Changes to routes taken by ICE trains

According to the updated info on its own online Arrivals/Departures service, the German national operator DB will be implementing some significant changes to the long-standing service patterns and routes of its high-speed ICE services.

The new pan-European timetable comes into effect from December 11th and two key changes will apparently come into effect from this date:

(1) The majority of the services in both directions, on the Basel - Freiburg - Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt Flughafen - Köln Hbf route (route 43) are to be extended to/from Hamburg with departures from Hamburg Hbf at 08:45; 10:45; 12:45 and 16:45.
These extensions will also therefore be providing a hugely enhanced service between Switzerland and multiple major stations in north-west Germany including Bremen Hbf, Dortmund Hbf, Essen Hbf and Dusseldorf Hbf.

(2) The trains on route 47, Dortmund ↔ Stuttgart, are to be extended to/from München/Munich with calls in Ulm and Augsburg. So these three cities gain up to six additional connections per day with Köln/Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen and Dortmund.
These trains will also use the brand new section of high-speed line which has opened between Ulm and Wendlingen, a town which located between Stuttgart and Ulm,
Though the trains on this route call at Köln Messe/Deutz station instead of Köln Hbf.

Also a quirky feature of this timetable adjustment is that in most odd hours during the day, Köln/Cologne will have three departures heading to München/Munich;

• these trains from Köln Messe/Deutz on a route via Ulm and Augsburg;
• the trains from Köln Hbf. on a route via Ulm and Augsburg (these trains won't be using the new high-speed line)
• other trains from Köln Messe/Deutz on the route via Wurzburg and Nurnberg.
  But then in the even hours only the trains on that route via Wurzburg will be available.

In the opposite direction heading north, in most hours two trains will be departing München hbf for either Köln Messe/Deutz or Köln Hbf.

Germany's oldest high speed line, which forms the main north ↔ south route between Hannover and Frankfurt / Wurzburg, has had to be overhauled.
It is a three stage process and between April 1st and December 9th the third and final phase is being undertaken, which will in effect temporarily close the middle section of the line between Kassel and Fulda.
As a result between April 1st and December 9th, the ICE services which would normally use the line are having their usual routes significantly altered.

1. ICE route 12 is the Berlin - Wolfsburg - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Olten Bern - Interlaken route.
However, from April 1st the trains on this route will be turned around in Frankfurt (Main); and the trains will be taking an alternative route between Kassel and Frankfurt

Bern and Interlaken will be primarily served by ICE trains taking a Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Bern - Interlaken route.
So the current 1 x train per day on the Hamburg ↔ Interlaken route becomes a three trains per day service, with other departures being turned around in Basel.

2. ICE route 20 is the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Zurich - Chur route, but from April 1st it will be having its Swiss destinations switched so that it takes over the Germany ↔ Olten - Bern - Interlaken service of route 12, instead of its calls in Zurich, Landquart and Chur.
It will also be around 45 mins slower on the part of the route between Hannover and Frankfurt (Main).
The ICE trains on this route are already not serving Landquart and Chur, all trains are being turned around in Zurich.

3. The Germany ↔ Zurich - Landquart - Chur service usually provided by route 20 is being covered by a major change to route 11.
Route 11 usually takes a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München route.
However, from April 1st it will be taking a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Zurich - Landquart - Chur route.
As a result the Germany ↔ Zurich and Chur route will be covered by trains which won't be on a route impacted by the works on the high-speed line

4 The usual Frankfurt (Main) ↔ München section of route 11 is to be covered by a change to route 22.
Instead of being a Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart route, it is already a
Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München route.

5. So that a direct service can be maintained between Berlin and Stuttgart, route 15 is to be extended beyond Frankfurt (Main) to provide a Berlin - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart route.

6. So that Kassel can maintain its hourly connection with Frankfurt (Main) hbf, despite that change to route 12, the route 13 service of Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Sud) - Frankfurt Flughafen becomes a Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) hbf route.

7. The Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg - Nurnberg ↔ Linz - Wien/Vienna service will be cancelled during this time and in its place there will be an additional Dortmund - Koln - Bonn - Frankfurt (Main) - Wurzburg - Nurnberg ↔ Linz - Wien/Vienna service.

Summary of service change impacts:

If correct, these timetable revisions between April 1st and December 9th will result in the following key changes to connections between stations and destinations:

• Zurich will be linked by daytime trains to Berlin and Leipzig.
• Zurich will longer have direct daytime trains to/from Hannover and Kassel and the one remaining direct daytime link to/from Hamburg will be by the daily EC service on the route via Mainz and Bonn.
• Leipzig will lose its direct link with Stuttgart, but will gain trains to/from Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Basel.
• Frankfurt Flughafen/Airport will lose its connections to/from Kassel and Hannover and its service to/from Hamburg will be on the longer route via Koln/Cologne.
• Hannover and Kassel will gain faster links with Stuttgart. new direct connections to/from Ulm and an enhanced service to/from Augsburg.