Deutsche Bahn

Renovation starts Friday Hamburg-Berlin train route will be closed for months

13.08.2024, 07:21 Listen to article

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The Hamburg-Berlin railway line connects Germany’s two largest cities. Due to its poor condition, it is facing months of renovation work – the first of two. However, the trains will not run any faster once it is finished; it is all about reliability. What passengers need to know now.

How long will the route be closed?
The construction work is scheduled to last from this Friday until the timetable change on December 14. This will result in significant restrictions in long-distance and regional traffic for around four months. “Among other things, more than 74 kilometers of tracks and 100 switches between Wittenberge and Ludwigslust as well as between Hamburg and Büchen and around Hagenow Land will be renewed,” the railway announced.

What is running during the closure?
The long-distance trains will be diverted west via Stendal, Salzwedel, Uelzen and Lüneburg. They often stop there too. The journey time will be extended by 45 minutes, with some trains taking a little more or less. Because parts of the route are only accessible on one track, only one long-distance train will run per hour instead of the previous two. A replacement bus service will be set up for commuters between Hamburg and Wittenberge, which will also run via Ludwigslust. The connections have already been incorporated into the online timetables and can be accessed via the usual channels.

Are there any other restrictions?
Yes. Construction work will also begin between Hamburg and Schwerin starting Friday – until September 29th. During this time, no ICE trains will run there. There is a direct connection with replacement buses. In addition, there is an Intercity train running via Lübeck every day.

What is the situation in regional transport?
Travelling by regional train from Hamburg Hbf with a change in Schwerin and from there directly to Berlin and vice versa will not be possible until December. Only the much longer route via Bützow is available. The regional train connection Hamburg-Uelzen-Salzwedel-Stendal-Rathenow-Berlin and vice versa is also not a real alternative, as the increased load from long-distance trains means that the Regional transport is being thinned out and there is a replacement bus service between Uelzen and Salzwedel, which significantly extends the journey time.

Is this already a general renovation?
No. The general renovation is what Deutsche Bahn is referring to as the comprehensive modernization of more than 40 heavily used rail corridors in Germany. In this way, the company and the federal government want to gradually make the outdated route network fit again, at least between the important hubs, and increase the reliability of rail traffic.

The renovation of the first corridor on the so-called Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim has been underway for about a month. Next year, the Emmerich-Oberhausen route, which is important for freight traffic, will be the next priority, as will the Hamburg-Berlin route.

From August 2025 to April 2026, there will be another closure between the Hanseatic City and the capital. Tracks, switches, overhead lines, control and safety technology – everything is to be renewed during these almost nine months. In return, the route will remain free of construction for years and trains will be able to run there more reliably than before.

Will long-distance trains travel faster on the route after the two renovation phases?
Probably not. The railway told ntv.de: “After the general renovation is completed, travellers and freight transport companies will benefit from noticeable improvements in quality and punctuality. The consistent replacement of the old technology will significantly reduce the number of infrastructure-related disruptions. There are currently no plans to shorten travel times.”

Why doesn’t the railway do the work at the same time and only close the line once?
Because the route is so outdated that some work can no longer wait. “The construction work in 2024 is necessary so that trains can continue to run at full speed and there are fewer disruptions to the infrastructure,” says a presentation by Deutsche Bahn. The company has examined intensively whether the construction work could not be combined with the general renovation. However, statutory deadlines for maintenance must also be met, which made postponing the work impossible.

Why is the railway focusing on general renovations?
Deutsche Bahn is more unpunctual than it has been for many years. In the first half of 2024, almost one in three long-distance trains was late. The company attributes this primarily to the dilapidated infrastructure, in which too little investment has been made for decades. The federal government now wants to make up for this with billions of euros. With each main corridor renovated, reliability across the entire rail network should gradually improve. For passengers, this initially means additional burdens due to the construction-related closures. It will probably be several years before things noticeably improve.