A Summary of Major Works on the Railway Lines

The vast majority of the work to improve railway lines, which impacts on the frequency and journey times info as per the journey guides, is completed over one Sat/Sun period.
So if you can't find a usual route or a train departure online, it can be worth having a look at the links to the national construction work, which you will find below.
You may then have to translate what you'll find, but it can be worth the effort to discover what's occurring and to glean whether you'll need to take a bus for part of the journey, or whether trains are being diverted.
Alterations to the usual service are often not particularly obvious when looking up the journey on a ticket booking service.

The information included below is a guide to the the more extensive construction projects which are impacting on train services for a week or more.
Therefore these are the projects which are good to be aware of if you're planning a rail pass itinerary and want to avoid any hassle, or are wondering why a typical connection isn't available on multiple dates.

Also worth knowing is that many major construction work projects, which require timetable alterations, aren't confirmed until around two months ahead.

These are the upcoming rail construction projects which;

• last more than a weekend, so also impact on Monday to Friday travel
• affect long-distance express trains
• result in trains being diverted, with longer journey times (which impacts on connections)
• Or, are being substituted by buses for part of the journey.

From Saturday March 28 to Sunday April 12, modernization and maintenance work is being carried out on the Luxembourg network.

Due to these works, no trains are running between Arlon and Luxembourg (LU) and trains will be replaced by buses

As a consequence, during these dates, the hourly IC trains on the Bruxelles - Namur - Libramont - Arlon - Luxembourg route will be turning around in Arlon.

For much of 2026 there will be a series of closures and alterations north of Aarhus, due to the project to electrify the railway between Aarhus and Aalborg.
Most significantly buses replace trains between Aarhus and Randers, which is located along the route, from Wednesday, January 28th until Sunday, April 19th.

TGV InOui, Ouigo and Lyria services won't be able to use Paris Gare de Lyon from 9pm on Thursday April 30, 2026 until Sunday May 3rd (gradual resumption of traffic from 2pm).
Some trains will be diverted to depart from and arrive at other stations in the Paris area.

1: Hamburg ↔ Berlin
From Aug 1st 2025 to April 30th 2026 and now beyond
Due to the renovation of the Hamburg - Berlin route, there will be maximum of 1 x express (ICE) train per hour between the two cities and journey times will be extended by around 45 minutes.
The EC trains on the Hamburg - Berlin ↔ Praha route and the Hamburg - Berlin ↔ Budapest route will be turning around in Berlin and won't be serving Hamburg.

This work is over-running due to the sever winter weather, so will be extended into May.

2: Hamburg ↔ Hannover
The enhancement project on the Hamburg <> Berlin routes finishes on April 30th (see above), so from May 1st to July 10th, 2026 the work is transferred to the Hamburg <> Hannover route.
The core consequences will be:

• No long-distance trains will be calling in Celle, Uelzen, Lüneburg, Verden and Nienburg
• The ICE trains on the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) / Wurzburg routes will be diverted between Hannover and Hamburg extending journey times by 45 minutes
• There will be no IC or ICE trains between Hannover and Bremen during this time.

3: Koln/Cologne ↔ Wuppertal

From February 6 (9 p.m.) to July 10, 2026 (9 p.m.) this route between Solingen and Wuppertal is closed due to reconstruction.
It is used by hourly ICE trains taking a Koln/Cologne - Solingen - Wuppertal - Hagen - Hamm - Hannover - Berlin route, hence during these dates this service will be replaced by ICE trains taking a Hagen <> Berlin route.
Bus connections will be available between Hagen and Wuppertal.

The ICE trains on the other hourly Koln/Cologne <> Berlin route via Dusseldorf and Essen will be unaffected, but the faster 'Sprinter' services between Koln/Cologne and Berlin will be temporarily withdrawn.

4: At Stuttgart
Work towards the opening of the new main station in Stuttgart will be stepped up in 2026.

From March 11 (1:30 AM) to March 25, 2026 (1:30 AM)

• Between Mannheim and Stuttgart, there are still direct connections at least every hour, instead of the usual approximately every half hour.
• Services on the Karlsruhe – Stuttgart route will be severely restricted.

Therefore from June 26th to September 11th inclusive fewer long-distance trains will be able to use Stuttgart Hbf.
The core consequences will be:

• Only one ICE train per hour between Stuttgart and both Mannheim (routes to the north) and Munich (routes to the south)
• Trains to/from Austria will call at Essingen/Neckar station instead of at Stuttgart Hbf
• There will be no direct trains at all between Stuttgart and Heidelberg, a connection will be required at Vaihingen (Enz)
• Therefore the IC and ICE trains which travel via Heidelberg and typically terminate at Stuttgart, will be terminating at Heidelberg
• The IC Trains between Stuttgart and Zurich will be beginning and ending their journeys at Stuttgart-Vaihingen station.

5: At Weimar and Jena
From March 13 (10 PM) to April 7, 2026 (6 AM) the trains on IC line 51 (Dortmund - Kassel - Erfurt - Gera) will start and end in Erfurt. Stops in Weimar, Jena West, Jena Göschwitz, Stadtroda, Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz and Gera Hbf will be cancelled.

6: At Hannover

From March 23 (midnight) to April 27, 2026 (midnight) bridge reconstruction work will result in fewer trains being able to use Hannover Hbf.
The ICE trains on the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt / Wurzburg routes will be unaffected, but the work will impact on the trains taking the Koln ↔ Berlin and the Amsterdam ↔ Berlin routes.
During this time, these and other trains, will be using other stations in the Hannover area.

7: Bonn ↔ Mainz

From July 10 (9 PM) to December 12, 2026 (11:59 PM) fewer trains than usual will be able to use the Koln - Bonn - Koblenz - Bingen - Mainz route.
A maximum of one long-distance train per hour will be available.
The IC trains on the Emden - Rheine - Münster(West) - Gelsenkirchen - Duisburg - Dusseldorf - Koln - Bonn - Koblenz route will only be operating Emden ↔ Koln.
The ICE trains on the Wiesbaden ↔ Dresden route won't be calling in Mainz.

8: Berlin

From June 14th to October 1st:

• ICE trains won't be using Berlin Ost
• The trains between Berlin and Poland will be departing from and arriving at Berlin-Gesundbrunnen instead of Berlin Hbf and won't be calling at Berlin Ost.

From October 2nd to December 12th:

• The ICE trains on the Berlin <> Koln route will be diverted on to a longer route between Berlin and Hannover, which will extend journey times by 80 mins; These trains also won't be using Berlin Ost and Berlin-Spandau stations.
• The ICE trains which take a Berlin <> Frankfurt (Main) and beyond route via Kassel, will be diverted on to an alternative route via Erfurt; These trains also won't be using Berlin Ost and Berlin-Spandau stations.
• The trains between Berlin and Poland will be departing from and arriving at Berlin-Gesundbrunnen instead of Berlin Hbf and won't be calling at Berlin Ost.

9: Munchen <> Nurnberg

From October 30 (7 a.m.) to December 12, 2026 (11:59 p.m.) the high-speed line between Ingolstadt and Nurnberg will be closed for renewal.
As a consequence a maximum of 2 x ICE trains per hour will be travelling along an alternative route, with journey times extended by around 70 mins.

1: Train services to/from London Euston over Easter

From Friday April 3rd to Wednesday April 8th the route between London Euston station and Milton Keynes will be closed.
This route is typically used by trains operated by Avanti West Coast which travel between London and Chester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and North Wales.
Buses will be provided for travel between Bedford and Milton Keynes.

Travellers will need to take regular trains between London and Bedford: EMR trains go from St Pancras; Thameslink trains go from London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farringdon and St Pancras.

Journeys between London and Birmingham will be available on the Chiltern Railways route between London Marylebone and Birmingham.

The Caledonian Sleeper service will be amended.

2: Preston ↔ Lancaster and Carlisle ↔ Glasgow

From Saturday April 11th to Sunday April 19th, work is impacting on the West Coast route north of Preston, with the core amendments being:

• Avanti West Coast will be operating an hourly London ↔ Preston service on the fastest route
• Avanti West Coast will be operating an hourly London - Birmingham - Wolverhampton ↔ Preston service
• A reduced train service will be available on a (Wolverhampton) - Preston - Carlisle alternative route
• Buses replace trains on the Carlisle ↔ Glasgow route via Motherwell; An amended train service will be available on the Carlisle ↔ Glasgow route via Dumfries.
• All trains operated by Northern which typically travel between Preston and Lancaster will be replaced by buses between these two locations
• TransPennine Express services on the Manchester / Liverpool - Preston - Carlisle - Edinburgh / Glasgow routes will be replaced by buses between both Preston and Lancaster and between Carlisle and Glasgow.

(1) Until June 30th 2026 València Joaquín Sorolla station is closed due to expansion works so all trains are being diverted into Valencia Nord station.

(2) In the wake of the tragic incident at Adamuz in January, until further notice trains are operating at revised, slower schedules on the Madrid to Cordoba - Sevilla / Malaga and Madrid to Barcelona routes.

This is also restricting access to a maintenance facility, so some of the Avant services on the Malaga ↔ Sevilla route and all of the Avant services on the Malaga ↔ Granada route are being replaced by buses until further notice.

These are the upcoming major works on the railway lines, that will be impacting on international railway routes over sustained periods of time.

From February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026, Deutsche Bahn will be enhancing the railway in south-east Germany which links Nuremberg to Passau via Regensburg.
Hence between during this time these ICE routes won't be available;

• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg - Nuremberg - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels- Linz - Vienna
• Berlin - Halle - Erfurt - Nuremberg - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna; this service will be switched to a Berlin - Halle - Leipzig - Erfurt - Nuremberg - Munich - Kufstein - Worgl - Innsbruck route.

From Feb 7th to July 10th the services which will be available are:

• One ICE train per day taking a Munich - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna route.
• One ICE train per day which will take a Frankfurt (Main) - Wurzburg - Nuremberg - Ingolstadt - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels Linz - Vienna route.
• One ICE train per day which will take a - Cologne - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz Frankfurt Airport - Frankfurt (Main) - Wurzburg - Nuremberg - Ingolstadt - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels Linz - Vienna route.
• One ICE train per day which will take a - Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Cologne - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz Frankfurt Airport - Frankfurt (Main) - Wurzburg - Nuremberg - Ingolstadt - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels Linz - Vienna route.

This is around half of the usual service.
Note that trains travelling via Nurnberg will be diverted on to a longer route via Ingolstadt.

From July 11th to December 12th the services which will be available are:

• One ICE train per day taking a Cologne - Frankfurt Airport - Frankfurt (Main) - Wurzburg - Nuremberg - Regensburg route
• One ICE train per day taking a Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg - Nuremberg - Regensburg route
• Two EC trains per day taking a Munich - Simbach ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna route.

The Nightjet trains on the Amsterdam ↔ Vienna and Hamburg ↔ Vienna routes will still be available, but will be diverted.

From the evening of April 2 to the morning of April 10, there will be no INOUI TGV service to Offenburg, Lahr, Ringsheim Europa Park and Freiburg (Breisgau )stations.
Hence the daily Paris ↔ Freiburg im Breisgau train will be turning around in Strasbourg during these dates.

This route is to be unavailable from May 30th 2026 to July 27th 2026

The trains which use it include the EC services on these two routes:

(1) Basel - Bern - Thun - Spiez - Visp - Brig ↔ Domodossola - Stresa - Milan
(2) Geneva - Lausanne - Sion - Brig ↔ Domodossola - Stresa - Milan

From July 27 to August to September 3rd 2026 the regional Tilo train service on the hourly Locano - Lugano - Chiasso ↔ Como - Milano route will be having to turn around in Como so won't be serving Milano.

From August 24h to September 3rd 2026 the route between Como and Milano will be completely closed, so the EC trains on the routes between both Zurich and Luzern and Milano will also be unable to arrive at and depart from Milano.

From April 20 (5 a.m.) to May 18, 2026 (5 a.m.) the ICE trains on the Amsterdam - Utrecht - Arnhem Duisburg - Dusseldorf - Koln - Frankfurt (Main) route will be diverted between Utrecht and Koln.
This will increase journey time by around 30mins.

From October 2nd to December 12th 2026 the trains on this route will be impacted by works on the line between Hannover and Berlin.
Instead of trains every two hours on a Amsterdam - Amersfoort - Deventer - Osnabruck - Hannover - Berlin, there will be trains every four hours between Amsterdam and Hannover, with only two of these trains in each direction per day travelling beyond Hannover from / to Berlin.

From Tuesday April 28th to Tuesday May 5th and from May 13th to 17th, the EuroCity Direct service on the Bruxelles ↔ Amsterdam - Almere - Lelystad route, will be diverted north of Rotterdam to travel to and from Amsterdam Centraal station and won't be calling at Amsterdam Zuid, Almere or Lelystad.

On Mondays only from March 16 (8:50 a.m.) to December 7, 2026 (6:50 p.m.) buses will replace trains between Dresden Hbf and Usti nad Labem.
As a consequence on these Mondays, the service along the (Copenhagen) Hamburg - Berlin - Dresden - Decin - Praha - Brno - Budapest / Wien will be split, with trains operating Copenhagen) Hamburg - Berlin ↔ Dresden and Decin ↔ Praha - Brno - Budapest / Wien, with the stop in Bad Schandau being omitted.

From March 6 (9 PM) to June 8, 2026 (5 AM), due to bridge reconstruction work on the line between Ulm and Friedrichshafen, the daily ICE train which takes a Dortmund - Koln - Frankfurt Flughafen - Manheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Friedrichshafen - Lindau ↔ Bregenz - Feldkirch - St Anton - Landeck-Zams - Innsbruck route will be operating Dortmund ↔ Stuttgart.

As a consequence its usual stops at Ulm Hbf, Biberach (Riß), Ravensburg, Friedrichshafen Stadt, Lindau-Reutin, Bregenz, Dornbirn, Hohenems, Rankweil, Feldkirch, Bludenz, Lagen am Arlberg, St. Anton am Arlberg, Landeck-Zams, Ötztal and Innsbruck Hbf wil be cancelled.

According to the Dutch national rail operator, NS, from August 6th to August 23rd work on the high speed line between Bruxelles and Paris will be impacting on Eurostar services, but the details of the alterations have yet to be confirmed.