Important changes: Bike line Hamburg-Berlin from August 2025 closed!

Important changes: Bike line Hamburg-Berlin from August 2025 closed!

In the coming months, the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin will be closed to a general renovation. From August 1, 2025 at 9 p.m. to April 30, 2026 at 11:59 p.m., the massively loaded 278 kilometers between these two metropolises are affected. According to NDR is fully set during this time the green railcar traffic, which promotes around 30,000 passengers every day. For many travelers, this means a good change. Good gracious!? How is it going now?

Deutsche Bahn has announced extensive replacement measures. The popular ICE trains are now being redirected via Uelzen, Salzwedel and Stendal, but the stop in Ludwigslust is eliminated. A gratifying news for commuters from Schwerin: The direct connection between Schwerin and Berlin is retained. In addition, the railway plans to establish new regional compounds in the form of RE85 that run between Schwerin and Berlin every two hours. In general, extended travel times can be expected: the trips between Hamburg and Berlin will extend at least 45 minutes.

extensive replacement traffic

The railway has announced that more than 170 purple -colored buses use replacement traffic that can cover up to 86,000 kilometers a day. The X1 is one of the bus lines, but they do not stop at the main train station. There will also be direct connections between Wittenberge/Ludwigslust and Hamburg. Other routes will also be affected by the replacement bus traffic: the RE8 and the RB14 are eliminated, while on the RB17 an hourly time from Wismar to Schwerin-Süd is offered, followed by bus connections. So travelers must prepare to adapt their trips if necessary.

Participants should pay particular attention to the current timetables that can be viewed on the Deutsche Bahn website and in the "DB Navigator" app. Of course, the tickets can be used for replacement traffic, whereby tickets have to be bought at the machine or at the travel center. Nevertheless, no entry without a ticket - there are no exceptions!

passenger rights and changes

The travel time extensions also have changes to passenger rights. Compensation is due from an hour delay, and the BahnCard holders also have to consider some innovations. In particular, frequent drivers can have their subscriptions temporarily blocked. In these turbulent times it is important to explore alternatives: whether in carpools or with the new car sharing offers-some of them can even be very comfortable. If a train journey fails, the bus may be the ticket tip.

Overall, it can be seen that the general renovation of the Hamburg-Berlin railway line is considered necessary by Deutsche Bahn in order to bring the infrastructure up to date. DB announced that buildings and train stations are also modernized during the renovation work, which should notify the attractiveness of the train journey.