Overview
- The Hamburg–Berlin corridor reopened on Sunday, with the first long‑distance train leaving Hamburg at 05:36 and freight services already running on the renewed track.
- The ten‑plus month Generalsanierung that began in August 2025 replaced 165 km of track, repaired 61 km, installed 249 switches and modernised 28 stations, but completion was pushed back by about six weeks because of a harsh winter.
- Deutsche Bahn says trains will run under temporary speed restrictions while staged acceptance tests and signalling approvals continue and full signalling upgrades such as ETCS were deferred to the early 2030s.
- The restart arrives as other major works proceed, including a full Hamburg–Hannover closure until July 10 and large NRW projects, a combination that overloaded diversion routes and drew criticism from freight firms and regional authorities.
- Final project accounting is still pending after an initial €2.2 billion estimate, and unions warn that planned private competition from Italo could shift lucrative trunk services away from DB and threaten long‑distance stops in many medium‑sized cities.