Deutsche Bahn to close Berlin-Hannover high-speed line for 14-month overhaul

Full corridor closure

Deutsche Bahn will halt all train operations on the high-speed railway corridor between Berlin and Hannover starting 2 October 2026 for a 14-month comprehensive overhaul. The state-owned rail operator has allocated 2.7 billion euros to upgrade the 227-kilometre route, which first opened in 1998 when ICE trains ran at 250 kilometres per hour in 95 minutes. The line routinely carries more than 400 local and long-distance passenger services along with approximately 90 freight trains each day. The complete track closure will remain in place until 11 December 2027, temporarily cutting off the direct rail corridor between the capital and western Germany. Preliminary work has been under way since 11 September 2026 near Wolfsburg, with additional network closures planned for 2028 in Berlin-Spandau.

At 227 kilometres, it is the longest project of this type.

Technical scale of the works

The corridor renovation encompasses replacing or modernising 214 switches, 357 kilometres of track, 100 kilometres of overhead lines, and 13 kilometres of noise protection barriers. The undertaking also includes modernising 25 railway stations along the route with step-free train access, upgraded lighting, and clearer passenger guidance. The most complex technical phase involves replacing the specialised slab track system, where rails are fixed to ten-tonne precast concrete slabs instead of conventional gravel and sleepers. Construction crews will dismantle existing track along 52 kilometres and install 16,000 newly manufactured concrete slabs. In western Berlin, nocturnal construction from 20:00 to 07:00 will take place on a five-kilometre section in Spandau between 3 October and 28 November 2026 using two-way excavators, work trains, and lifting platforms to build rescue paths and renew safety equipment.

Rerouting and passenger disruption

Long-distance ICE trains linking Berlin to Hannover, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Amsterdam will be diverted for the duration of the 14-month project. Hourly long-distance trains between Berlin and Hannover will divert through Braunschweig and Magdeburg, adding between 60 and 80 minutes to journey times. A trip between Berlin and Düsseldorf will require at least five and a half hours. Four daily services between Amsterdam and Berlin will detour through Hamburg and Osnabrück, lengthening travel times by 70 minutes. On the Frankfurt-to-Berlin axis, half of all long-distance trains will run via Fulda and Erfurt, while others will terminate in Braunschweig. Regional passengers face substantial disruptions, with 160 replacement buses deployed as services such as the RB34 between Stendal and Rathenow are suspended.

It is important to us to keep the inconvenience for you as low as possible. However, despite all efforts, our work will also have noise impacts.

Delays on alternative routes

The disruption will last longer than originally anticipated because parallel diversion infrastructure is unavailable. Deutsche Bahn had initially planned to reroute long-distance trains onto the traditional main line between Lehrte and Berlin starting in mid-December. However, ongoing electrification work on that corridor has been delayed by twelve months and will not finish until late 2027. Freight trains will initially be rerouted alongside passenger traffic via Braunschweig and Magdeburg. A second freight detour via Halle (Saale) and Eichenberg is scheduled to open in late January 2027 once separate track renovations conclude.

Tracks, switches, concrete slab track, overhead lines, signal boxes and stations will be bundled, renewed or modernised. That is a massive task, but an investment that pays off for more quality, reliability and stability on one of Germany's busiest east-west rail links.