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.

(1) Due to construction work, no long distance-trains can operate between Bruck/Mur Bahnhof and Graz Hbf from 13/09/2026 (08:00pm) through 29/09/2026 (04:00am).

(2) Due to construction work, no local-trains and some long-distance trains cannot operate between Klagenfurt Hbf and Villach Hbf from 23/11/2026 (08:00am) through to 30/11/2026 (04:00pm).
Rail replacement bus services will be arranged.

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.

Though the IC and Lyn services between the two cities will still be available.

From August 10 to December 12 due to work on the high speed line north of Arras. some TGV INOUI trains which travel to and from Lille will operate at reduced speeds or take a different route.
Consequently, route changes and train cancellations are to be expected.

1: At Stuttgart Hbf

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.

2 : East of Hannover

Work is preventing many long-distance trains calling in Herford, Minden and Bielefeld

from August 8th to August 20th:

(1) Approximately half of the trains continue to run between North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin. However, the journey time is extended by about 60 minutes.
There are alternative connections between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hannover at least every hour, with onward connections towards Leipzig.

(2) There are direct train connections between Amsterdam and Hannover every two hours, but the journey time is extended by approximately 70 minutes.

(3) Between Hannover and Bremen, there is only a four-hourly long-distance train service, instead of an hourly one.

from August 21 to August 31, 2026:

(1) Approximately three-quarters of trains continue to run between North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin.
There is an hourly service on the regular route; the remaining trains are being diverted, adding approximately 45 minutes to the journey time.

(2) Between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hanover, there are alternative connections at least every hour with onward travel towards Leipzig or Dresden

3: in Hamburg

Engineers have discovered that a bridge south of Hamburg Hbf requires urgent maintenance.

As a consequence until August 31st services are having to be reduced as follows

• All long-distance train stops in Hamburg Altona and Hamburg Dammtor will be cancelled; trains will be turned around at Hamburg Hbf.
• ICE trains run approximately every hour to/from Hamburg Hbf in/to North Rhine-Westphalia via Bremen
• ICE trains run approximately every hour to/from Frankfurt and southern Germany via Frankfurt.
• There are hourly ICE trains to/from Berlin from/to Hamburg Hbf.
• to/from Munich via Hanover, there are at least ICE trans every other hour, but they will be starting / finishing their journeys at Hamburg - Harburg.
• Only 2 x ICE trains per day will run to/from Kiel.

The work will continue until August 30th, but the impact after August 14th is still being assessed.

4: Bonn / Wiesbaden ↔ Mainz - Frankfurt (Main)

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 - Mainz - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Dresden route won't be calling in Mainz.
• The ICE trains which typically take a Koblenz - Bonn - Koln ↔ Berlin route won't be running south of Koln.

It seems that the work is being carried out on the parallel route on the east bank of the Rhine, with a diversion of freight trains etc to the west bank route through Bonn, Koblenz and Bingen - leading to the reduction of passenger train services on the west bank route.

The long -distance Regional passenger services which take the east bank are being more drastically impacted:

• The RE8 trains on the Monchengladbach - Koln - Troisdorf - Koblenz route are being replaced by buses between Troisdorf and Koblenz
• The RB10 trains on the Frankfurt (Main) - Wiesbaden - Rudesheim - Koblenz route are being replaced by buses between Wiesbaden and Koblenz.
  As a consequence locations on the east bank of the Rhine between Troisdorf and Wiesbaden including Bad Honningen, Rheinbrohl, Leutesdorf, Neuwied, Vallendar, Braubach, Osterpai, Lorch and Rudesheim will have no rail service from July 10 (9 PM) to December 12, 2026 (11:59 PM).

Until September 18, 2026 (9 p.m.)

During this time the remaining long-distance trains through Mainz will also be impacted.

• The ICE trains which typically take a Koln- Koblenz - Mainz - Frankfurt - Nurnberg route won't be calling in Mainz or Frankfurt Flughafen
• The ICE trains on the Wiesbaden - Mainz - Frankfurt (Main) - Leipzig - Dresden route will be turning around at Frankfurt Flughafen and won't be serving Mainz and Wiesbaden
• The ICE trains on the Hamburg - Kassel -Frankfurt (Main) - Mainz - Wiesbaden route will only be operating between Hamburg and Frankfurt (Main) on most of these dates.

5: 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.

6: The IC train route through Seigen

Until December 12th the trains on IC line 34 (Frankfurt - Siegen - Dortmund - Münster) are cancelled along their entire route due to track renewal between Seigen and Dortmund.

7: Offenburg <> Freiburg

From August 7th to August 10th and from August 14th to August 17th, each day from Friday (9 pm) to Monday (5 am) the line will be closed between Offenburg and Freiburg.

As a consequence:

• Most of the ICE trains on lines 12 (Berlin <> Switzerland) and 43 (Hamburg <> Cologne <> Basel) will start or end in Offenburg.
• The trains on line 20 (Hamburg - Kassel <> Basel) will start or end in Karlsruhe.
• An hourly replacement bus service will be provided between Offenburg and Freiburg.
• There is an hourly ICE shuttle service between Freiburg and Basel SBB.
• Some of the ICE trains on lines 12 (Berlin <> Switzerland) and 43 (Hamburg <> Cologne <> Basel) which serve Zurich will be diverted between Offenburg and Zurich to travel via Singen and won't be calling in Freiburg or Basel.

7: IC trains through Weimar, Jena and Gera

From September 21 (midnight) to December 12, 2026 (11:59 PM) the IC trains on route 51 (Cologne - Paderborn - Kassel - Erfurt - Gera) are cancelled along their entire route.

Though the ICE trains which take route 51 (Cologne - Paderborn - Kassel - Erfurt - Leipzig) will still be available.

6: Duisburg <> Dortmund / Oberhausen

From October 9 (9 PM) to October 30, 2026 (9 PM)

• no ICE or IC trains will be calling in Duisburg and Oberhausen
• All ICE trains between destinations south of Koln and Essen will be diverted and won't be calling at Essen and Bochum
• There will be hourly trains on Cologne <> Berlin / Hamburg routes, but additional connections will be required in Dortmund.

6: Munchen <> Nurnberg

Until September 1, 2026 (every day from 9 pm to 5 am)

• Most trains are being diverted between Nuremberg and Ingolstadt.
• Travel time between Nuremberg and Munich will increase by approximately 30-45 minutes.
• Some trains will be cancelled on the section between Nuremberg and Munich

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 two trains per hour will be travelling between Munchen <> Nurnberg and with journey times extended by around 30 mins.

(1) London King's Cross <> Peterborough

The major engineering work over the August bank holiday weekend is impacting on trains from and to London King's Cross from the evening of Saturday 29 August 2026 to the morning of Monday 31 August 2026.

Hence some services will be impacted on the Saturday evenings and Monday mornings, but no long-distance trains will be able to use London King's Cross on Sunday August 30th.

On the Sunday:

LNER:

• Trains will be starting / terminating at Peterborough. A bus service will run between Peterborough and Bedford, for connections into / out of London St Pancras International.
• Two trains in each direction will also operate between Newcastle and Bedford, via Doncaster, also connecting with Thameslink services to / from London St Pancras.

Lumo:
Trains will only be available Newcastle - Edinburgh - Glasgow

Grand Central:
No trains

Hull Trains:
A limited service will be available on a London St Pancras - Selby - Howden - Brough - Hull route.

(2) At Huddersfield

From Saturday 19 September 2026 to Sunday 04 October 2026 engineering work is taking place at Huddersfield, closing all lines which serve the station.
Trains between Sheffield and Huddersfield will be turned around at Lockwood.

Trans Pennine Express services will be amended and the still available services between Manchester and Leeds will be calling at Brighouse instead of Huddersfield.
Trains will operate hourly on the following routes;

Monday to Friday:

• Liverpool Lime Street <> Newcastle
• Manchester Victoria <> Redcar Central (also calling at Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Sowerby Bridge)
• Manchester Victoria <> Scarborough (additionally calling at Castleton)
• Leeds <> Hull
• Wakefield Kirkgate <> York
• Manchester Piccadilly <> Marsden

Saturdays:
As Monday to Friday except Manchester Piccadilly <> Marsden is replaced by Manchester Airport<> Stalybridge

Sundays:
As Saturdays except Manchester Victoria <> Redcar Central trains will not make the additional station calls.

From 12:20 AM on August 2nd to 5:00 AM on August 17th 2026 , due to infrastructure upgrade work on the Milan-Venice line, train services will be suspended between Verona Porta Nuova and Vicenza stations.

• Frecciarossa and Italo high-speed trains are subject to cancellations, timetable changes, including early departures, route changes - including the cancellation of the Vicenza stop, and extended travel times.
• Eurocity trains 31/301 41 / 36/306 46, and 146 are cancelled between Milan and Venice..
• Trenitalia regional trains on the Venice SL – Verona PN route are partially cancelled and replaced with buses between Grisignano and Verona PN.
• Regional (RV) trains are subject to departure timetable changes, with a diversion via Padova – Monselice – Legnago – Nogara with all intermediate stops between Padova and Nogara cancelled except Terme Euganee.
• Trenitalia regional trains between Vicenza and Schio have been cancelled and replaced with buses.
• Trenitalia regional trains between Monselice, Legnago, and Mantua have been cancelled and replaced with buses between Nogara and Mantua.
• Trenitalia regional trains on the Venice-Rovigo-Ferrara route are cancelled and replaced with buses between Monselice and Rovigo-Ferrara.

(2) Milan ↔ Rome

From 10 August to 4 September 2026, due to infrastructure upgrade works on the Milan-Bologna and Florence-Rome high-speed lines,

Some Frecciarossa and Frecciargento, InterCity and InterCity Night trains will subject to changes, including timetable changes, early departures, longer travel times, and cancellations.
Trains will in effect be routed around closed sections of the high speed lines, by using sections of the parallel, but slower 'classic lines'.

(3) Milan ↔ Genoa

From 20 July to 28 August traffic is suspended on the Pavia – Voghera and Pavia – Pinarolo Po routes due to bridge reconstruction works.
The route is typically taken by all trains which travel between Milano and Genoa / Genova.
Trenitalia has published details of how the Regionale (R and RV) trains will be impacted.
Though a question mark hovers over the fate of the IC and FR trains which typically connect Milano with destinations beyond Genova including Albenga, Sanremo, Ventimiglia, La Spezia, Pisa and Sestri Levante.

(1) From Tue 11 August 04:00 to Fri 21 August 02:00 hours the IC trains on the Amsterdam - Utrecht - 's-Hertogenbosch - Eindhoven - Maastricht route will be diverted between Utrecht and Eindhoven to travel via Rotterdam and Breda.

(2) From Tue 25 August 00:30 to Sat 29 August 05:00 hours the route will be closed between Delft and Rotterdam.
As a consequence the IC trains on the Amsterdam - Leiden - Den Haag HS - Delft - Rotterdam - Dordrecht route will be diverted on to a longer, slower route via Gouda, not calling at Delft.
There will also be fewer trains between Rotterdam and Dordrecht.

1: Madrid ↔ Barcelona

Work on the high speed route between Guadalajara and Calatayud will lead to an increase in journey times of around 25 mins.
Some of the services on the route are being cancelled which is particularly impacting on early and late departures.

2: The Torre del Oro service

The status of this train which takes a Barcelona - Valencia - Albacete - Alcazar de San Jaen - Linares-Bazia - Cordoba - Sevilla - Cadiz route is questionable this summer.
The European Rail Timetable has a note that work on the line between Linares-Bazia and Cordoba is resulting in a bus being substituted between those two location.

However, having looked up journeys until September, tickets aren't being sold by Renfe for travel by the Torre del Oro.
Instead it is only selling tickets for indirect journeys to/from Albacete and Alcazar de San Jaen.

3: Madrid ↔ Jaen / Almeira

From September 6th:.

• The MD services on the Madrid ↔ Jaen route are replaced by buses between Almuradiel and Jaen.
• The IC service on the Madrid ↔ Almería route will be suspended with substitute buses operating between Almería and Linares-Baeza; the Alvia service on the Almería-Granada-Madrid route is unaffected.

Until August 30th the classic Gotthard route is being impacted by construction work between Erstfeld and Bellinzona.
As a result fewer trains will be available on the Basel - Lucerne / Zurich - Zug <> Arth Goldau - Erstfeld - Bellinzona - Locarno routes.

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

Until August 16th the daily Eurocity trains on the Zurich ↔ Milan and Geneva ↔ Milan routes, which are typically extended on to Venezia/Venice with station calls including Brescia, Verona, Vicenza and Padova, will be starting and beginning in Milano Centrale.

Until the close of August 22nd the EC trains on the Geneve - Lausanne - Sion - Brig - Milan - (Venice) route will be turning around in Lausanne.

Until December 12th there will be no direct service of ICE trains between Paris and Berlin.
The daily round-trip service will operate only between Paris and Frankfurt.

Customers who have already purchased a ticket to one of the stations not being served may keep it. It entitles you to take:

• any train between Berlin and Frankfurt to travel from your scheduled boarding station, then take the scheduled train in Frankfurt
• any train between Frankfurt and Berlin to reach your scheduled destination station after arriving in Frankfurt.

Until August 23rd no TGV INOUI trains will serve the Luxembourg station.
Bus replacements will be provided between Metz and Luxembourg.

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 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 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
• 3 x EC trains per day taking a Munich - Simbach ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna route.
• 2 x ICE trains per day taking a Munich - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna route

The idea being that travellers who want to travel between Germany and the route via Wels and Linz to / from Wien, can make connections at the main station in Munich.
These ICE and EC trains on the Munich ↔ - Linz - Vienna routes will be in addition to the usual service of RJX trains which depart in every other hour

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

From 08:30 on June 14th 2026, until 23:59 on October 14th 2026, trains will be unable to take the usual main cross border rfailway between Austria and Switzerland; the Sargans - Buchs ↔ Feldkirch route.
Therefore from June 14th to Oct 14th inclusive, a bus replacement service will be operating Sargans ↔ Feldkirch.

This will have the following impacts on rail services during this time:

• The number of direct Railjet (RJX) services on the Zurich - Buchs ↔ Feldkirch - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Wien / Vienna route will be reduced.
• Westbound departures from Zurich HB station will be at, 06:36 (EC) train to Innsbruck; and RJX trains to Wien will depart at 08:32, 10:32 and 14:32.
• Eastbound departures from Wien Hbf will be at 12:56 and 16:56, with a train beginning its journey in Linz at 05:30; Departures from Salzburg Hbf will be at 06:56, 12:56 and 16:56.
• An EC train will depart Innsbruck for Zurich at 17:16; and the Railjet trains to Zurich will depart from Innsbruck at 09:16, 13:16 and 15:16.
• The trains travelling between Zurich and Austria will be diverted on to a different route and will be calling at Zurich Flughafen / Airport, Winterthur, St Gallen and Bregenz, instead of at Sargans and Buchs.
• As a result of the diversion, journey times from and to Zurich will be extended by around 80 minutes.
• The daily Railjet (RJX ) train which typically takes a Zurich - Buchs ↔ Feldkirch - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Wien / Vienna - Budapest route, will be diverted to travel to and from Bregenz instead of Zurich.
• The daily Railjet (RJX ) train which typically takes a Zurich - Buchs ↔ Feldkirch - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Wien / Vienna - Bratislava route will be travelling between Feldkirch and Budapest.
• The daily 'Transalpin' service which typically takes a Zurich - Buchs ↔ Feldkirch - Innsbruck - Zell-am-See - Radstadt - Leoben - Graz route will bei travelling between Innsbruck and Graz
• Timings of the night trains between Zurich and Budapest, Graz, Wien and Zagreb will be altered.

From August 26 (4 a.m.) to September 5, 2026 (4:20 a.m.) due to track work at Buchloe, buses will replace these trains between Munich and Lindau-Reutin.
In Lindau-Reutin there is a connection with trains to/from Zurich.

Until August 24, 2026 (9 p.m.) the train routes:

• EC line 95 (Berlin – Frankfurt (Oder) – Poznań – Warsaw)
• EC line 96 (Berlin – Frankfurt (Oder) –Wroclaw - Krakow – Przemysl)

will be replaced by buses between Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder).

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 24th 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 August 5th to 24th track renewal work is being carried out on the high speed line between the French border and Bruxelles.

Some services will be cancelled, others will have longer journey times - plus fewer TGV trains between destinations in France will be calling in Lille.
There will also be fewer Eurostar trains on the Paris - Bruxelles - Amsterdam route.

From August 8th to August 20th:

The journey time when travelling to and from Hannover, Wolfsburg and Berlin will be extended by approximately 70 minutes.

From October 2nd to December 12th 2026:

The trains 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.

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.

Due to construction work in Italy no long-distance trains can operate between Villach Hbf and Udine from 22/08/2026 through 20/09/2026.
A rail replacement bus service is being arranged.

The Nightjet trains on the Vienna and Munich ↔ Rome and Venice routes will be diverted.

Due to construction work no long-distance trains can operate between Graz Hbf and Szentgotthárd from 08/08/2026 through 23/08/2026.
A rail replacement bus service is being arranged.
This will impact the trains which take a Graz - Szentgotthárd - Budapest route.

Due to construction work in Italy, the trains NJ 236, NJ 40236, NJ 237 and NJ 40466 will be diverted between Venezia Mestre and Salzburg Hbf from 21/08/2026 through 20/09/2026.
Therefore during these this time the trains cannot stop in Treviso Centrale, Conegliano, Pordenone, Udine, Tarvisio-Boscoverde and Villach Hbf.

Due to construction work carried out by Slovenske zeleznice (SZ), the Euronight trains on the Stuttgart - Munchen ↔ Ljubljana - Zagreb will be diverted between Schwarzach im Pongau-St.Veit and and Zidani Most from 26/09/2026 through 14/10/2026.
As a result the train canot make its usual calls in Lesce-Bled and Ljubljana

A replacement train is being arranged between Ljubljana and Lesce Bled.
A rail replacement bus service is being arranged between Lesce Bled and Villach Hbf.

Also from 24/09/2026 through 14/10/2026 the Zurich ↔ Ljubljana - Zagreb service is completely cancelled.

From 10:35 p.m. on September 11 to 10:35 p.m. on October 9 the TGV France/Italy (SVI) trains are canceled due to construction work connected to the construction of the future Lyon - Turin tunnel.
Presumably the Frecce trains on this route will be similarly affected.