Bahn closes connection Frankfurt-Mannheim for months-long general renovation
For the first time, an important railway line in Germany will be closed for several months to carry out major repairs. On the heavily trafficked Frankfurt-Mannheim route, nothing will be in operation from late Monday evening, 23 hours. From mid-December, tracks, overhead lines, signals, switches, bridges, and train stations will be modernized. The German Railways hope that this concept will result in long-term traffic disruptions. A total of 40 heavily used corridors in Germany are planned for such major overhauls. The sections Hamburg–Berlin and Emmerich–Oberhausen are next in line for the coming year.
The Regional trains on the Frankfurt-Mannheim section, which is normally called the Riedbahn, will be replaced by buses. In total, around 150 replacement buses are in operation. Long-distance and freight traffic will be rerouted via parallel tracks - for this reason, regional traffic will also be restricted there. The closure will have effects not only in Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, but also in Rhineland-Palatinate, as one of the rerouting routes is the Mainz-Worms-Ludwigshafen connection.
Passengers in long-distance traffic will have to adjust to journeys that are approximately 30 minutes longer, one-third of the train offer has been cancelled, and some stops will not be served. All changes have been integrated into the schedule according to the railway, and can be retrieved via the German Railways app.
- Due to the general refurbishment, the connection between Frankfurt-Mannheim will be temporarily unavailable for passengers using the train, with alternative transport provided through replacement buses on the Riedbahn.
- The train station stretches along the Frankfurt-Mannheim route will undergo significant modernization, which includes improvements to tracks, overhead lines, signals, switches, bridges, and station facilities.
- To accommodate the closure of the Frankfurt-Mannheim route, long-distance and freight traffic will be rerouted through Frankfurt-General Hauptbahnhof, affecting regional traffic on the Mainz-Worms-Ludwigshafen connection.
