- Rail construction also affects regional transport
Due to construction works on the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin, significant restrictions will be in place from Friday evening for approximately four months. While long-distance traffic will be rerouted westwards via Stendal, passengers in regional traffic will have to adjust their plans. Additionally, construction will take place between Hamburg and Schwerin until the end of September.
Brandenburg:
Between Wittenberge and Karstädt in Brandenburg, the railway is removing a concrete track bed and replacing it with a ballasted track. "The construction method used there has been repeatedly repaired through various maintenance measures in recent years, but has ultimately proven unsuccessful," the company presentation states.
As a result, the line between these two cities will be completely closed until December 14. During this time, the Regional Express Line RE8 will continue to operate between Berlin and Wittenberge. Passengers will need to switch to a bus between Wittenberge and Karstädt.
From October 7, the closure will be extended to Ludwigslust. The replacement buses will then take longer. Two buses per hour are planned, each taking approximately 75 minutes for the journey.
Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern:
Regional traffic between Hamburg and Schwerin is also affected. The Hamburg-Büchen section is initially completely closed until early September, followed by single-track closures in alternating sections and multi-day complete closures.
The construction works in Büchen (Schleswig-Holstein) mainly involve the renewal of tracks and switches. This also means that trains between Lübeck and Lüneburg will not be able to run at times. Construction is also taking place around Hagenow Land.
As a result, replacement buses will run on the Regional Express Line RE1 between Hamburg and Büchen until September 1 and between Büchen and Hagenow Land from September 2. On the RE83, there will be replacement traffic most of the time between Büchen and Mölln.
Long-distance traffic:
Long-distance traffic between Hamburg and Berlin will be rerouted. "There will still be around 70 daily connections between the two largest cities, including 36 direct ones - and at hourly intervals," the railway company states. Normally, a long-distance train runs in each direction between the Hanseatic city and the capital every 30 minutes. Due to the rerouting via Stendal, Salzwedel, Uelzen, and Lüneburg, the journey time will be extended by approximately 45 minutes.
In the Hamburg-Büchen section, the construction works mainly involve the renewal of tracks and switches, causing trains between Lübeck and Lüneburg to not run at certain times. Due to the ongoing construction between Wittenberge and Karstädt in Brandenburg, the line will be completely closed until December 14, requiring passengers to switch to buses between Wittenberge and Karstädt.
