Munich Airport has warned passengers that no trains will run to or from the airport from Monday, 12 October at 11:30 a.m. until Friday, 16 October 2026 at 5:00 a.m. Deutsche Bahn is carrying out urgent track maintenance on the critical Neufahrn – Freising section, which carries both S-Bahn lines (S1 and S8) and the non-stop Airport Express. During the four-day blockade, a rail-replacement bus service (Schienenersatzverkehr, SEV) will operate on three corridors: Neufahrn–Airport (for S1), Ismaning–Airport (for S8 and regional trains) and Freising–Airport (for the Airport Express). Buses will depart every 10–20 minutes during peak times, but journeys are expected to take 20–30 minutes longer than the usual train ride. The disruption coincides with Bavaria’s autumn school holidays, traditionally one of the busiest outbound travel periods of the year. Fraport AG, the airport operator, projects passenger volumes of up to 150,000 per day and is advising travellers to allow at least 45 extra minutes for their journey, particularly those carrying hold luggage or travelling to non-Schengen destinations that require passport control. Companies running fly-in/fly-out assignments or same-day meetings in Munich should check whether employees can switch to Lufthansa Express Bus services from the city centre or pre-book taxis, noting that road traffic on the A92 may also be heavier than usual. Travel-management providers have already flagged the closure in their global distribution systems so that new bookings show the longer ground segment. Deutsche Bahn says the works are essential to prepare the line for the European Train Control System (ETCS) upgrade scheduled for 2027, which will increase capacity and allow semi-automatic train operations. The railway operator stresses that no further multi-day closures are planned for this route this year, but single-track night-time restrictions will continue through November.
Source: Munich Airport
