After Nine Months of Closure: Hamburg–Schwerin Railway Line Open Again

After more than nine months of closure, the railway connection between Hamburg and Schwerin is open to traffic again. For travelers in the north, this is a noticeable relief – and for Deutsche Bahn, it is a first operational step back towards regular service on the heavily used Hamburg–Berlin corridor.

First Trains Running Again

Since early Friday morning, trains have been running again on the Hamburg–Schwerin section. According to a railway spokesperson, the first train was a regional express (RE1), which departed from Schwerin to Hamburg at around 4:00 a.m. The timetable also once again includes some long-distance connections: three ICE and IC trains per direction are scheduled to serve the section.

Partial Reopening as Part of General Renovation

The closure is related to the general renovation of the line between Berlin and Hamburg, which has been ongoing since early August 2025. On this corridor, the railway is bundling work that would usually only be possible in many small construction phases: tracks, technology, and operations are to be renewed in one large package to make the line more efficient and less prone to disruptions in the long term. The price of this approach is long full closures of entire sections – the reopening of the branch towards Schwerin now shows how the network is gradually being ramped up again.

Regional Services Start First

That regional services are the first to resume is operationally typical: the RE1 closely connects the region, while ICE and IC as long-distance trains cover fewer, but more interregional routes. For passengers, the partial reopening means that not only commuting and everyday routes are possible again, but also some long-distance connections are returning to the section – though not yet at the density of the normal timetable.

Important Corridor Remains Only Partially Available Until Mid-June

The importance of the main Hamburg–Berlin line is high: the 280-kilometer connection passes through five federal states and is one of the central commuter and long-distance axes in Germany. According to available data, around 30,000 passengers use long-distance services on this route every day; in total, about 470 trains run there daily. The impact is correspondingly large when the infrastructure is only partially available for months – both for travelers and for the schedules and rotations of the railway operators.

The reopened connection to Schwerin branches off from the main line at Hagenow Land. Full train service on the entire route between Berlin and Hamburg is not expected to resume until June 14. Until then, the corridor as a whole will only be partially in normal operation.

Extended Schedule – Partial Opening as an Important Interim Step

An initial construction period of nine months until the end of April was planned. In March, Deutsche Bahn announced an extension of six weeks, citing a harsh winter as the reason. The now completed resumption of service between Hamburg and Schwerin does not change the fact that the Hamburg–Berlin corridor as a whole is not yet fully reopened. However, it is a crucial interim step: every partial opening reduces detours, relieves substitute concepts, and stabilizes operations – especially on a line where high train numbers and tight schedules leave little buffer for disruptions.

With the resumption of traffic between Hamburg and Schwerin, the first part of the closure as part of the general renovation comes to an end. According to Deutsche Bahn, regular service on the entire corridor is expected to be possible again from June 14.