Deutsche Bahn's 2027 timetable: More ICEs and trains to Italy

Deutsche Bahn has released information about its 2027 timetable. The new schedule introduces more ICEs between German cities alongside additional direct international trains.

DB announces new timetable

Deutsche Bahn will launch a new timetable on December 13, 2026. “In times of high fuel prices, Deutsche Bahn is a good and cheap alternative to cars and planes,” Michael Peterson, executive of DB’s long-distance rail department, said in a press release.

Tickets for the new timetable go on sale on October 14, and prices will remain the same. Back in April, Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla announced a price freeze until May 2027.

The timetable will offer new Hamburg-Munich ICE connections three times daily in both directions. The high-speed train will stop only in Hanover and Nuremberg and will no longer stop in Lüneburg, Göttingen, or Fulda.

Going forward, the Berlin-Stuttgart ICE will run three times daily in both directions, up from once per day. The direct train, introduced only last year, takes four hours and 45 minutes.

The new schedule will also bring new ICE connections, namely Berlin-Jena and Berlin-Bonn. The latter train will run every two hours.

Direct trains to Rome and Milan 

Good news for internationals and adventure-seekers in Germany: Deutsche Bahn is also expanding its international services. Passengers can currently use DB Navigator to book tickets to over 10.000 European destinations.

“By the end of 2026, passengers will also be able to [use DB Navigator] to book tickets on Dutch national rail company NS and Spanish rail company IRYO,” Deutsche Bahn explained.

The Hamburg-Copenhagen ICE train, which currently runs five times daily, will run every two hours, seven times per day, from March 2027. Direct connections between Stuttgart and Paris will increase from 10 to 12 per day, and between Frankfurt and Vienna from 12 to 14 per day.

Starting in summer 2027, Deutsche Bahn will also work with Italy’s Trenitalia and Austria’s ÖBB to run new direct connections between Munich, Milan, and Rome, with journey times of six hours and 30 minutes to Milan and eight hours and 30 minutes to Rome.

Updates on renovations and delays

Deutsche Bahn also updated passengers on where it will carry out track renovations in the coming years: the Troisdorf-Wiesbaden line in 2026, Duisburg-Dortmund and Fulda-Hanau in 2027, and Munich-Rosenheim in 2028. Passengers should expect disruption on these routes.

Deutsche Bahn explained that it has accounted for any diversions resulting from the renovations in the 2027 timetable. “When you book your ticket, you will be shown the current journey times,” the rail company said.

But delays are still possible. In September 2026, just 52,4 percent of Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains were on time, meaning they arrived no more than six minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

While Palla initially set a punctuality goal of at least 60 percent for 2026, that is unlikely to be achieved. The CEO is now aiming for at least 70 percent of trains to arrive on time by the end of 2029.