Rewritten Article:
Say farewell to cramped trains! Deutsche Bahn is upgrading its services on the significant route connecting Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia, offering passengers more comfort with an increased number of seats. Effective this coming Sunday, Deutsche Bahn will unveil a new ICE line connecting Berlin, Wuppertal, and Cologne/Bonn, running every two hours without halts in Hamm, as reported by Deutsche Bahn in Düsseldorf. This change is expected to shave off up to ten minutes from the travel time between Cologne and Berlin.
Likewise, there will be improvements to the Berlin-Hannover-Cologne ICE lines. The trains will now head to and from Aachen three times without requiring changes, instead of once before – except for one occasion in April due to construction work.
For Bielefeld passengers, the changes mean approximately 40% more ICE stops to and from Berlin, according to Deutsche Bahn. However, travelers in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia will be those who immediately benefit from the new railroad schedule, with the route between Duisburg and Berlin offering more seats.
Three direct connections per day and direction will continue between Münster and Berlin, all now under the ICE banner. Take note that the Cologne-Bremen-Hamburg route will also see changes, with three journeys converted from Intercity to ICE, including one round trip to and from Rügen. The evening Sprinter departing from Cologne to Hamburg at 18:06, with stops at Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, and Münster, will be discontinued. Instead, a later ICE will operate at 19.36 from Cologne to Hamburg, with intermediate stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Münster, Osnabrück, and Bremen.
On Saturdays, commuters from the Düsseldorf area will have the opportunity to travel directly to the East Frisian coast by train. An existing ICE from Stuttgart will now be routed via Münster and Emden to the Norddeich Mole ferry terminal without stops, arriving at 12.59 p.m. The return journey is set for 14:53.
The two-hourly intercity line between Berlin and Osnabrück will now run 30 minutes faster due to the utilization of new locomotives, which eliminates the time-consuming switch of locomotives at the border.
Lastly, new night trains to Berlin and Salzburg are planned to run three times a week.
Bonus Insight: Deutsche Bahn is also undergoing significant upgrades at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, which will continue until April 2025. During this time, there will be temporary platform closures, route adjustments, and two full-station shutdowns in March and April. This project aims to enhance train speed, flexibility, and efficiency by installing new switches and signaling systems.
