Passengers between Berlin and Hamburg have already had it, and now other travelers will soon have to suffer: the travel time between the capital and Hanover will increase significantly due to the upcoming general renovation, and NRW will also be affected. There is clear criticism of the plans.
Passengers on Deutsche Bahn's long-distance services will have to plan almost an hour and a half more for the journey between North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin via Hanover for around 14 months from October. This provides for a new rail diversion concept for the period during the so-called general renovation of the Berlin-Lehrte route, about which the federally owned company has now announced the first details.
Accordingly, from October 2nd to December of next year, all long-distance trains between Berlin and Hanover will be rerouted via Braunschweig and Magdeburg. This particularly affects the connections between Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia that travel via Hanover. According to the information, the travel time is extended by 80 minutes. There should be three long-distance trains in each direction every two-hour period during the day.
Actually, from the timetable change on December 13th, at least some of the long-distance trains should run directly between Berlin and Hanover again, namely on a single track on the main line that runs parallel to the high-speed line. However, the electrification of this alternative route, which is currently underway, has been significantly delayed and, according to the railway, will also take until December 2027 - a year longer than originally planned.
It also remained unclear what would happen to the Stendal and Wolfsburg stops. Stopping options are currently being examined, the railway said. The approximately 227 kilometer long Berlin-Lehrte route is scheduled to be extensively renovated and completely closed between October of this year and December 2027. Switches, tracks and overhead lines are being replaced. Long-distance transport on the heavily used route should be more reliable and punctual again in the medium term.
Local transport is also affected
Until then, this means significant restrictions for travelers - including on local transport. According to its own statements, the railway wants to provide a âreliable basic offerâ. âIn places where trains cannot run, efficient replacement bus services are planned in order to keep the impact of necessary timetable adjustments on travelers as low as possible,â it said. The trains would be brought as close as possible to the closed section of the route. A more detailed concept is currently being developed.
According to the information, freight traffic will also be redirected via Braunschweig and Magdeburg. The route is to be extensively prepared for the significantly higher capacity utilization in the coming weeks. âFrom the end of January 2027, an additional second diversion route via Halle-Eichenberg will be available for freight trains, which is currently being modernized and expanded,â it said. To achieve this, the railway is postponing construction work planned there for the summer of 2027.
Association wants postponement
The association of private freight railways reacted with sharp criticism to the first details of the renovation. âWe completely reject the plans presented by DB InfraGo. They have not consulted with freight transport in accordance with regulations and they are irresponsible,â said association managing director Peter Westenberger. "The full closure must be postponed in whole or in part if the DB does not succeed in making the third track available parallel to the high-speed line as a diversion route."
With the general renovations, Deutsche Bahn wants to comprehensively renovate more than 40 heavily used route corridors by the mid-1930s and thus ensure greater reliability in the network. After delays and problems with two recent such renovation projects, railway boss Evelyn Palla has announced that she will review the concept and adjust schedules.
