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Police catch ‘ruthless’ subway robber

Police on Saturday said they are certain that the man arrested on Friday is the subway robber caught on security camera emptying the pockets of an unconscious man at a Stockholm station, leaving him to be run over by a train.

“We were able to make an arrest after doing a stakeout at an Akalla apartment over the course of the day,” said Klas Jensgård of the police to daily Dagens Nyheter (DN).

On Saturday, investigator Dan Östman told the TT news agency the police are completely sure that they have caught the right person.

The robber, who is in his thirties, was taken by police from the suburb of Akalla just north of Stockholm. He is suspected on probable grounds of aggravated theft and concealment of stolen property.

Two other men are being held on suspicion of protecting a criminal.

The inebriated victim – referred to in the Swedish media as Johnny, 38 – was returning home after a night out with his friends when he fell down on the tracks at the Sandsborg metro station south of Stockholm.

The robber jumped down on the tracks and emptied Johnny’s pockets before coldly walking away from the scene.

Johnny was severely wounded when a train hit him soon after the robbery.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday morning, was caught on surveillance cameras and was featured on the TV show Efterlyst (Wanted), which aired on TV3 on Wednesday evening.

Tips from the public have since helped the police catch the suspected robber.

“A number of tips have concurred and we identified a location and a residence where this person was. He matches the images,” said Dan Östman of the Stockholm police to DN.

TT/The Local/nr

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BE

Berlin U-Bahn: City considers express subway trains

Politicians in Berlin are calling for the introduction of express lines on the city’s underground rail (U-Bahn) network. The transport authority (BVG) is sceptical of the plan.

Berlin U-Bahn: City considers express subway trains
Picture alliance/Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

Unlike train lines in some other cities, Berlin’s underground train network does not include express lines. 

The re-introduction of express lines on the city’s S-Bahn network from December 2019 has however prompted calls for similar changes on the city’s U-Bahn network. 

Burkard Dregger, the leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU) in Berlin, told the German Press Agency that the U-Bahns should operate express from the city’s most popular stations to move people around faster. 

“[Express trains] mean you can get from A to C faster while skipping B to increase the speed”, Dregger said. 

Dregger said the changes were necessary to further encourage people to switch from driving to taking the train. 

“If public transport can become not just safe, but also clean, climate friendly – and fast – changing from car to public transport will be more attractive,” he said. 

“That’s why we want public transport to be faster – and that’s why we should follow the example of the S-Bahn and implement express trains on the underground (U-Bahn)”. 

Representatives from the Berlin transport authority however have suggested that such a change is likely to be difficult and unnecessary, due to the short distances between U-Bahn stations. 

The BVG has instead called for the implementation of express buses (X-Buses), which can travel long distances without stopping. 

Train services in Berlin are made up by the S-Bahn and U-Bahn networks. The S-Bahn serves the city’s main arteries as well as a ring line surrounding Berlin, while the U-Bahn serves stops which are closer together in a manner more similar to urban subway lines. 

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