Overview
- Deutsche Bahn put the direct Hamburg–Berlin route back into service on Sunday, June 14, after about ten and a half months of full‑closure Generalsanierung, with daily direct long‑distance trains rising from 38 to 52 and some stations restored.
- DB warned that parts of the line will run at reduced speeds into late June while signal acceptance tests and final checks continue, which will add about five to ten minutes to some journeys at first.
- On the same day DB InfraGO began the Obertraubling–Passau Korridorsanierung, a roughly €1.3bn modernisation running to December 12 that will replace many regional and some long‑distance services with a large bus replacement network.
- Berlin’s Stadtbahn between Charlottenburg and Ostbahnhof has been closed to regional and long‑distance trains until mid‑December, and Sauerland bridge renewals started in mid‑June with an initial four‑week full closure and further phases through end‑2027, all forcing reroutings and long replacement‑bus journeys.
- Politicians and industry groups are demanding clearer planning and funding after delays and cost scrutiny of Generalsanierungen, and a government reply cited by media says more than 90 rail projects risk stalling for lack of federal funds.