Faster journeys - Berlin-Halle railroad line opens

The rail link between Berlin and Halle will be back on the network from Sunday after almost three months of roadworks. According to the current status, the Anhalter Bahn can be used again as planned from the timetable change on Sunday, as Deutsche Bahn announced on request. As a result, commuters will be able to travel back and forth between Berlin and Halle much faster from Sunday. The journey time between Berlin and Leipzig will also be significantly shorter. In addition, long-distance trains will also stop in Lutherstadt Wittenberg again.

Traffic between Berlin and Munich will also improve once the construction work is finished. The Anhalter Bahn is part of the high-speed line between the two cities.

An overview of the changes

• A journey between Berlin Central Station and Halle (Saale) Central Station currently takes at least two hours and two minutes. After the construction period, only one hour and seven minutes are planned for some ICE connections.
• From Sunday, the journey from Berlin Central Station to Leipzig Central Station will once again be possible in one hour and 15 minutes as planned. Previously it took at least around two hours.
• Long-distance trains will stop in Lutherstadt Wittenberg again from Sunday. From Berlin Central Station to Wittenberg, the fast trains will only take around 40 minutes as planned.
• The end of the construction work will also have an impact as far as Erfurt. Most recently, the fastest ICE trains from Berlin Central Station to Erfurt Central Station took around two and a half hours - from Sunday, the scheduled time will be just over one and a half hours.

The construction work on the Anhalter Bahn began on September 24. Long-distance services have been rerouted since then, resulting in the longer journey time. A replacement bus service is being offered for local services. According to the railroad company, 60 kilometers of track and ten points between Berlin-Südkreuz and Jüterbog were renewed.