 Trains often ran without a single passenger, although a driver and ticket collector were still required.Nevertheless, on 20 December 1972, the East Germany Railways established the new station of Zehlendorf Süd between Zehlendorf and Düppel near a new residential area in an attempt to increase passenger numbers.After the West Berlin railway employees strike in late summer 1980, S-Bahn operations were closed on18 September 1980 on the Zehlendorf–Düppel section.