Overview
- DB adds frequency and speed on core corridors, including half‑hourly Berlin–Munich ICEs via Erfurt and faster Hamburg–Frankfurt services.
- The new barrier‑free ICE L debuts on Berlin–Cologne from Dec. 14, and XXL 13‑car ICE 4 sets standardize high‑capacity service on the Hamburg–Bremen–Osnabrück–Cologne–South Germany axis via Frankfurt Airport.
- Cross‑border options grow with a year‑round evening ICE pair between Cologne and Brussels, a new Leipzig–Kraków Eurocity, and extended Swiss through‑services via Basel to Bern, Zurich, Chur and Brig.
- DB keeps prices unchanged for the timetable change and confirms it will trim particularly weakly used trips in smaller towns for economic reasons.
- Major construction in 2026 will suspend long‑distance traffic between Cologne, Wuppertal and Hagen from Feb. 7 to July 10 and cancel Düsseldorf/Cologne–Munich ICE Sprinters for the year, with substitute long‑distance links routed via Düsseldorf and Hanover and an hourly Cologne–Berlin ICE.