Since August last year, the main line between Hamburg and Berlin has been closed to allow major upgrade work to take place. This project was originally expected to be completed by the end of April with normal services resuming on May 1. However, poor weather conditions during the winter months has slowed the progress of the work meaning the reopening of the route has been delayed. The northern Hamburg - Hagenow Land (- Schwerin) section will now reopen on May 15 meaning services between Hamburg and Rostock/Stralsund can resume from that date. The remainder of the route to Berlin via Wittenberge will reopen a month later, on June 14.
This does mean that dates shown in the relevant tables of our Spring 2026 are no longer correct. Tables affected are as follows:
- Tables 827 and 830 return to normal service from May 15 (instead of May 1).
- Tables 837, 840 and 841 return to normal service from June 14.
- The Hamburg extensions shown in Table 850 are now valid from June 14 rather than May 1.
Readers travelling on these routes are strongly advised to confirm timings before travelling.
