Rail traffic
Train sees itself well prepared in the renovation of Berlin-Hamburg
The general renovation between Berlin and Hamburg will be a special type of train construction site, especially the length of the route is a challenge. Difficult times are waiting for commuters.
From the start of construction, the entire rail replacement traffic should be available when the railway line between Berlin and Hamburg will start construction on August 1st. “The full functionality is there,” said Karsten Erhardt, head of infrastructure projects East at the infrastructure daughter of the Deutsche Bahn (DB Infrago). Both the drivers and the vehicles are available.
The general renovation lasts until the end of April 2026. On the 280-kilometer route, which leads through five federal states, train stations, tracks, soft, overhead lines and the leading and security technology are to be renewed. The route is completely blocked for this throughout the entire construction period.
While long -distance traffic is diverted via Stendal and Uelzen, many regional trains will fail. An extensive replacement traffic concept was created for this. However, commuters have to expect significantly longer travel times: a trip from Wittenberge in northwestern Brandenburg to Berlin Central Station will no longer take an hour and a half, but three and a half hours. It will take three hours from Perleberg to Berlin – at the moment it is almost two hours.
How do you switch off 280 kilometers of overhead line?
The general renovation of Berlin-Hamburg is the second of a total of 41st planned. In the past year, the Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim was extensively renovated and modernized. In the industry, the construction project Berlin – Hamburg is considered the actual test. The route is significantly longer than the Riedbahn, the detour options are more difficult.
“The challenge is not so much the technical complexity, but the eerie quantity,” said project manager Julian Fassing. At the same time, there are currently also rare questions. “How do you actually switch off 280 kilometers of overhead line? We are currently dealing with it,” said Fassing. This will probably take a few days.
Fassing also assumes that the excavators are already moving within the first seven construction days. It is planned that the work on the tracks will be done by the end of the year. Then follow the modernization of leading and security technology.
dpa
Source: Stern
