Politicians demand transparency as BerlinHamburg line reopens after delays

The long-delayed renovation of the Berlin–Hamburg high-speed line will finally reopen to passenger traffic on Sunday, 14 June 2026, but the episode has left politicians demanding sweeping changes at Deutsche Bahn. Transport spokespeople from the SPD and CDU on Saturday called for “immediate and permanent” transparency over future rail projects after repeated schedule slippage and cost overruns on one of Germany’s busiest corridors.

The line, closed since March 2026 for a full renewal of track, overhead wiring and safety systems, is now set to resume normal operations at 05:00 on Sunday morning . Yet the political fallout has already overshadowed the reopening. “Passengers deserve honest advance notice when projects are likely to slip,” said SPD transport policy chief Udo Bullmann. “The public cannot be an afterthought.” CDU deputy parliamentary leader Thomas Rachel echoed the call, insisting that Deutsche Bahn publish quarterly risk registers for every major project, including contingency budgets and critical-path timelines.

The controversy follows a separate disclosure on Saturday that more than 90 rail schemes—ranging from new regional lines to bridge refurbishments—are at risk of suspension because the federal budget has not released the necessary funds . The warning, based on a parliamentary question tabled by the Greens, suggests that even projects already under way could grind to a halt within weeks.

Meanwhile, a study commissioned by the German rail union EVG warns that the imminent launch of Italy’s open-access operator Italo on the Berlin–Munich corridor could leave 16 mid-sized cities without any long-distance service. According to the report, Italo’s aggressive pricing and higher-speed rolling stock would divert enough passengers to render conventional inter-city trains unprofitable on routes such as Leipzig–Nuremberg or Hanover–Cologne .

Deutsche Bahn has yet to respond publicly to the transparency demands or the funding shortfall. A company spokesman said only that management was “reviewing the recommendations” and would hold a press conference on Monday. The episode underscores the fragility of Germany’s rail modernisation drive just as the federal government prepares to unveil its next multi-year infrastructure budget in late June.