Brandenburg was formerly a stop for long-distance trains, many of which ran from Berlin via Magdeburg and continued to western and southern Germany. Traffic flows changed with the division of Germany after 1945 and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Long-distance trains between Berlin and Magdeburg, sometimes continuing to Halberstadt, served the station, including an interzonal train from Görlitz to Cologne. There were also a number of regional services from Brandenburg towards Potsdam. Some services, popularly known as "Sputnik" trains, ran from Berlin over the Berlin outer ring via Potsdam to Brandenburg. The transit trains from West Berlin to West Germany also ran through Brandenburg, although they did not stop anywhere in East Germany.