traffic
Cable duct burned: Hamburg-Berlin railway line closed
The Deutsche Bahn has problems with the route between Hamburg and Berlin again. Photo: Annette Riedl/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
After three months of renovation work on the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin, passengers were finally happy about a faster journey. Now they need patience again.
A burning cable duct as a result of a technical fault paralyzed the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin. Passengers have to expect cancellations and delays, as a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn announced on Sunday.
The route is expected to remain closed until Wednesday. The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon between Friesack and Paulinenaue in Brandenburg. This disrupted the security system.
According to the current state of knowledge of the fire investigators from the Brandenburg State Criminal Police Office, a technical fault was the reason, said a police spokesman. The investigations are not yet complete. There are currently no signs of an attack or arson from outside.
Track renovated for around 100 million euros
According to the railway spokesman, around 60 trains normally run between Hamburg and Berlin every day. “It is a very heavily used route in long-distance traffic.” In normal operation, around 17,000 passengers use the connection every day. Now trains from Kiel/Hamburg that go to Munich via Berlin and Erfurt have to be diverted. This causes delays. Other connections that run from Kiel via Hamburg and Berlin are completely canceled between Kiel and Berlin.
Trains have only been running on this route since December, after around three months of renovation work, without any diversions or interruptions. Because since September, the route between Berlin-Spandau and Büchen has been renovated for around 100 million euros. According to Bahn, around 400 kilometers of new rails were laid and 24 new points installed. Around 30,000 tons of gravel were also replaced and the control and safety technology renewed.