Closure of the ICE route: Travelers must expect long waiting times!

Closure of the ICE route: Travelers must expect long waiting times!

Deutsche Bahn will close the ICE route between Erfurt and Halle/Leipzig between June 26 and July 12, 2025. The reason for this measure is the replacement of the bearings on two railway bridges in the Sömmerda district in Thuringia. These bridges are located between Großmölsen and Ollendorf and between Hardisleben and Buttstädt. During the ongoing work, the current elastomer bearings, which consist of rubber layers, are being replaced by spherical bearings, which are spherical segments on a flat component.

Switching to spherical bearings brings with it the advantage of lower maintenance costs. However, in order to carry out this exchange, the route must be closed. The effects of this work affect all long-distance trains via Erfurt, including Deutsche Bahn's ICE trains and Flixtrain connections.

Extended journey times and diversions

The closure has a significant impact on timetables: During the closure, Flixtrain trains between Halle and Erfurt now take 1 hour 20 minutes instead of the usual 35 minutes. The ICE connections between Leipzig and Erfurt will also be extended from 40 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Some trains stop in Naumburg, which results in additional diversions and changes to the scheduled stops.

In addition, some ICE trains between Halle and Erfurt will be canceled. Travelers can view the changed arrival and departure times in the electronic timetable on bahn.de. The changes also affect customers traveling to and from Dresden: They will have to expect longer travel times from the end of June as extensive construction work is taking place on the Leipzig-Dresden route.

Test drives to improve route availability

ICE test drives with Siemens Mobility are also planned during the closure. The test drives are intended to provide valuable data that will contribute to the renovation of high-speed routes and the technical further development of high-speed trains. Before starting their journey, travelers are asked to register in digital travel information media such as the DB Navigator app or on the website deutschebahn.com to inform.

In summary, the route closure is a necessary step to secure the railway infrastructure and improve availability, despite the associated restrictions on rail traffic. However, travelers on this important transport axis must expect significant travel time extensions and connection cancellations during the renovation work.

Further information on this development can be found in the article by MDR.