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Chaos on the rails: renovation between Hamburg and Berlin is delayed!
CDU in Schwerin calls for solutions to renovate the Hamburg-Berlin railway; ETCS installation is delayed, commuters wait for improvements.
Chaos on the rails: renovation between Hamburg and Berlin is delayed!
The anticipation of a modernized rail connection between Hamburg and Berlin was suddenly dampened. Again Northern Courier reports, Deutsche Bahn plans not to install a European train control system, the European Train Control System (ETCS), during the upcoming nine-month closure of the important route.
For Daniel Peters, the parliamentary group and state leader of the CDU in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, this is a slap in the face. He sees the citizens of West Mecklenburg and commuters in a dilemma: They expect solutions and not endless construction sites. “We need a complete renovation with ETCS, that is non-negotiable,” he explains. Peters criticizes the fact that the railway slows people down for months without really making the system sustainable.
Massive impact on commuters
The general renovation of the 280 kilometer long route between Hamburg and Berlin begins on August 1, 2025 and will cost around 2.2 billion euros. This sum not only causes unrest in politics, but also among commuters, as in the report by NDR emerges. Tens of thousands of commuters have to expect significant increases in travel time: commuters from Schwerin to Hamburg-Finkenwerder have to expect up to three hours, while school trips can extend from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.
The renovation, which represents the longest complete closure of an important route in Germany, could also have an impact on the quality of rail replacement services. Railway spokesman Achim Stauß promises that the express buses will be equipped with toilets and WiFi. However, it is questionable whether this will reduce the discontent.
Technological residues and critical voices
One of the biggest burdens is the decision by Deutsche Bahn to initially suspend the installation of the ETCS. The railway states that the installation is too complex and expensive and does not expect it to be implemented until the early 2030s. The Federal Audit Office has already criticized the method as likely to be wasteful, while experts such as Andreas Müller-Goldenstedt from the “Bergbahn think tank” question the poor condition of the route. He suggests spreading the work over several sections in order to maintain rail traffic.
The ETCS is part of the European Rail Traffic Management System and is intended to harmonize train traffic control across Europe. It aims to make different systems interoperable and increase the safety of rail travel. The delays in implementation show that Germany is lagging behind in this technological development. Climate change and the transport transition place additional demands on the German rail system, which require faster and more efficient solutions.
With this ongoing renovation, not only the political decision-makers are responsible, but also Deutsche Bahn. It remains to be seen whether and when the promised solutions will actually come and whether they can meet the legitimate expectations of commuters.