OF AN U-BAHN DRIVER An anonymous BVG employee wants to puncture the company's cool "Weil wir dich lieben" image.

CONTROLLERS OUT OF CONTROL With stories of corruption and assault rampant, we investigate: who are Berlin's ticket checkers, and who's keeping them in line?

LOCOMORE'S BUMPY RIDE The birth, death and resurrection of a Deutsche Bahn rival.

TRAINS ON THE BRAIN German railway nerds tell us all about their obsessions with steam trains, model locomotives and trainspotting.

UNDERGROUND LOVE Missed your connection? The BVG wants to help you find your subway crush, but it's not as easy as it seems.

RAILWAY ROMANCE NEVER RUSTS How cult train show Eisenbahn-Romantik keeps on chugging, even without its famous host.

MOVING YOU, WATCHING YOU With more cameras, increased police presence and a new facial recognition programme, we're going to be under more surveillance on Berlin public transport than ever before.

WHEN GERMAN TRAINS SAVED JEWISH KIDS The true story of a Berlin Kindertransport refugee.

ENDSTATION GRUNEWALD Berlin's least appreciated, most powerful Holocaust memorial turns 20.

HAUPTBAHNHOF What's in store for the cold, cold heart of Berlin?

Also in this issue...

CTM AND TRANSMEDIALE Concerts, hug machines and Chelsea Manning clones: what not to miss at Berlin's hottest digital art, media and music festivals.

BEST OF BERLIN: NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION EDITION How to make vegan cheese, spin yourself skinny, stop killing your plant and find a Grunewald sugar daddy (or mommy).

NEW COMIC! Introducing Instabunnies.

ELIZA HITTMAN The acclaimed filmmaker appropriates the male gaze in Beach Rats.

NILS FRAHM The neo-classical superstar and Victoria score composer celebrates his new album right next to his self-built studio at the Funkhaus.

TRACY LETTS The American actor and playwright on why his plays translate so well – especially August: Osage County and Mary Page Marlowe, both on in German at the Berliner Ensemble.

BERLIN BITES A Russian celeb does Italian fine dining in Charlottenburg, and we get a mouthful of fake meat from the three new "vegetarian butchers" in town.

...And much, much more!