Overview

• DB and the federal government agreed on a prioritized sequence for renovating 42 high-traffic corridors, with a published year-by-year plan from 2028 to 2036 and the final project set for Flensburg–Hamburg in 2036.
• For 2026, DB plans corridor overhauls on Hagen–Wuppertal–Köln, Nürnberg–Regensburg, Obertraubling–Passau, and Troisdorf–Unkel/Unkel–Wiesbaden, followed in 2027 by Rosenheim–Salzburg, Lehrte–Berlin, Bremerhaven–Bremen, and Fulda–Hanau.
• Each corridor will typically face a roughly six-month full closure with diversions, after which the section is intended to remain construction-free for at least five years.
• The revised rollout extends an earlier 2031 target and reflects negotiations after freight operators objected to capacity strains and lengthy detours during closures.
• Work already underway includes the Hamburg–Berlin and Emmerich–Oberhausen sections, while industry groups welcomed greater planning certainty but cautioned that diversion routes and closure concepts still need improvement.