Vehicular movement - Hamburg's S-Bahn station Diebsteich to remain shut for extended duration.
The Hamburg S-Bahn station Diebsteich, which has been shut since October 2022, is facing more delays before it can reopen. Rather than resuming operations in August, it's planned to begin functioning in early next year, according to Deutsche Bahn. The hold-up stems from the fact that even though the work was completed by summer, the roughly three-week check of the signaling and safety technology couldn't be conducted until January. They couldn't find any approval inspectors earlier, we're told.
Initially meant to reopen in November 2023, this was pushed back to the summer of 2024 in September 2023. The cause? Changes were needed in the plans for the new undercarriage.
These approval inspectors, highly knowledgeable professionals from the Federal Railway Authority, typically spend seven to ten years in training. Given how many construction projects are currently underway on the railway, there's a higher demand for their services. This inflation in assignments is contributing to longer waits before they can be assigned. "Despite our best efforts, DB couldn't manage to secure an approval inspector for the station and the corresponding timespan," the railway stated.
The renovation of S-Bahn station Diebsteich is part of the shift of the long-distance and regional railway station, Hamburg-Altona, to Diebsteich. The renovations on the long-distance and regional railway station, however, are reportedly unrelated to these delays, with a provisional start of operation planned for 2027.
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Due to the delay in securing approval inspectors, German Railways (Deutsche Bahn) has pushed back the reopening of the S-Bahn station Diebsteich, originally planned for summer 2024. This station, part of the shift of Hamburg-Altona's long-distance and regional railway station, has been under renovation. The reopening of the Diebsteich station now aligns with the long-distance and regional railway station's provisional start of operation in 2027. Despite the delays, rail traffic in Hamburg continues to rely on alternative routes, including the busy Railroad network.
