The busy railway line between Hamburg and Berlin will almost become a permanent construction site in 2024 and 2025. First the switches and tracks are renewed, followed by a general renovation. Trains are diverted, the journey takes significantly longer.
There will be massive restrictions for travelers on the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin in the coming year and also in 2025 due to extensive construction work. From August 16 to December 14, 2024, 100 points and 74 kilometers of tracks are to be renewed there, as Deutsche Bahn announced today.
Works between Wittenberge and Ludwigslust
Long-distance traffic must therefore be diverted, so longer travel times are to be expected. According to Bahn, the work is mainly taking place between Wittenberge and Ludwigslust. “There will also be restrictions in regional and freight traffic – also on the further route in the direction of Hamburg,” says the state-owned group.
Only six months later, major construction work is to be carried out again on the route: then a general renovation is planned, which the DB Group had already announced. From June 6 to December 13, 2025, the 280-kilometer high-speed route is to be closed and expanded into a so-called “high-speed corridor”.
230 trains per day
According to the group, it has checked whether both months of construction work can be bundled. However, it is not possible to postpone the construction work due in 2024: “There are clear deadlines for the maintenance of the infrastructure, so the construction work must take place in the coming year,” it said.
The route between Hamburg and Berlin is one of the most important direct city connections in Germany and is used by 230 ICE, regional and freight trains and up to 30,000 travelers every day.
Much longer travel time with detour
The fastest ICE trains currently need about one hour and 45 minutes for the route between the two largest German cities with over a million inhabitants – directly via Wittenberge in Brandenburg. If trains have to be diverted via Uelzen, Salzwedel and Stendal or via Hanover, travelers have to plan between 45 and 105 minutes more, according to Deutsche Bahn.
Deutsche Bahn has not yet given any details on the expected delays in the coming year. “DB is currently preparing the specific timetables in coordination with the railway companies,” said the group.