REVEALED: Where travel on Deutsche Bahn will be disrupted this April

Travellers planning to pass through southwestern Germany around the Easter holiday, especially from April 18th to the 27th, can expect serious disruptions in both long-distance and regional rail services due to construction work on the Rhine Valley Railway (Rheintalbahn).

Some trains will be cancelled, while timetable changes and diversions are planned for others. On some routes travellers will need to use replacement buses.

Sleeper train operator NightJet also recently announced a number of cancellations in the area from April 14th to the 28th, citing Deutsche Bahn (DB) construction “announced at short notice”.

Here are the major construction disruptions expected to impact train travel in the Rhine Valley and elsewhere Germany over the Easter holiday period.

How will work on the Rheintalbahn affect long-distance passengers?

DB is adding new tracks and switches as part of a long-term railway upgrade in the Rhine region, and the work appears to be entering a new chapter just in time to disrupt travel over the Easter holiday.

READ ALSO: Why rail travellers in western Germany face 80 weeks of disruption

From Good Friday (April 18th) intensive work will commence between Karlsruhe and Rastatt, at Rastatt station, and between Denzlingen and Freiburg. 

Long-distance trains have not stopped in Offenburg since the end of March due to related work.

The approximately 200-kilometre-long route through this region is among the most important north-south connections in Europe, so international rail travellers passing through Germany will also be affected during construction periods.

Long-distance trains affected include those coming south from Baden-Baden and sometimes from Karlsruhe are affected. 

Passengers headed to Freiburg or Switzerland will need to change to DB’s replacement buses. From Freiburg, long-distance trains pick up again going toward Switzerland. 

READ ALSO: Where can you go by direct night train from Stuttgart?

ICE trains on the Hamburg-Dortmund-Cologne-Karlsruhe-Basel connection will only run as far as Karlsruhe.

How will the Rheintalbahn work affect local transport?

Between Karlsruhe, Rastatt and Baden-Baden, only one track will be available in some places, which will significantly impact some local connections.

The section between Rastatt and Baden-Baden will be fully closed for 24 hours starting April 22nd from 10:00 pm.

The route via Ettlingen will be paused for the entire duration of the renovation work. 

Also travel is limited to one track between Müllheim and Basel - resulting in timetable changes.

DB will deploy over 100 replacement buses on affected routes. Passengers should be aware that bicycles are not allowed on the replacement buses. 

DB says that more serious restrictions can be expected during nighttime hours, from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am. 

READ ALSO: How to navigate roads and trains in Germany over the Easter holidays

Other major DB closures in April

Trains between Erfurt and Nuremberg, as well as between Nuremberg and Munich, are subject to partial cancellations and diversions from April 5th to the 25th.

From the 12th until the 20th stops in Coburg, Bamberg and Erlangen will be cancelled.

From the 11th to the 21st, trains connecting Hamburg and Berlin to Nuremberg and Munich will take an extra 105 minutes due to diversions.

The ICE/IC route from Berlin to Stralsund in the north will see diversions and stop cancellations from April 11th until May 30th. Stops in Eberswalde, Angermünde, Prenzlau, Pasewalk, Anklam, Züssow and Greifswald will be cancelled, and one replacement stop in Neustrelitz will be added.

Diversions and stop cancellations will also affect the Frankfurt to Fulda connection from April 17th until May 2nd.

READ ALSO: Where Berliners are facing travel disruptions this spring

Stops in Wabern, Treysa, Marburg, Gießen, Friedberg, Wiesloch-Walldorf will be cancelled during this time, and trains running over this track – including on the Frankfurt, Erfurt, Berlin/Dresden axis – will run less often.

For more information on upcoming DB construction projects, you can check DB’s website.