train traffic - Bridge works in Hamburg planned before diversion to Berlin
Work is still ongoing at the railway bridges in Hamburg-Veddel, but from the end of the week, long-distance traffic between Berlin and the Hanseatic city will be rerouted across this route. The current work on the railway bridges, as well as the renewal of tracks and switches, is expected to be completed by Tuesday. On Friday evening, this route, which usually accommodates up to 660 trains per day, will have to handle additional traffic to and from Berlin.
Bridges in Need of Repair
Due to bridge construction work in Hamburg, Deutsche Bahn had reduced its services. Since July 15, there have been train cancellations and delays between the main station and Harburg. Several long-distance connections to and from Frankfurt and Cologne were cancelled. Upon completion of the short-term works, a four-track system has already been restored in the area of the Veddeler bridges, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson explained, adding: "This is operationally necessary to handle the additional traffic on the high-performance Hamburg-Berlin corridor."
The spokesperson also confirmed earlier statements by DB Infrastructure (Infrago) that the longitudinal and transverse girders and the bearings of the over 100-year-old Norderelb bridges, a few hundred meters north of the Veddeler bridges, will be renovated until June 2025. These works began in 2023.
Longer Travel Time and Fewer Trains
From Friday (August 16), construction work will begin on the Hamburg-Berlin route. Deutsche Bahn plans to renew more than 74 kilometers of track and 100 switches between Wittenberge (Brandenburg) and Ludwigslust (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), as well as between Hamburg and Büchen (Schleswig-Holstein) and around Hagenow Land (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). Until December 14, long-distance and freight trains will be rerouted via Lüneburg, Uelzen, Salzwedel, and Stendal (Saxony-Anhalt) and will therefore also have to cross the bridges in Hamburg-Veddel. The travel time will be extended by three-quarters of an hour, and there will only be one train per hour between Hamburg and Berlin instead of two.
Replacement Buses Between Hamburg and Schwerin
Regional traffic is also affected. Replacement buses will run between Hamburg and Schwerin, as well as Wittenberge. Schwerin can only be reached by train via Lübeck and the non-electrified, single-track line to Bad Kleinen. From the end of September, regional express trains on line RE1 (Hamburg-Schwerin-Rostock) should again run largely without restrictions.
Commuters Frustrated
At a public meeting in early August in the West Mecklenburg town of Boizenburg, around 150 commuters expressed their frustration, according to a report in the "Ostsee-Zeitung". Two-thirds of the employed population in the town commute to other cities, mainly Hamburg or Schwerin. "How am I supposed to get to work in two weeks?", the newspaper quoted a commuter. Travel times will be extended by up to 50 minutes per trip. The replacement traffic is a kind of trial run for the nine-month general renovation of the Berlin-Hamburg railway line starting in August 2025, a representative of Deutsche Bahn for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern explained.
Nine Months of Bus Replacement for Regional Traffic
Then, until the end of April 2026, long-distance trains will again be rerouted via Uelzen and Stendal. For regional traffic, DB Infrastructure has commissioned a group of medium-sized bus companies to organize high-quality replacement traffic. The contract covers 23 million bus kilometers, the company announced at the end of July.
The ongoing repairs at the Railway bridge in Hamburg-Veddel necessitated temporary rerouting of long-distance trains, affecting Berlin-Hanseatic city traffic. Upon completion of the renovation works on the Veddeler bridges, the four-track system will be needed to manage the additional traffic on the high-performance Hamburg-Berlin corridor, indicating the importance of these Railway bridges.
