Berlin – Passengers between Berlin and Hamburg have to plan more time. The Hamburger Bahn is becoming a major construction site – with the result that trains are canceled or diverted for three months. This not only applies to long-distance traffic, but also to regional trains: they are being replaced in part by buses. The renovation project, which costs around 100 million euros, is now imminent: From Saturday, September 11th, to December 11th, passengers will be on the road longer – sometimes around 50 minutes.
Since December 15, 1846, almost 175 years, the two largest cities in Germany have been connected by direct rail. With fast trains like the “Flying Hamburger” and the rail zeppelin powered by a propeller, traffic history was written on the almost 290 kilometer long, mostly dead straight route. On December 5, 1961, the train driver Harry Deterling managed to escape from the GDR to West Berlin with a passenger train. It was not until 1995, more than five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, that the section between Albrechtshof and Spandau went back into operation.
A positive side effect: With the ICE directly to the Altmark and Uelzen
From 1993 to 1997 the line was expanded for a speed of 160 km / h. After the plans to build a line for the Transrapid maglev between Berlin and Hamburg were dashed, “upgrading” followed – for 230 kilometers per hour. The number of passengers per day rose from around 6,000 to 17,000. A general overhaul is now required. Around 200 kilometers of rails and 24 points will be laid between Berlin and Büchen in Schleswig-Holstein, around 15,000 sleepers and 30,000 tons of ballast will be replaced, and a bridge and eleven culverts will be renewed.
That has consequences. The ICE traffic is thinned out and diverted to an hourly cycle. The trains also stop in Stendal and Salzwedel, and every two hours in Uelzen, while the stops in Wittenberge, Ludwigslust and Büchen are omitted. The travel time from Berlin to Hamburg Central Station, which is currently 103 to 128 minutes on the ICE, has been extended to around two and a half hours. The Flixtrains need another 20 minutes longer. The Intercity and Eurocity trains are no longer available.
From November 22nd, the situation should at least ease somewhat. Then two ICE trips a day will be possible on the direct route in the morning and afternoon – with stops in Wittenberge and Ludwigslust, and in some cases also in Büchen.
In regional traffic, the RE2 between Neustadt (Dosse), Wittenberge and Rastow near Schwerin will be replaced by buses on alternating sections until November 19. Late in the evening, trains between Nauen and Wittenberge will not be available until December 11th. The regional train lines RB10 and RB14 to Nauen are not affected.
.