Overview

• DB InfraGO has proposed stretching the generational renovation of more than 40 high-traffic corridors by four years to 2035 to manage delayed schedules and rising construction costs
• The Hamburg–Berlin main line will shut from August 2025 to April 2026, halving long-distance services, rerouting ICE trains via Stendal and Uelzen with journeys up to 45 minutes longer, and replacing regional routes with buses
• Deutsche Bahn refuted plans to cut 21,000 long-distance seats and stated that incoming and modernized trains will boost passenger capacity by 2036
• A fleet modernization programme will retire ICE3, ICE-T and aging IC double-deck units while postponing some new train deliveries to comply with EU state-aid rules
• DB is seeking special infrastructure funding and industry experts warn that constrained rail construction capacity could extend disruptions and cost overruns on major projects