Major Upcoming Changes to German Train Services

Taking advantage of the rate of delivery of new ICE trains, plus the completion of some of the projects to upgrade the German rail network, the national rail operator DB has made sweeping changes on the timetable - which will commence on December 14th and be in place until the second Sunday of 2026.
The services on the new timetable can already be booked.

There will be:

• an amended core network for the ICE services,
• new trains on multiple routes,
• improved international connections on multiple routes
• the withdrawal of some international services
• extended ticket bookings; Tickets on national ICE routes, plus international routes taken by ICE trains, can now be booked a year ahead of travel
• new long-term construction sites.

Changes which will require future amendments to hundreds of pages across ShowMeTheJourney, so please be patient until the updates can be carried out.

In an effort to minimize the risk of delays, from December 14th 2025 new principles will be applied to the routes taken by ICE trains:

• The routes are to be more fixed, with fewer extensions beyond the start and end points of the core routes - though some exceptions to this 'rule' will remain.
• Trains will pretty much no longer be split and joined during journeys.
• One type of train will be allocated to each route - a project for SMTJ between now and Dec 14th will be working out what these allocations are.

In general the frequency of the ICEs between the major cities in terms of the availability of number trains per day hour / day seems to be little altered, but from May 1st there will be more trains between Berlin and both Nurnberg and Munchen.

Some routes will be made faster by route alterations.
Trains between Berlin and Nurnberg will call at either Halle or Leipzig, plus the the trains on the Hamburg ↔ Stuttgart route will no longer make a diversion to call at Frankfurt Flughafen.

Additional 'Sprinter' services will also provide new fastest ever connections between certain cities.

However, some locations including Bremen, Koblenz and Kiel will experience notable changes.
Also because trains won't be split, so that one portion can continue, with the remainder of the service terminating in the likes of Hamburg or Munchen - some smaller locations including Garmisch and Lubeck, will no longer be served by ICEs.

Not all station calls have been included in these summaries.
Regular extensions to the routes by some trains are in brackets.
= these routes will be significantly impacted by route enhancement projects - see below

Having spent a couple of days working through the digital version of the timetable which will be in place from December 14th, the new core network of national ICE routes will be:

Koln ↔ Frankfurt / Mannheim

• Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Essen* - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Essen* - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Basel - locations in Switzerland; every other hour
• Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Siegburg/Bonn - Frankfurt Flughafen - Frankfurt (Main) – Wurzburg - Nurnberg – Munchen; hourly
• Koln hbf - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz - Mannheim - Heidelberg – Stuttgart; every other hour; some departures by IC trains
• Dortmund – Dusseldorf - Koln hbf - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz – Frankfurt Flughafen - Frankfurt (Main) – Wurzburg - Nurnberg (- Linz - Wien); every other hour
• Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - Limburg (Sud) - Montabaur - Siegburg/Bonn - Koln Hbf; every other
• Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - Koln Hbf - Aachen - Liege - Bruxelles; every other hour
• Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - Siegburg/Bonn - Koln Hbf - Dusseldorf - Duisburg - Arnhem - Utrecht - Amsterdam; every other hour

Bremen ↔ Hannover ↔ Berlin

• Koln hbf - Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund - Hamm - Bielefeld - Hannover - Berlin; hourly
• Bonn - Koln hbf - Wuppertal - Hagen - Hamm - Hannover - Berlin; hourly; only available Hagen ↔ Berlin for most of 2026
• Bremen - Hannover - Berlin; every other hour
• Bremen - Hannover (- Kassel - Marburg - Frankfurt (Main) - Heidelberg - Karlsruhe); every other hour
• Berlin - Hannover - Osnabruck - Rheine - Bad Bentheim - Deventer - Amersfoort - Amsterdam; every other hour; new ICE route.

Hamburg ↔ Hannover

• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg – Nurnberg – Munchen; hourly
• Kiel - Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Stuttgart; every other hour
• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Offenburg - Freiburg - Basel; every other hour; two departures per day will be by Giruno trains
• Berlin - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Offenburg - Freiburg - Basel - locations in Switzerland; every other hour

Berlin / Liepzig ↔ Frankfurt

• Berlin - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Offenburg - Freiburg - Basel - locations in Switzerland; every other hour
• Berlin - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) Sud – Frankfurt Airport or Karlsruhe via Heidelberg or Stuttgart via Heidelberg; every other hour
• Dresden - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mainz - Wiesbaden; every other hour
• Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• (Osteebad Binz -) Stralsund - Berlin - Halle - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) (- Mannheim - Kaiserslautern - Saarbrucken); every other hour

Erfurt ↔ Frankfurt

• Berlin – Halle - Erfurt - Nurnberg - Munchen; hourly
• Hamburg* - Berlin – Erfurt - Nurnberg – Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• Kiel -) Hamburg* - Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Bamberg - Nurnberg – Munchen; every other hour

Stuttgart ↔ Ulm

• Frankfurt (Main) - Heidelberg – Stuttgart - Ulm – Augsburg – Munich – Salzburg – Bad Gastein - Klagenfurt – Villach – Graz; every other hour; new route
• (Basel - Freiburg -) Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Essen* - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour
• Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen; every other hour

Other less frequent routes are also available.

Note that some routes in the Stuttgart ↔ Ulm summary also appear in other summaries.

Though the longer distance daily ICE trains haven't disappeared completely, three standout routes on the new timetable are:

1. Munster - Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Heidelberg – Stuttgart - Ulm – Augsburg – Munich – Salzburg – Bad Gastein - Klagenfurt – Villach – Graz
2. Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Heidelberg – Stuttgart - Ulm - Friedrichshafen - Lindau - Bregenz - Feldkirch - St Anton - Landeck-Zams - Innsbruck
3. Berlin – Leipzig - Erfurt - Nurnberg – Augsburg - Munchen - Rosenheim - Kufstein - Worgl - Jenbach - Innsbruck

See below for further details of the revised rail connections between Germany and Austria.

The service pattern of the faster 'Sprinter' services has also been revised, with these routes available from Dec 14th:

• Hamburg ↔ Essen - Duisburg - Dusselsorf - Koln Hbf; 2 x trains
• Hamburg – Hannover ↔ Frankfurt (Main) – Frankfurt Flughafen; 2 x trains
• Berlin ↔ Frankfurt (Main) – Frankfurt Flughafen; 2 x trains
• Berlin – Hannover ↔ Frankfurt (Main); 1 x train
• Berlin ↔ Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim - Neustadt (Weinstr) - Kaiserslautern - Homburg(Saar) - Saarbrucken; 1 x train
• Berlin - Halle - Erfurt ↔ Frankfurt (Main) ; every other hour; also included on core route list
• Berlin - Erfurt ↔ Nurnberg - Munchen; hourly, also included on core route list
• Berlin ↔ Nurnberg - Stuttgart; 1 x train; new route

The program of enhancement works which will enable higher speeds and frequencies across the German rail network is ongoing
Into 2026 it's evident from the timetable that at least three major projects will be occurring.

Work is underway on the core route between the two cities which is used by the express trains and the project isn't due to be fully completed until April 30th.
So until May 1st the core ICE routes on the above summary which have Hamburg marked with a * won't be available.

From Feb 8th until October 30th the route between Hagen and Koln / Cologne through Wuppertal will evidently be closed.
Routes which have Essen marked with a * on the summary above will typically have at least some departures which call call at Wuppertal and Hagen but due to the closure they will be diverted on to the Koln - Dusseldorf - Duisburg - Essen - Dortmund route.
Up to three ICE trains per hour will be taking the route via Essen, so this increased frequency will inevitably raise the likelihood of delays.

The hourly Koln ↔ Berlin ICE trains which typically take this route and call at Hagen and Wuppertal, will only be operating between Hagen and Berlin, with bus connections to/from Hagen.
Though they will operated as 'Sprinter' services and will only be calling Berlin - Hannover - Hagen.
The hourly Koln ↔ Berlin ICE trains, which take the route via Essen will be unaffected, but they will be providing the only direct link between Koln and Berlin.

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 - Wien / Vienna
• Berlin - Halle - Erfurt - Nuremberg - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels - Linz - Wien / Vienna

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 the remaining 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 Munchen - Simbach ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna route.

Note that this will cut the links between Nurnberg and Wien, with connections required in Munchen/Munich - hence the availability of additional trains between Munchen/Munich and Wien / Vienna.

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

A major change is that from December 14th all IC services will be operated by the double-deck IC trains; the single-deck IC trains which have been a core feature of long-distance German rail travel for more than 30 years, are being withdrawn!

The core IC routes will be:

• Stuttgart - Horb - Rottwiel - Singen - Schaffhausen - Zurich
• (Leipzig - Jena - Bamberg -) Nurnberg - Crailsheim - Stuttgart - Karlsruhe
• Koln - Dusseldorf - Duisburg - Essen - Dortmund - Hamm - Paderborn - Kassel - Erfurt - Weimar - Jena - Gera
• Dortmund - Hamm - Bielefeld - Hannover - Braunschweig - Magdeburg - Halle - Leipzig - Dresden
• Norddeich Mole - Emden - Oldenburg - Bremen - Hannover - Braunschweig - Magdeburg - Halle - Leipzig
• Hannover - Braunschweig - Magdeburg - Brandenburg - Potsdam - Berlin
• Rostock - Berlin Hbf - Berlin Flughafen - Leipzig
• Hamburg - Lubeck - Rostock
• (Koln -) Hamburg - Westerland (Sylt); new ICE-L trains will gradually replace the IC trains
• Emden - Rheine - Münster(West) - Gelsenkirchen - Duisburg - Dusseldorf - Koln - Bonn - Koblenz
• Norddeich Mole - Emden - Rheine - Münster(West) - Gelsenkirchen - Duisburg - Dusseldorf - Koln
• Koln - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz - Mannheim - Heidelberg – Stuttgart; some departures by ICE trains

Not all station calls have been included in these summaries.

On all routes the core frequency is every other hour.
Note that some routes are shorter than previously.

A question mark hovers over the longer distance routes taken by IC trains, that snake north to south across the length of Germany, to serve smaller, but popular tourist locations such as Berchtesgaden and Konstanz.
The broad plan was for these routes to be taken over by the brand new ICE-L trains, but they evidently won't be ready for the new timetable.

Though a very long-distance IC route which remains on the timetable is the 1 x per day train:
Dortmund - Essen - Duisburg - Dusseldorf - Koln - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz - Mannheim - Heidelberg – Stuttgart - Ulm - Memmingen - Obertsdorf.

Another key 1 x per day route is Dusseldorf - Koln - Bonn - Koblenz - Trier - Luxembourg.

There will also be sweeping alterations to the rail links between Germany and its neighboring countries when the new timetable comes in to operation on December 14th 2025.

The opening of the Koralmbahn route between Graz and Klagenfurt is inevitably having a big impact on Austrian rail services, but trains between Germany and Austria will also benefit:

to/from Graz

• 3 x ICE trains per day will be taking a Frankfurt (Main) - Heidelberg – Stuttgart - Ulm – Augsburg – Munich ↔ Salzburg – Bad Gastein - Klagenfurt – Villach – Graz route.
• 1 x ICE train per day will be taking a Munster - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln - Messe/Deutz - Siegburg/Bonn - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim – Stuttgart - Ulm – Augsburg – Munich ↔ Salzburg – Bad Gastein - Klagenfurt – Villach – Graz route.
• 1 x Railjet train per day will be taken a Munich ↔ Salzburg – Bad Gastein - Klagenfurt – Villach – Graz - Wien route.

to/from Wien via Nurrnberg

Though the pattern of services on the Nurnberg ↔ Wien route via Regensburg, Passau, Welz and Linz will be disturbed by the enhancement work in Germany which will be taking place from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026.

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.

During February 7th 2026to December 12th 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 - Augsburg - Munich - Kufstein - Worgl - Innsbruck route.

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

Berlin ↔ Wien

This will temporarily result in the restored service by Railjet train on the Berlin - Dresden - Praha - Brno - Wien route, being the only daytime rail link between the German and Austrian capital cities.

Though the overnight service of an IC train on the Rostock - Berlin - Halle - Erfurt - Nuremberg - Regensburg - Passau ↔ Wels - Linz - Vienna route is being taken off.
The Nightjet train on the Berlin - Dresden - Prague ↔ Vienna route will still be available.

Frankfurt - Friedrichshafen - Lindau ↔ Wien

The Railjet train on the Frankfurt (Main) - Heidelberg - Stuttgart - Ulm - Friedrichshafen - Lindau ↔ Bregenz - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Vienna route is being withdrawn.

From September 12th 2026 two ICE trains per day will be taking a brand new Antwerp - Brussels Airport - Leuven - Liege ↔ Aachen - Cologne route!

Travelling to and from Croatia by train will become easier from December 14th 2025.
The long-standing EC train on the Munich - Salzburg - Bad Gastein - Spittal - Villach ↔ Lesce Bled - Lubljana - Zagreb route is returning after a couple of years absence!

The Hamburg - Padborg ↔ Kolding - Odense - Ringsted - København / Copenhagen route is to be transformed in stages on the new timetable.
Though on these dates it seems as though the service will be impacted by construction work:
Feb 28th to March 13th
July 12th to July 19th

From January 16th

The plan is for new trains to take over the services which operate between Hamburg and Copenhagen - as from this date they are designated as ECE services on the timetable.

From May 1st

Two brand new Comfort Jet trains per day will be taking a Praha/Prague - Decin - Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg - Padborg ↔ Kolding - Odense - Ringsted - København / Copenhagen route.
These two trains per day in each direction will be additions to the Hamburg ↔ København timetable.
They will provide the locations in Denmark with direct daytime trains to/from both Berlin and Dresden.

From June 14th

A third Comfort Jet train will be added, but it will travel overnight.
Heading south it will travel from København / Copenhagen to Bad Schandau, but going north it will travel from Praha to København

There will also be two additional ECE trains added to the Hamburg - Padborg ↔ Kolding - Odense - Ringsted - København / Copenhagen route, providing an unprecedented ten trains in each direction between Hamburg and the Danish capital!

The daily Berlin ↔ Paris service by ICE train is to be diverted on to a new route between Frankfurt and the German capital.
It will cut 20 mins off its journey time despite new station calls in Erfurt and Halle; plus it will also call at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf instead of at Frankfurt (Main) Sud.
Its departure times in each direction will also be significantly altered - from December 14th it will leave Paris at 11:07, so on Monday to Friday a connection will typically be available from the first Eurostar of the day from London.

Less good news for the Berlin ↔ Paris route is that the Nightjet sleeper train service is to be withdrawn; along with the Wien ↔ Paris service which calls in Munchen.

The Berlin ↔ Warszawa service is to gain an additional train in each direction to give an unprecedented seven departures per day.
Plus both it and the Berlin ↔ Wroclaw - Krakow - Przemysl service will be switched back to using Berlin Hbf instead of Berlin-Gesundbrunnen.

Krakow will gain another connection with Germany as two new daily EC trains in each direction will be taking a Leipzig ↔ Katowice - Krakow route, with one of the trains in each direction having its journey extended beyond Krakow to/from Przemysl.
Connections will be available at Leipizg with trains to/from Frankfurt, Hannover, Magdeburg, Nurnberg, Stuttgart and other locations in Germany which lack direct trains to and from Poland.

How locations south of Basel are to be linked by ICE trains from and to Germany is to be completely revised from December 14th 2025.
Full details are available here, but the core changes are;

• The trains on the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - Basel route won't be travelling on to/from destinations south of Basel
• The trains on the Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Messe/Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Basel route will be travelling on to/from destinations south of Basel.
• The trains on the Berlin - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - Basel route will be travelling on to/from new destinations south of Basel.

However the pattern of north <> south connections won't mirror each other.

New direct links by ICE train

1. Bremen - Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Hbf - Frankfurt Airport ↔ Zurich - Landquart - Chur
2. Berlin to Zurich - Landquart - Chur / Zurich to Berlin
3. Interlaken to Frankfurt Airport - Koln Hbf - Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund
4. Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Offenburg - Freiburg ↔ Visp - Brig
5. Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf - Koln Hbf - Frankfurt Airport - Baden-Baden to Visp - Brig.

These will be the first ICE services to/from Brig (connect for Betten, Fiesch, Oberwald and Andermatt) and Visp (connect for Zermatt).
The first ICE train of the day from Dortmund via Koln will have an easily timed connection in Brig with a train on to Milano.

The EC / ECE trains

The Frankfurt (Main) - Basel - Zurich - Milano route is retained, with smart new Giruno trains providing the service, but reports confirmed that these Giruno trains would also be used on routes between Germany and Switzerland.

An assumption was that these trains would replace the much older Swiss IC trains, which have been used on the long-standing Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Koln - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz - Mannheim - Karlsruhe ↔ Basel - Interlaken route.
However, this route won't be available after December 14th 2025, partially because an ICE train will be taking an Interlaken to Dortmund route - but it will use the high-speed line south of Koln and not the Rhine Valley route.

Two of the services per day in each direction on the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Basel route will be designated as ECE services and not ICE services, as those new Giruno trains will be used on this route.

Timetable revisions inevitably result in both gains and losses, and the winners from December 14th 2025 include the major hubs - Berlin, Frankfurt (Main), and Munchen, all of which see a significant increase in the number of ICE arrivals and departures.
A popular tourist location which will also have more links by ICE train is Heidelberg.

Bremen

Bremen will gain more ICE trains to Berlin, Frankfurt (Main) and Hannover, plus new links by ICE train to/from Bern, Brig Chur, Heidelberg. Marburg and Zurich.
However, Bremen loses its direct links by ICE train to Nurnberg and Wurzburg.

Kiel

The Kiel - Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Stuttgart service is to become a core ICE route with departures every other hour.
Plus from May 1st, one ICE train per day will take a Kiel -Hamburg - Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Bamberg - Nurnberg – Munchen route.
However Kiel will lose its direction connections by ICE train to and from a swathe of locations, including Augsburg, Basel, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Ulm and Wurzburg.

Bonn / Koblenz

In recent years these two Rhine Valley locations had lost direct trains to Salzburg and Klagenfurt because the service was switched to ICE trains, which instead used the high-speed route to travel from and to Koln.
Now the pattern is being repeated with the train from Interlaken, Bern and Basel to Koln.

Because pattern of service on the Rhine Valley route is to be standardised on the new timetable, which commences from December 14th 2025, with trains every other hour on two routes:

• Koln hbf - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz - Mannheim - Heidelberg – Stuttgart; every other hour; some departures by IC trains
• Dortmund– Dusseldorf - Koln hbf - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz – Frankfurt Flughafen - Frankfurt (Main) – Wurzburg - Nurnberg (- Linz - Wien)

However, this will result in Bonn and Koblenz losing their current direct rail links with Munchen, Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden and Freiburg, in addition to the links with Basel and other locations in Switzerland.

The new timetable will lead to the introduction of new trains on multiple routes:

• Giruno trains will take over some services on the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Basel route.
• From May 1st Comfort Jet trains operated by CD, the Czech national rail operator, will be used on all services on the (Copenhagen -) Hamburg - Berlin - Dresden - Praha / Prague route.
• Possibly from Jan 16th, but at some time in 2026, new Danish trains will be used on the other Copenhagen - Hamburg services
• new ICE-L trains will appear on multiple routes, but from the timetable change, it seems as though they will be first used on the Koln - Hamburg - Westerland route.
• ICE neo trains will take over the Berlin ↔ Amsterdam route, pending the introduction of ICE-L trains which will likely occur at the December 2026 timetable change.