Timetable change: more modern trains and longer booking periods

This Sunday, Deutsche Bahn is expanding its services for travelers in central Germany, on the Baltic coast, in the Altmark region and on routes to the Czech Republic with the timetable change. The railroad is thus responding to growing customer demand, as the company announced. Passengers will benefit from new direct connections and improved booking options. The most important changes:

Tickets can be booked longer in advance

Within Germany, low-cost tickets can now be booked up to twelve months in advance. For international travel, the maximum booking period is six months.

Additional trains for Chemnitz in the Capital of Culture year

In the Capital of Culture year 2025, Chemnitz will be more accessible at weekends and on public holidays thanks to two additional Intercity trains. The direct connections will run from Berlin to Chemnitz in the morning and return in the evening. These trains will already start on the opening weekend.

New early morning connection to Leipzig

An Intercity train will take passengers from Nuremberg, Saalfeld, Jena and Naumburg to Leipzig in the morning. Departure in Saalfeld is at 8.25 a.m., arrival in Leipzig at 10.09 a.m. The return journey is at 17.49 in the evening. The new direct connections will replace a little-used afternoon train in both directions.

New ICE to the Baltic coast

From March 2025, a new direct connection will start in the early afternoon from Eisenach via Erfurt, Leipzig and Lutherstadt Wittenberg to Waren an der Müritz and Rostock. The journey with the vacation ICE will take three to four hours. Tickets can be booked now.

Modern trains on the route to Prague

The existing EC trains on the Dresden-Prague route are to be replaced by the ComfortJet operated by Czech Railways. The high-speed train will run every two hours in future. In the long term, the connection is to be extended to Budapest.

Altmark with new long-distance connection

The Altmark region will be better connected by two daily intercity trains between Magdeburg and Hamburg. These run from Stendal via Salzwedel, Uelzen and Lüneburg.

Salzwedel will have a regular long-distance stop again after ten years. From August 2025, construction-related detour on the Berlin-Hamburg route will lead to additional connections via Stendal and Salzwedel.