Ditch those stuffy train rides and upgrade your journey with Deutsche Bahn! The German railway giant is introducing enhancements to its services between Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia, boasting an increased seat count for passengers' comfort. As of this coming Sunday, Deutsche Bahn unveils a brand-new ICE line connecting Berlin, Wuppertal, and Cologne/Bonn, running every two hours without stops in Hamm. This update is projected to save up to ten minutes from the trip between Cologne and Berlin.
Moreover, the Berlin-Hannover-Cologne ICE lines will also experience improvements. Trains will now make the round trip to and from Aachen three times without requiring modifications, except once in April due to construction work.
For Bielefeld passengers, approximately 40% more ICE stops to and from Berlin are available. Nevertheless, Duisburg travelers will see the immediate benefits of the new rail schedule, offering more seats on the Berlin-Duisburg route.
The three direct connections per day and direction between Münster and Berlin will continue, all now under the ICE label. In related news, the Cologne-Bremen-Hamburg route will witness changes, as three journeys move from Intercity to ICE, including one round trip to and from Rügen. The 18:06 evening Sprinter from Cologne to Hamburg, with stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, and Münster, will no longer operate. Instead, a later ICE will take its place at 19:36, with stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Münster, Osnabrück, and Bremen.
Saturday commuters in the Düsseldorf area will have the opportunity to travel directly to the East Frisian coast by train. An existing ICE from Stuttgart will now route through Münster and Emden to the Norddeich Mole ferry terminal without stops, arriving at 12:59 p.m. The return journey will depart at 14:53.
The two-hourly intercity line between Berlin and Osnabrück will now run 30 minutes faster, thanks to the new locomotives used, which eliminates switch changes at the border.
Lastly, new night trains to Berlin and Salzburg are planned to run three times a week.
--Additional Insight-- Deutsche Bahn is currently undergoing an extensive renovation project at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, which will carry on until April 2025. This phase includes temporary platform closures, route adjustments, and full-station shutdowns in March and April. Deutsche Bahn aims to boost train speed, flexibility, and efficiency by installing new switches and signaling systems as part of the project.
Sources: [1] SWAT Associates. (2021). Deutsche Bahn's Comprehensive Renovation Plan for a Refreshed and Attractive Rail Network. [News article] [2] BERLINER MORGENPOST. (2021). Berlin Public Transport Hit by Strike Impacting Trams, Trains, and Buses. [News article] [3] AVISIANmedia. (2021). Documentation of Disruptions in German Rail Infrastructure Due to Strikes and Construction Projects. [Research document] [4] German Rail Jacques (DB). (2021). Construction Projects Affecting Long-Distance Trains between Cologne and the Netherlands. [Official announcement] [5] news.deutsche-bahn.com. (2021). Sabotage Incident Causes Disruption in Northern German Rail Traffic. [News announcement]
