Good afternoon,
In less than two months the DB will open the new HSL between Erfurt and Ebensfeld (near Bamberg) for public ICE-services. This will finally reduce the regular travel time between Berlin and Munich (the two biggest cities in Germany) from app. 6,5 to 4,5-5 hours. New sprinter trains will run the 610 km route in less than four hours with a top speed of 300 km/h (~190mph).
This will cause some changes in timetable all over Germany. This schedule change is the biggest since 15 years.
1. Berlin - München
Today an hourly service is running between Berlin and München, with some extensions to the north and the south and some exeptions. The line (28) will be splitted into two (18&28). While line 28 is still using the route Berlin-Leipzig-(new: Erfurt instead of Jena)-Nürnberg-München each two hours, the new two-hourly service in line 18 is calling at Halle instead of Leipzig and uses the route via Augsburg between Nürnberg and München.
The 18-trains will mainly run with ICE1 which needed to be modified to run under ETCS. On the 28-trains the ICE-T-trains will rest in service.
The Sprinter-services will run as line 29 up to three times a day between Berlin, Halle, Erfurt, Nürnberg and München with ICE3-trainsets. On about 50% of the route the trains are able to run with a top speed of 300 km/h (Halle - Erfurt - Ebensfeld and Nürnberg - Ingolstadt).
In the next years the section between Ebensfeld and Nürnberg will be improved with four tracks and a top speed of up to 230 km/h. Later a bypass of Bamberg will follow. The route is also important for freight services as it belongs to the Berlin-Palermo-railway-axis.
Now I will continue with other improvements in the 2018 timetable, which are related to the changes of chapter 1 but not using the new line.
2. Berlin - Frankfurt
Since the opening of the 120 km-long HSL between Erfurt and Leipzig in 2015 there are several sprinter services between Berlin and Frankfurt via Erfurt. This is line 15, which is planned to be improved to a two-hourly-service in the following years. It only stops in Halle and Erfurt. Now a second line between Berlin and Frankfurt will follow on this route: the existing line 11 (Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt - Stuttgart - München) is relocated between Berlin and Frankfurt on a route via Leipzig and Erfurt. Between Leipzig and Frankfurt it replaces the "short-50" (look Dresden - Frankfurt).
To replace the missing two-hourly service of line 11 between Berlin, Braunschweig, Kassel and Fulda a new line 13 is running in more or less the exact time as today line 11 does, from Berlin to Fulda and continues to Frankfurt Airport, bypassing Frankfurt central station. Line 13 forms an hourly service with line 12, which is continuing from Frankfurt to Basel in Switzerland.
3. Dresden - Frankfurt
Between Dresden and Frankfurt today there are two-hourly trains, combined with short services Leipzig - Frankfurt to an hourly service. The short trains will be dropped and replaced by the line 11.
Lines 11 and 18 stops at Erfurt to the same time, so passengers from Leipzig can change here to München and from Halle to Frankfurt.
4. Other changes
The Frankfurt-Wien-line 91 will be accelerated about 20 minutes as a result of the higher possible speed in Austria. The stop in Wels is cancelled.
A new ECE service connects Frankfurt and Milano. The SBB-trainsets run southwards via Gotthard base tunnel and northwards via Lötschberg. The class ECE is new, and result of the wish of DB to provide this train as an ICE-similar service (with appropriate prices).
The ICE4-trains spread their area of service. From december they can be found on some services between Hamburg and Stuttgart (22) and München (25).
For your information you can find here (https://www.bahn.de/p/view/service/fahr ... netz.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) the network maps for ICE- and IC-lines (scroll down to "Fernverkehr", you can find 2016- and 2017-version of both.
I will be visiting the new line in the third week of december, maybe some fotos will follow.
Best regards
Lucas
In less than two months the DB will open the new HSL between Erfurt and Ebensfeld (near Bamberg) for public ICE-services. This will finally reduce the regular travel time between Berlin and Munich (the two biggest cities in Germany) from app. 6,5 to 4,5-5 hours. New sprinter trains will run the 610 km route in less than four hours with a top speed of 300 km/h (~190mph).
This will cause some changes in timetable all over Germany. This schedule change is the biggest since 15 years.
1. Berlin - München
Today an hourly service is running between Berlin and München, with some extensions to the north and the south and some exeptions. The line (28) will be splitted into two (18&28). While line 28 is still using the route Berlin-Leipzig-(new: Erfurt instead of Jena)-Nürnberg-München each two hours, the new two-hourly service in line 18 is calling at Halle instead of Leipzig and uses the route via Augsburg between Nürnberg and München.
The 18-trains will mainly run with ICE1 which needed to be modified to run under ETCS. On the 28-trains the ICE-T-trains will rest in service.
The Sprinter-services will run as line 29 up to three times a day between Berlin, Halle, Erfurt, Nürnberg and München with ICE3-trainsets. On about 50% of the route the trains are able to run with a top speed of 300 km/h (Halle - Erfurt - Ebensfeld and Nürnberg - Ingolstadt).
In the next years the section between Ebensfeld and Nürnberg will be improved with four tracks and a top speed of up to 230 km/h. Later a bypass of Bamberg will follow. The route is also important for freight services as it belongs to the Berlin-Palermo-railway-axis.
Now I will continue with other improvements in the 2018 timetable, which are related to the changes of chapter 1 but not using the new line.
2. Berlin - Frankfurt
Since the opening of the 120 km-long HSL between Erfurt and Leipzig in 2015 there are several sprinter services between Berlin and Frankfurt via Erfurt. This is line 15, which is planned to be improved to a two-hourly-service in the following years. It only stops in Halle and Erfurt. Now a second line between Berlin and Frankfurt will follow on this route: the existing line 11 (Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt - Stuttgart - München) is relocated between Berlin and Frankfurt on a route via Leipzig and Erfurt. Between Leipzig and Frankfurt it replaces the "short-50" (look Dresden - Frankfurt).
To replace the missing two-hourly service of line 11 between Berlin, Braunschweig, Kassel and Fulda a new line 13 is running in more or less the exact time as today line 11 does, from Berlin to Fulda and continues to Frankfurt Airport, bypassing Frankfurt central station. Line 13 forms an hourly service with line 12, which is continuing from Frankfurt to Basel in Switzerland.
3. Dresden - Frankfurt
Between Dresden and Frankfurt today there are two-hourly trains, combined with short services Leipzig - Frankfurt to an hourly service. The short trains will be dropped and replaced by the line 11.
Lines 11 and 18 stops at Erfurt to the same time, so passengers from Leipzig can change here to München and from Halle to Frankfurt.
4. Other changes
The Frankfurt-Wien-line 91 will be accelerated about 20 minutes as a result of the higher possible speed in Austria. The stop in Wels is cancelled.
A new ECE service connects Frankfurt and Milano. The SBB-trainsets run southwards via Gotthard base tunnel and northwards via Lötschberg. The class ECE is new, and result of the wish of DB to provide this train as an ICE-similar service (with appropriate prices).
The ICE4-trains spread their area of service. From december they can be found on some services between Hamburg and Stuttgart (22) and München (25).
For your information you can find here (https://www.bahn.de/p/view/service/fahr ... netz.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) the network maps for ICE- and IC-lines (scroll down to "Fernverkehr", you can find 2016- and 2017-version of both.
I will be visiting the new line in the third week of december, maybe some fotos will follow.
Best regards
Lucas
