S4 building: Progress and setbacks in traffic in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein!

S4 building: Progress and setbacks in traffic in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein!

A lot is happening in the northern German traffic landscape: There is news for the S4, a future -oriented project to connect Hamburg to Ahrensburg. However, the partial commissioning of the S4 infrastructure to Rahlstedt, which was planned for the timetable change in December 2027, is now on the brink. According to buschhueter.de , the start could shift by the end of 2028. Because Deutsche Bahn plans to carry out the construction work in the second section between Lütkenallee and the state border during the total closure of the Lübeck-Hamburg route in the second half of 2027.

The important Hamburg-Lübeck railway line will be locked for five months at the latest. The announced pulling of the tracks via Mölln and Büchen during this blocking is a challenge for many commuters. These plans follow a series of full closures, including the Hamburg-Berlin and Hamburg-Hannover routes, such as ndr.de reported.

project S4 and challenges

The construction work of the S4, which costs around 1.85 billion euros at an estimated total cost, are currently in time and cost. The federal government pays about 84 percent of these costs. The first groundbreaking took place in May 2021, and more than three kilometers of new tracks were laid in Wandsbek. The S4 itself will run between Hamburg-Altona and Ahrensburg every 10 minutes and brings additional stops in Wandsbek, including Wandsbek Rathaus and Pulverhof. However, there are already 150 objections to the plans for these new sections of the route in Schleswig-Holstein, which could also delay the decision to decide on the planning approval decision before the Federal Administrative Court.

Current information indicates that the decision is most likely to be expected in summer or autumn 2026. After all, that the general renovation of the long-distance railway line is postponed to 2028 could be an advantage for the S4 construction work. The green section and clearing work carried out in advance could serve as the first steps in the right direction, even if the main construction work can only begin after an incontestable planning approval decision, according to Deutschebahn.com .

Future visions of the rail infrastructure

As part of the renovation program "S3", the DB is investing a total of 53 billion euros in the rail infrastructure by 2027. Of which, 8 billion will flow into 13 general renovations, and around 5 billion euros are available for classic maintenance per year. Many platforms are to be designed and modernized more customer -friendly in order to meet the demands of travelers. Digitization is also very important: digital control technology is integrated into the railway lines to make the operation more efficient.