Passengers are facing multiple long-distance, regional and local railway disruptions at the start of September due to ongoing construction projects and staffing issues in Germany. Here’s where travellers are most affected.
At the top of September, rail passengers are having their patience tested as major disruptions affect high-traffic connections on the nation’s railways.
Some services are set to return to normal in the coming weeks as construction projects come to an end, while in other areas disruptions will continue through the season or beyond.
Here are some of the major railway disruptions passengers in Germany will want to be aware of this month.
High speed connections from Munich, Nuremberg to Berlin
Travellers from Munich, Nuremberg and other south-eastern cities headed to Berlin are currently seeing journeys with significantly longer travel times and multiple transfers.
Since last week, the tracks between Bamber and Forcheim have been closed due to ongoing repairs – effectively disrupting a central section of the route linking Munich and Nuremberg in Bavaria to Berlin and then on to Hamburg in the north.
According to Deutsche Bahn, this has extended the travel time on the long-distance (ICE) connection between Munich and Berlin by around 100 minutes as long-distance traffic is diverted via Augsburg and Würzburg.
Additionally, ICE stops in Coburg, Bamberg and Erlangen have been completely cancelled during this period.
Disruption here is expected to last until September 9th, with direct, high-speed connections between Munich and Berlin set to resume then.
Meanwhile, northern segments of the same ICE connection – between Berlin and Hamburg – have been disrupted due to ongoing construction since August 1st. The works are expected to continue until the end of April next year.
Baden-Württemberg
Traffic between Mannheim Hauptbahnhof to Mainz Hauptbahnhof is experiencing problems this month due to short-term staff shortages, according to Deutsche Bahn. In particular this affects the regional connection from Frankfurt to Mannheim (RE14) as well as the S-bahn lines S6 and S44. A replacement bus is in place for the S44. Disruptions are expected to continue here until October 5th.
The regional connection between Tübingen and Herrenberg (RE63) is also currently closed until at least September 14th.
And the regional connection from Ulm to Donaueschingen (RE55) is also temporarily closed.
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Replacement buses are running in place of both the RE63 and RR55. Deutsche Bahn notes that it’s not known how long the RE55 closure will be in place, but that the replacement bus service is currently planned until October 5th.
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Staff shortages at signal boxes are affecting several lines on the West Franconian railway – including RB84, RB88, RE84 and RE87. Here passengers should expect some timetable changes and train cancellations until September 13th.
Regional trains of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn leave the main train station in Munich. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP)
There are also a couple ongoing disruptions due to construction affecting travel around Karlsruhe: Regional trains RE45 and RB45 are affected between Karlsruhe-Durlach and the city’s central station. This is set to continue until September 24th. Long distance IC/ICE traffic between these stations is also affected, and will be diverted until September 30th.
Bavaria
Staff shortages at the Gerlenhofer signal box continue to affect traffic and timetables on several connections between Memmingen and Ulm, including the RE75, RS71 and RS7. Disruptions here are expected to last until October 5th.
Deutsch Bahn notes that affected passengers can see the latest timetable updates on their bahn.de website or in the DB Navigator app.
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In Berlin
A northern segment of Berlin’s ringbahn, between Gesundbrunnen and Greifswalder Strasse stations, has been disrupted due to ongoing work which is set to continue until September 8th at approximately 10pm. This affects the ringbahn trains (S14 and S42) as well as the S8 and S85 trains. Replacement buses are in place between the aforementioned stations, or passengers travelling further around the ring may be able to find alternative routes.
Other S-bahn routes currently disrupted and/or replaced by buses include:
- S3 from Köpenick to Hirschgarten, until September 6th at 5am
- S2 from Blankenfelde to Mahlow, until the 22nd at 1:30am
- S2 and S26 from Pankow to Karow until the 5th at 11pm
- S8 from Pankow to Hohen Neuendorf until the 5th at 11pm
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Hesse
Partial cancellations are in place between Frankfurt’s central station and Hofheim (Taunus) until September 19th. In particular regional trains RB22 and RE20 are affected. Passengers here are advised to use the S-Bahn line S2 between these stations and to pay attention to updates announcements and displays at transfer points.
Additional construction work is affecting traffic on Frankfurt’s S-Bahn S1 and S2 lines until September 22nd at approximately 5am.
In particular, trains on line S2 in the direction of Niedernhausen (Taunus) are not stopping at Frankfurt-Höchst Farbwerke. Affected passengers can use the bus lines X53 and 54 instead.
More info and the most recent updates about Deutsche Bahn traffic can be found here or in the DB Navigator App.