The general renovation of the key railway line connecting Hamburg with Berlin will not be completed on time. German state railway Deutsche Bahn has informed that the planned opening of the line at the end of April is currently impossible. The cause of the delay is extreme weather conditions, including severe frost and snowfall, which prevented earthworks. At this moment, the carrier is unable to indicate a new date for restoring traffic.
Postponement of opening date
The Hamburg-Berlin route will not open on April 30, 2026, and the new date for train services remains unknown for now.
Impact of winter weather
Lingering snow and frost primarily prevented cable trenching, i.e., the construction of underground cable infrastructure for modern traffic control systems.
New data in March
The next official statement from Deutsche Bahn regarding work progress and the new completion date for the renovation is expected on March 13.
The large-scale modernization of the railway mainline connecting Hamburg and Berlin has encountered serious implementation difficulties. Although trains were supposed to return to the route by May 1, 2026, representatives of Deutsche Bahn have officially confirmed that meeting this deadline is out of the question. The main reason for the impasse is the harsh winter, which paralyzed construction work in recent weeks. Heavy snowfall and persistent frost primarily prevented critical work on cables and signaling installations, which require deep excavations in frozen ground. Representatives of the German carrier emphasize that the situation is dynamic and it is currently difficult to precisely determine by how many months the completion of the investment will be delayed. The company's management is closely monitoring weather forecasts, but the delays so far are already so significant that the work schedule is no longer up to date. <przypis title=