Berlin-Hamburg train route to resume full service in June

Deutsche Bahn has announced that the rail route connecting Berlin and Hamburg will resume full service in June 2026, one year after construction works began.

DB announces Berlin-Hamburg route reopening

In June 2025, Deutsche Bahn announced that the direct train route connecting Berlin and Hamburg would be entirely closed for construction works between August 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.

But consistent frost in January meant underground cables couldn’t be laid, and construction work fell behind schedule. Now, the national rail operator has announced a new reopening date.

Trains will start running on the stretch between Hamburg and Hagenow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on May 15, 2026. Replacement buses will continue to run on the remainder of the route until long-distance trains and regional trains resume service on the full route on June 14, 2026.

Berlin-Hamburg service will be two minutes longer

During the construction project, related diversions have added 45 minutes to the journey between Berlin and Hamburg.

When full services resume on June 14, the journey will also take slightly longer than before construction began. According to a report by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the journey time between the two German cities will increase from 105 to 107 minutes.

In the early 2000s, the Berlin-Hamburg route was updated from a high-speed line with a 160 kilometres per hour (km/h) speed limit to a single-speed 230 km/h route. 

This reduced the journey time to 90 minutes, but the track’s deterioration has since added minutes, which even recent renovations haven’t been able to cut back.