The Deutsche Bahn has confirmed multiple line closures and partial station skips across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg from 15 to 29 October, coinciding with the region’s school holidays. Key InterCity services between Rostock and Berlin will bypass Neustrelitz and Oranienburg, adding up to 90 minutes to travel times, while several ICE trains from Baltic resorts to Cologne will not call at Hamburg Hbf until the December timetable change. Regional express lines RE4 and RE5 face bus replacement segments during track renewals, and the ferry route between Fehmarn and Puttgarden remains closed for bridge repairs, pushing holidaymakers onto already congested A20/A14 motorways. The ADAC warns of likely jams at the Plater Berge bottleneck and recommends anticyclical departures. For corporate travellers, the works highlight continued fragility in Germany’s rail infrastructure just as many firms have shifted domestic travel from air to train for sustainability reasons. Travel-managers are advised to flag the longer runtimes to employees connecting to long-haul flights in Berlin or Hamburg and to build wider connection buffers in OBTs. The state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has criticised Deutsche Bahn’s decision to drop Hamburg stops, calling for assurances that the detour will end in December. In response, DB says the measure is temporary and aims to stabilise punctuality amid a record €14 billion annual works programme. Road-haulage associations expect heavier weekend traffic towards Rügen and Usedom but less gridlock than in 2025 because the Reformation Day/All Saints’ weekend falls on a Saturday/Sunday this year.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung (dpa wire)
