Leipzig (dpa) – Faster connections, more seats, more journeys: With Deutsche Bahn’s timetable change from December 10th, passengers are facing the “largest expansion of services in 20 years”, according to the company. The company announced on Friday that not only the metropolises will benefit from the improvements, but also the regions. According to the railway company, this means, among other things, for Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia:
– Halle and Erfurt will receive a second ICE connection to Vienna without changing trains – from Thuringia’s state capital, travelers can then reach Austria’s metropolis in less than six hours. There will also be eleven ICE trips a day in Halle and Erfurt in the direction of Berlin and Nuremberg/Munich. Anyone who wants to travel from Magdeburg to Hamburg, Berlin or Rostock will be able to do so more often in the future without having to change trains.
– After the change, the Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Nuremberg intercity line will now run to and from Leipzig five times a day – according to the information, there is currently only one trip per day in each direction. In the future, a third Intercity per day and direction will be available for travelers between Berlin, Potsdam, Brandenburg and Magdeburg.
– From March 2024, the ICE Berlin-Wolfsburg-Göttingen-Frankfurt/Main (airport) will now stop in Stendal every two hours. From Erfurt the ICE departs in the early morning hours on weekdays towards Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg. The morning sprinter to Darmstadt and Frankfurt/Main can now also be used on weekends from Erfurt via Halle. From March 2024, Baltic Sea vacationers and day trippers will be able to take the ICE from Erfurt and Halle to Berlin and then on to Binz on the island of Rügen without having to change at the weekend. The return train now runs from Binz to Erfurt and Halle on Saturday and Sunday. From Eisenach you can also travel quickly and sometimes without having to change trains to the popular Baltic Sea island.
– The plan also includes new night connections, such as the new night train from Halle and Erfurt via Cologne, Aachen and Brussels to Paris. According to Deutsche Bahn, the Berlin-Vienna-Graz night train now runs via Dresden.
The bad news: The chronic unreliability of long-distance transport will not change for the time being. In addition, rail customers have to prepare for higher prices. The general renovation of the rail network will also begin next year, which will mean step-by-step improvements to the overloaded infrastructure – although probably not until 2025.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230929-99-376933/2
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