Deutsche Bahn timetable change: More long-distance traffic

Faster connections, more seats, more journeys: with Deutsche Bahn's timetable change from December 10, passengers are in for the "biggest expansion of services in 20 years", according to the company. Not only the metropolises are to benefit from the improvements, but also the regions, the company announced on Friday. For Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, according to the rail group, this means, among other things:

- Halle and Erfurt will receive a second ICE connection without changing trains to Vienna - from Thuringia's state capital, travelers will then be in Austria's metropolis in less than six hours. Furthermore, Halle and Erfurt will in future have eleven ICE journeys a day in the direction of Berlin and Nuremberg/Munich. Who would like to drive from Magdeburg to Hamburg, Berlin or Rostock, can do that in the future more frequently, without having to change trains.

- The Intercity line Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Nuremberg drives after the conversion in the future five times daily from and to Leipzig - currently there is according to the data only one journey per day and direction. For travelers between Berlin, Potsdam, Brandenburg and Magdeburg, a third Intercity per day and direction will be available in the future.

- Starting in March 2024, the ICE Berlin-Wolfsburg-Göttingen-Frankfurt/Main (airport) will stop in Stendal every two hours. From Erfurt, ICE trains will leave in the early morning hours on weekdays for 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 can take the ICE from Erfurt and Halle to Berlin and then on to Binz on the island of Rügen on weekends without changing trains. The return train will now run on Saturdays and Sundays from Binz to Erfurt and Halle. Also from Eisenach it goes then briskly and partly transfer-free on the popular Baltic Sea island.

- Also new night connections provide the plan, for instance the new night train from Halle and Erfurt over Cologne, Aachen and Brussels to Paris. The night train Berlin-Vienna-Graz drives according to the data of the German course again over Dresden.

The bad news: At the chronic unreliability in the long-distance traffic for the time being nothing will change. In addition, rail customers must prepare for higher prices. In addition, the general renovation of the rail network will begin next year, which will mean step-by-step improvements to the overloaded infrastructure - but probably not until 2025.