Rail chaos in Schleswig-Holstein: Massive failures until November!

Rail chaos in Schleswig-Holstein: Massive failures until November!

Currently, operations at Deutsche Bahn, Erixx and Nordbahn are anything but running smoothly in Schleswig-Holstein. How NDR reported, commuters and travelers will have to expect a number of cancellations, timetable changes and extensive rail replacement services in October and November 2025. The reason for this is significant construction work by Deutsche Bahn, which includes the renewal of tracks, switches and overhead lines.

Traffic is not spared from disruptions, especially at night. The affected routes are a real disadvantage for everyone who relies on the train. The affected connections include the Lübeck – Bad Kleinen – Schwerin – Rostock route (RE1/RE2), which will be canceled on the night of November 5th to 6th. The connections between Hamburg Hbf – Lübeck (RE8/RE80) and Hamburg Hbf – Bad Oldesloe (RB81) are also significantly affected, with cancellations particularly in the evenings and nights between October 24th and November 10th.

Important routes affected

The list of affected connections is long. Travelers must also expect cancellations on the Lübeck – Neustadt route (RB85) on the night of October 31st to November 1st. Even the popular route Hamburg-Altona – Westerland/Sylt (RE6) is not spared and has changes to the timetable until November 9th. There will be further cancellations on November 5th, 6th and 8th on the Hamburg Hbf – Flensburg/Kiel Hbf (RE7) route and during the night of November 7th. The Itzehoe – Heide (RB62) connection also had to contend with failures on October 27th.

Commuters should pay particular attention to the general renovation of the Hamburg – Büchen – Berlin route, which will result in a complete closure until April 30, 2026. For the Nordbahn, this affects, among other things, the Büsum – Heide – Neumünster (RB63) connections with cancellations on October 25th and 26th and November 2nd and 3rd. Husum – Bad St. Peter-Ording (RB64) is also affected, with outages during the night of October 27th to 28th and November 7th to 8th.

Information for travelers

Travelers are urged to check current timetables before traveling. On bahn.de currently Information about train cancellations, disruptions and delays can be accessed. An interactive disruption map is also available here for a quick overview of current traffic disruptions. Travelers also have the option of being informed of changes with push notifications in the event of delays.

The challenges in rail transport are obvious in many places. With climate change, rail is increasingly coming into focus as an environmentally friendly means of transport. Loud Statista Shifting passenger and freight transport to rail can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. But despite all the progress, the investment gap in the German rail network is noticeable, especially compared to countries like Switzerland or Austria, where per capita investments in rail infrastructure are significantly higher.