The reopening of Germany’s busiest intercity rail link between Hamburg and Berlin has been delayed by six weeks, with the full return of the key route now scheduled for mid-June after severe winter conditions pushed the major construction works beyond the planned nine-month closure.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) now expects the fully modernised line to return to service on 14 June 2026, instead of the previously planned early May reopening. The delay follows weeks of persistent frost and snow, which left the ground frozen and prevented critical works on cable ducts and overhead lines.
Despite the setback, a partial reopening is scheduled to go ahead. From 15 May, regional services on the northern section between Hamburg, Hagenow Land and Rostock will return to their regular timetable. Long-distance services from Hamburg towards the Baltic coast will also resume their normal route via Schwerin, restoring connectivity for parts of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
However, the core Hamburg-Berlin axis will remain disrupted for another month. Long-distance ICE and FlixTrain services between the two cities will continue to be diverted via Uelzen and Stendal until mid-June, adding around 45 minutes to journey times. Replacement bus services will remain in place for affected regional routes, particularly in Brandenburg, until 13 June.
More delays
The delay marks a further shift in the project timeline. The 280 km corridor has been fully closed since August 2025 as part of DB’s corridor modernisation programme, with works originally due to complete by the end of April. DB had already signalled in February that the schedule was slipping, but the latest update confirms a six-week delay to full commissioning.
Operational impacts extend beyond passengers, with freight traffic diverted away from the closed corridor now placing additional pressure on secondary routes, triggering knock-on effects across regional services. Thus, lines that were previously unaffected are now seeing reduced frequencies to accommodate rerouted freight flows.
That dynamic has drawn criticism from passenger groups. Marcel Drews, deputy federal chairman of ProBahn, said the partial reopening in May would bring some relief for commuters, but argued that the wider network impacts are becoming more visible. He criticised the delays and the additional freight-related diversions, which he said are now disrupting regional lines that had not previously been affected. He also called for better scheduling of future construction works and more effective use of existing buses for rail replacement.
Once completed, the upgrade will deliver renewed track, upgraded signalling and stations, and infrastructure prepared for future ETCS deployment. DB says this will support more reliable operations, increased capacity, and at least five years without major construction on the route, which carries around 470 trains per day across long-distance, regional and freight services.