Hanover – Berlin high-speed line

Hanover – Berlin high-speed line
Route number :	1730 ( Hannover – Lehrte ) 6107 ( Lehrte – Oebisfelde ) 6185 ( Oebisfelde – Berlin-Spandau ) 6109 ( B-Spandau – B-Charlottenburg , B-Charlottenburg – B Ostbahnhof )
Course book section (DB) :	301, 349
Route length:	256.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Minimum radius :	4400 m
Top speed:	250 km / h
Train control :	PZB, LZB
Federal states:	Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , Brandenburg , Berlin
Legend 0.0 Hanover Central Station 16.1 239.3 Taught Wolfsburg-Fallersleben Weddeler Loop from Braunschweig 180.9 Wolfsburg Central Station ~ 178 Start of SFS 250 km / h 167.3 267.9 Oebisfelde 216.8 Start of the Stendal southern bypass (105.1) Stendal Hbf 198.8 End of the southern bypass Stendal Elbe Bridge Hämerten (810 m) Havel (230 m) 170.9 Rathenow 166.0 Beginning of the bustard protection area 165.6 Abzw Bamme trunk line 148.5 Abzw Ribbeck trunk line 148.0 End of the bustard reserve (18.5) Berlin-Staaken 118.0 End of SFS 250 km / h from Hamburg 112.7 18.3 Berlin-Spandau to the main station (deep) (see Berlin Stadtbahn ) 9.0 Berlin Zoological Garden 5.4 Berlin Hbf (high), north-south long-distance railway 0.0 Berlin Ostbf Kilometers in brackets refer to the main line of the Berlin – Lehrter Bahn.

The high-speed line Hanover – Berlin connects the Lower Saxony state capital Hanover with the German capital Berlin over a length of 256.2 kilometers .

After tough negotiations between the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the late 1980s, the construction of the line was decided in 1990 and started in 1991. It was officially opened on September 15, 1998 and has been in operation since September 20, 1998. The overall Hanover – Berlin project with the renovation and expansion of the Lehrter Bahn was listed as the German Unity Transport Project No. 4 in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. The costs of the new and upgraded routes amounted to around 5.1 billion DM (around 2.6 billion euros , price as of the 1990s).

construction

The line is divided into an 88.1 kilometer upgraded route between Hanover and Oebisfelde , a subsequent 149.9 kilometer new route between Oebisfelde and Berlin-Staaken and a further 18.2 kilometer upgraded route from Berlin-Staaken via Berlin-Spandau to Berlin Central Station. The route between Hanover and Lehrte has been developed for a top speed of 160 km / h, and between Lehrte and Oebisfelde for 200 km / h. In the subsequent new section to Berlin-Staaken, 250 km / h can be driven. The speed limit between Staaken and the Berlin tram is between 140 and 110 km / h. 60 km / h are reached on the Berlin light rail.

Due to the flat profile, the route has few engineering structures, such as a tunnel with a trough section under the Elbe Lateral Canal and four larger bridges over the Mittelland Canal , the Elbe , the Havel and the Havel Canal . For the first time in Germany, the new line was predominantly built with a solid track instead of a conventional ballast superstructure. In Oebisfelde there is a 750 m long passing track.

The long-distance train stations Berlin Hauptbahnhof , Berlin-Spandau , Wolfsburg Hbf and Hannover Hbf are on the route . Stendal Hbf is connected to the high-speed line via two connecting lines and is served by several long-distance trains. Between the Ribbeck junction and the Bamme junction, it runs 17 km on the same track as the trunk line, which otherwise runs parallel , with a maximum speed of 200 km / h.

The kilometers of the high-speed line in the Berlin-Spandau – Oebisfelde section correspond to that of the main line plus around 100.

history

background

After a policy of détente between West and East Germany based on the Helsinki treaties negotiated in 1975 , various federal governments were prepared to financially support infrastructure projects on the soil of the GDR to improve access to West Berlin . After the Berlin Zoo – Hanover route, used by up to ten pairs of transit express trains, appeared unattractive with travel times of up to four hours, plans arose in the Federal Republic of Germany to expand the shortest possible corridor through the GDR for Berlin traffic.

In the 1980s , poorly developed routes and outdated, uncomfortable vehicles caused a steady decline in passengers in the Deutsche Reichsbahn- operated traffic between West Berlin and the Federal Republic. None of the five transit routes were fully electrified , only one had a continuously welded track . Between 1980 and 1984 alone, the number of rail passengers in corridor traffic fell by 638,577, around a fifth of the total. At the same time, the number of transit travelers in road traffic rose by 19 percent to almost 20 million people. The GDR government was not interested in financing West German transit traffic. But the government of the Federal Republic of Germany initially saw other priorities than expanding the transit routes due to the lack of influence on operations and more urgent investment projects at the Federal Railroad .

planning

Before German reunification

In the 1980s, among other things, the German Bundestag discussed the expansion of the railways to Berlin. The Berlin – Hanover route, over which around half of the rail transit traffic was handled, was of primary importance. As early as 1984, the construction of a separate corridor between Berlin and Hanover along the Lehrter Bahn was discussed. The travel time between Hanover and Berlin was to be reduced from around four hours including three intermediate stops and a border stop to around 100 minutes.

At the beginning of 1984 the Federal Ministry of Research under Heinz Riesenhuber , with the support of Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Ernst Albrecht and Berlin's Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen , initially proposed the construction of a Transrapid line between Hanover and Berlin. In addition to a variant along existing railway lines, north past Helmstedt and Magdeburg, a variant via Wolfsburg and Stendal was also discussed. With a top speed of 400 km / h and construction costs of four billion D-Marks, the travel time between the two cities should be reduced from three and a half to one hour. This variant was ruled out early for various reasons. The GDR government was unwilling to reveal itself to its citizens by comparing a high-tech means of transport from the “West” and everyday traffic in the GDR. In addition, stays at the border would have reduced the time advantage of the magnetic train compared to a conventional train. In addition, the maglev would have required a change for the users of passenger trains traveling beyond Hanover or Berlin and would hardly have been suitable for freight traffic.

From around 1985 a new conventional wheel-rail line was discussed. The GDR government insisted on building the entire new line on its own, with the costs of the Federal Republic being charged. The discussion about the spacious lines took about two years.

An expert opinion prepared by DE-Consult on behalf of the State of Berlin in September 1986 examined two variants:

• a northern route via Wolfsburg and Stendal on the old Lehrter railway line . The upgraded line from Wolfsburg to Hanover was supposed to connect to the new line. The new and upgraded line was intended for passenger and the main line for freight traffic. The north variant is the shortest connection between Hanover and Berlin and was already used by long-distance express railcars before the Second World War .
• a southern route via Magdeburg and Potsdam on the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway .

For a new line from Berlin - Drewitz - Braunschweig - Anderten - Hanover , with an optional connection to Magdeburg, designed for 250 km / h, costs between 2.7 and 3.1 billion D-Marks were calculated in the DE-Consult report. With travel times between 97 and 118 minutes between Berlin and Hanover, the number of passengers should increase from 1.9 million (zero scenario) to 5.1 to 5.5 million by the year 2000. The report favored the north route.

An appraisal by the Freiburg advisory group Verkehr + Umwelt GmbH , commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, looked exclusively at a new line between Berlin-Charlottenburg via Stendal and Wolfsburg to Hanover. For a new line on this axis 4.5 billion DM were calculated, for an expansion of the existing line 2.5 billion DM (plus 400 million DM for a possibly necessary third track). For the new variant, 4.3 to 5.3 million passengers were expected, for the expansion variant 3.6 to 4.6 million; at the same time, sales on other corridors should decrease.

The northern variant via Stendal also met the GDR leadership's request to create the new line as a pure transit connection through sparsely populated areas and without any connection to the Reichsbahn network. The southern variant, on the other hand, was considered relatively difficult. Among other things, it would have required a bypass of the heavily loaded Magdeburg railway junction and a new Elbe crossing , as well as affecting internal traffic in the GDR. The route within the Federal Republic was also controversial. In particular was Braunschweig keen to be connected via a loop between Hannover and Wolfsburg on the high-speed line. According to railway information from 1990, the northern variant was also favored by its rapid feasibility. The city of Braunschweig, which in the second half of the 1980s had strongly advocated the southern variant, was promised an upgraded line to Wolfsburg.

Meanwhile, the GDR government's initially planned maximum speed of 200 km / h seemed too high - it was hoping for orders from the GDR's locomotive industry, which at that time could not deliver any locomotives for speeds over 160 km / h. In mid-1988, the Federal Ministry of Transport, based on the north variant, assumed a planning phase of two to three years and a subsequent construction period of around four years. The total cost was estimated at three billion Deutschmarks. The negotiations between the two governments should be concluded by the end of 1988.

A first exploratory discussion about the expansion of the Lehrter Bahn for speeds of up to 200 km / h took place on September 16, 1988 between Hans-Otto Bräutigam , the head of the permanent representation of the Federal Republic in the GDR , and Heinz Gerber , the deputy transport minister of the GDR, instead of. Among other things, the question of whether the GDR would continue to claim the right to control the trains passing through remained controversial. Initially, a double-track expansion of the existing line for 200 km / h was planned, behind the end point intended as Zoo station, near the sector boundary, a large parking facility was planned.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and German reunification on October 3, 1990, this question became obsolete. The negotiations of the Transport Infrastructure Commission continued swiftly and were concluded on June 8, 1990. The result protocol of the working group formed the basis for the following agreement in principle. In exploratory talks at the political level, according to the Federal Railroad, an extensive agreement on the northern variant via Stendal had already been reached in December 1989. At this point in time, the GDR had declared its readiness to transfer the execution of the project to general contractors from the Federal Republic, whereby companies from the GDR were to be involved in the implementation.

The high-speed line Hanover – Berlin eight kilometers east of Ribbeck

On June 28, 1990 - after more than two years of negotiations - the transport ministers of the two still separate German states, Horst Gibner and Friedrich Zimmermann , signed the basic agreement in Bonn on the construction of a double-track, electrified high-speed rail link to improve passenger and freight traffic on the route between Berlin and Hanover (other source: Schnellbahnverbindungen (SBV) Hanover – Berlin ) along the existing Lehrter Bahn. The agreement regulated the implementation of the project between Oebisfelde and Berlin Friedrichstrasse station (exclusively). The establishment of the Schnellbahnbau Hannover – Berlin planning company for the implementation of the express connection between Oebisfelde and Staaken, which was founded in August 1990, was agreed. The project should be completed by 1997.

Since the site on the existing line, which largely ran parallel, was owned by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the first surveying work could already be carried out there before the agreement was signed.

The decision in favor of the northern variant was made, among other things, because of the lower settlement density and the smaller number of nature reserves that had to be crossed. Initially, the course of the upgraded route between Oebisfelde and Hanover was still open, for which three variants with travel times between 49 and 61 minutes were discussed. At the end of 1990 the decision was made to run the upgraded line directly from Hanover to Oebisfelde without a direct connection to Braunschweig. For the planning of the Hanover – Berlin rapid transit railway, the 1990 federal budget had already earmarked 23 million Deutschmarks.

The route was intended for fast passenger traffic (up to 250 km / h) and goods traffic (100 to 160 km / h). At a design speed of 250 km / h, a control radius of 4400 m with up to 80 mm superelevation and about 80 mm superelevation deficit should be established. The maximum longitudinal incline was set at 12.5 per thousand. Cross-over connections or overtaking stations were initially planned at a distance of seven kilometers, the whole blocks formed were to be delimited with HI signals and subdivided with LZB block sections of around 1.5 to 2.5 km in length.

Diverse citizens' initiatives and local resistance were directed against the project.

German Unity Transport Project No. 4

Transport projects for German unity (overview map)

In 1991 the project was included in the catalog of 17 German Unity Transport Projects as the German Unity Transport Project . In addition to the new construction or expansion to a high-speed line, the reconstruction of large parts of the Lehrter Bahn and the expansion of the long-distance railway line between Berlin-Spandau and Berlin-Ostbahnhof were also planned. In connection with the project, the new Berlin-Spandau long-distance train station and the Weddel loop between Wolfsburg and Braunschweig were built. At the beginning of 1991 the start of construction was planned for spring 1992 and the commissioning of the line for the middle of 1997. The planned total costs were estimated at around 4.5 billion D-Marks. As of January 1, 1992 and January 1, 1993, costs of around DM 5.0 billion were expected.

The project was included in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 1992 as a new project with planned total costs of 3.085 billion DM in the area of ​​the former Federal Railroad and 3.085 billion DM in the area of ​​the former Deutsche Reichsbahn (price as of January 1, 1991). The project was carried out at the highest priority level, the so-called indisposable need . It was also subject to the Traffic Route Planning Acceleration Act, which came into force in 1991 . The project was also part of the northern main axis Paris – Brussels – Cologne – Hanover – Berlin in the European infrastructure master plan.

An ICE 1 crosses the Havel Canal Bridge near Wustermark

Originally, only an hourly IC / ICE line between Hanover or Braunschweig and Berlin was planned for the high-speed route. For departures in the terminal stations between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and for individual compressor trains, 17 train paths per day and direction should be set up. As a result of the reunification, the volume of traffic increased significantly, so that in 1991 four lines of long-distance passenger transport were expected to run over the route:

• Berlin – Hanover – Ruhr area
• Berlin – Hanover – Bremen
• Berlin – Wolfsburg – Braunschweig – Kassel – Frankfurt am Main
• Berlin – Stendal – Salzwedel – Uelzen – Hamburg

In the case of an IR line as well as D , local and freight traffic, up to 200 trains per day and direction for the high-speed and the main line were expected in the heaviest-loaded section Berlin-Stendal. As a result, the 250 km / h originally intended as the perspective speed were planned as the design speed . The main line should be expanded for speeds of 160 instead of 120 km / h, rough subgrade and engineering structures of the largely single-track main line between Staaken and Stendal should be prepared for the addition of a second track.

Responsible for planning and construction of the line were initially three planning groups: While the section Hanover Oebisfelde project group NBS Hannover the Bundesbahndirektion Hanover was responsible, the section Oebisfelde- was Berlin-Staaken by the planning company rapid railway construction Hannover-Berlin mbH care (PGS) which was transferred to the planning company Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit on April 1, 1996 . The section in Berlin fell under the responsibility of the project company Verkehrsanlagen im Zentralbereich (PVZB), a subsidiary of the Berlin Senate and Deutsche Bahn.

On July 3, 1990, the regional planning procedure for the 86 km long section in Saxony-Anhalt was initiated. It was the first regional planning procedure for the route to be completed on July 19, 1991. In Brandenburg , as part of the regional planning procedure, the northern route was first confirmed on April 10, 1992, followed by the regional planning assessment on August 7, 1992. The project in Brandenburg was divided into seven plan approval sections; At the end of April 1993, the plan approval procedure ran in five stages. Most of the planning approval procedures in Saxony-Anhalt were completed between autumn 1992 and autumn 1993, in Brandenburg and Berlin mostly in 1995 and 1996; the last planning approval decision was made in February 1998. The Saxony-Anhalt section was divided into eleven planning approval sections.

The Stendal southern bypass (right) separates from the route to Stendal (left) at Möringen .

With the southern bypass around Stendal , the planning of a railway line was approved for the first time in German history (the so-called Investment Measures Act ). The law passed by the Federal Cabinet in mid-1992 was promulgated on November 30, 1993 and came into force on December 1, 1993. The groundbreaking ceremony for this section followed on the same day. The law also circumvented the unconditional will of the city of Stendal to run the new line through the city's train station. In the meantime, the city had refused to allow a 3 km long section of the southern bypass, which touches the Stendal city area, for construction work and was finally assigned to its possession .

A third track was built between Oebisfelde and Wolfsburg-Fallersleben ( Weddeler Loop ) over a length of 18 kilometers. Originally, it was already planned at that time to electrify the main line and upgrade it for 160 km / h. The first contact line masts were erected between Oebisfelde and Miesterhorst . For cost reasons, it was finally decided that the main route would mostly only be single-tracked for regional and freight transport in diesel operation. Also for cost reasons, the number of links between the new line and the main line (seven) and the number of transfer points on the new line (eight instead of the originally planned 16) have been reduced. With the Rail Expansion Act that came into force at the end of 2016, it was decided to electrify the main line over its entire length and to build another track between Abzw Ribbeck and Abzw Bamme. The expansion is one of the urgent needs of the BVWP 2030 .

In a section in Brandenburg, special protective measures had to be planned to protect the great bustards living there .

Havelländisches Luch bustard protection area

Course of the high-speed route in the bustard protection area. You can see the low construction of the overhead line masts and a heaped earth wall on the right.

East of Rathenow in Buckow the route leads through the 6,400  hectares comprehensive nature reserve Havelländisches Luch . The area, which has been designated since 1978, is one of the last refuges in Germany for the endangered Great Bustard , the largest airborne birds in Europe. In the mid-1990s, around 30 of the last 130 Great Bustards still living in Germany lived in the area. The area has been a European bird sanctuary since 1991 and is also classified as an Important Bird Area .

The planning from 1992 envisaged a continuous new building for 250 km / h between Oebisfelde and Staaken. In the early 1990s, the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment asked the planning company Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit (PBDE) to lay the four-kilometer route in a trough. Particularly difficult was the groundwater of the moor area directly below the site , the currents of which would have been influenced by a tunnel and lead to a partial drainage of the moor.

At the beginning of 1994, in addition to a (ultimately realized) direct line through the area - at that time still for 250 km / h - a northern bypass of the bustard protection area was considered. This route would have left the existing road east of Rathenow in a northerly direction and would have bypassed Kotzen to the north in order to merge onto the existing road at Sandkrug ( Ribbeck / Nauen ). The discussion about passing through this area lasted until 1995. The construction of a six-kilometer-long tunnel for around one billion DM was also considered. In order not to disturb the birds, only a construction with shield drive would have been possible with a construction time of about seven years. An open cut tunnel for about 500 million DM was examined as well as a bypass of the entire area.

The European Commission finally determined that the construction of the high-speed route was compatible with protecting the birds. In autumn 1995, Brandenburg's Prime Minister Manfred Stolpe and railway chief Heinz Dürr agreed protective measures for the great bustards. In order to protect the endangered stocks, seven meter high dams were raised from October 1995. The approximately five-kilometer-long dams lie between route kilometers 52.70 and 57.95 of the Lehrter Bahn (corresponding to kilometers 152.70 and 157.95 of the high-speed route). They cost around 12 million euros (23 million DM, price as of the 1990s) and serve as overflight aids for the rather lazy, flat take off birds. In addition, on a 17-kilometer section (route kilometers 148.5 to 165.5), the third track for the old parallel line of the Lehrter Bahn was dispensed with and the corresponding traffic was routed over the new line. At the beginning of 1996 it was planned to expand the line in the area of ​​the earth walls to 160 km / h and only to design the remaining bustard protection section for 200 km / h, finally the maximum speed was limited to 200 km / h on the entire section. In addition, catenary masts were erected at a reduced height. In addition, an area of ​​around 300 hectares was ecologically upgraded as compensation areas .

In consideration of the courtship , breeding and rearing season of the birds, construction in this area had to be suspended between March and August of 1996 and 1997. In consideration of the closing time, concreting was also carried out in winter. Between October 1995 and the end of February 1996, three meter high walls were initially built up. After the breeding season, the elevation of the ramparts was largely completed between August 1996 and February 1997. The necessary rescheduling also led to the postponement of the opening originally planned for 1997.

At the beginning of the construction work 16 birds were counted, at the end of 1999 37 birds and in February 2012 51 birds. The Great Bustard protection led the increase Balzfreude back to the effects of environmental accompanying measures in the construction of the ICE line. Despite this positive development of the population, extensive active measures are still necessary to preserve the great bustard, such as intensive hunting of foxes or breeding areas protected by fences.

construction

Image from the driver's cab of an ICE 1 near Spandau, direction Hanover. Here the northern track of the high-speed line crosses the Hamburg – Berlin track without crossing .

The ground investigation began in 1990 with boreholes an average of 100 m apart. From 1991 hydrological investigations followed.

Construction began on November 11, 1992 with the laying of the foundation stone at the Elbe bridge in Hämerten . At the same time as the construction of the new line, the Lehrter Bahn , one of the most important west-east highways in Germany before the Second World War, was renovated . At the same time, the Berlin-Spandau long-distance train station and the Weddeler Loop, a 21-kilometer connection between the Wolfsburg-Fallersleben and Weddel train stations (near Braunschweig), were built.

With the commissioning of the Oebisfelde – Rathenow traction power line on March 14, 1995, a traction current connection between West and East Germany was established for the first time.

At the beginning of 1996, work on 69 km in length in Lower Saxony was under way, the preparatory work on the main line in Saxony-Anhalt was completed and the earthworks for the new 86 km line were in progress. Extensive construction work was in progress in Berlin. By 1996, 3.531 billion D-Marks had been invested in the new line, including the expansion of the main line, but excluding the Berlin node (from Berlin-Staaken). In April 1997, the work on the 69 km long section in Lower Saxony was largely completed. Civil engineering and bridge construction work for the line was in progress in Saxony-Anhalt; the laying of the tracks and electrification had already begun in sections; the section between Oebisfelde and Gardelegen was already completed. In Brandenburg, construction work was in progress on the bustard ramparts, while the Havel bridge near Rathenow was largely completed.

In October 1997, the bridge over the Havel Canal, the last of a total of 68 overpasses, was completed.

During the construction phase, archaeologists in Brandenburg dug around 4,000 exploration holes along the route. The excavations were preceded by explorations on the ground and in the air. The researchers found what they were looking for at 30 sites. Some finds are over 1,500 years old, including pieces from the 4th and 5th centuries.

In September 1997 the Wustermark Havel Canal Bridge was completed. Between April and August 1998 numerous test and acceptance drives were carried out with the ICE S at up to 331 km / h.

In 2005, as the last measure so far, the long-planned renovation of the eastern area in the Lehrte station began. Since January 15, 2007, two new bridges have been available as overpass structures in Lehrte . This allows the traffic in the heavily loaded node to be segregated. In summer 2008, the construction work was completed with conversion work on points. The speed of long-distance trains has increased from 60 to 120 km / h. For measures between Hanover-Tiergarten and Lehrte, including the passage through the train station, funds amounting to 376 million euros have been earmarked in the “Investment Framework Plan until 2010 for the Federal Transport Infrastructure”. Up to 2005, 290.7 million euros of this had been spent. Federal funds of 60.7 million euros are to be invested between 2006 and 2010. Beyond this period there is a financing requirement of 24.6 million euros.

In addition to the protective measures for passing through the bustard protection area (see above), the railway took various substitute measures under nature conservation law for the impairment in nature and the landscape. This included the redevelopment of the slope on Berlin's Rupenhorn , on which the railway laid out or restored 750 meters of serpentine-like paths and viewpoints. Furthermore, in the Berlin Schanzenwald , a former military area, “extensive measures to secure and remove danger spots, unsealing of paths and squares, dismantling of enclosures, restoring the landscape and developing and designing the area” were carried out. Deutsche Bahn spent around 1.3 million euros on both measures. Deutsche Bahn invested a further 7.5 million euros in the rehabilitation, redesign and biotope renaturation of the Bullengraben in Berlin's Spandau district between 2004 and 2007. For this replacement measure, Deutsche Bahn received the Gustav Meyer Prize 2008, which has been held every two years since 1995 is awarded for excellently planned public green spaces and parks.

Installation

Commissioning was initially planned for 1997. Commissioning was still expected for the end of 1997 in early 1996, and finally in May 1998 in mid-1996.

On March 27, 1998, the overhead line between Vorsfelde and Hämerten was put under tension.

On May 24, 1998, the new line in the Wolfsburg – Oebisfelde – Stendal section was put into operation. Initially, three pairs of Interregio trains from Bad Bentheim / Hanover ending in Stendal ran over the 75 km long section. Your travel time was reduced by around 23 minutes. In the same month, the last of the line's substations went into operation in Rathenow. On August 5, the overhead line on the remaining section to Spandau was put under tension. On the same day, the test drives with the ICE S.

At the beginning of August 1998, the Rathenow electronic signal box , which controls the route between Berlin and Oebisfelde, went into operation.

On September 15, 1998, the entire length of the new line was officially opened. Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl , Railway Chief Johannes Ludewig and Berlin's Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen attended the opening . The inaugural ICE was named " Claus Graf Stauffenberg " in the Ostbahnhof Berlin before the train departed at 11:37 am as ICE 18952 towards Hanover via Stendal and Wolfsburg. It was an ICE 1 that was newly compiled for the event . The train, powered by two ICE-2 power cars (402 040 and 045), comprised two dining cars, four first class cars and seven second class cars. The train, which ran for 310 km / h with an exception, reached a top speed of 306 km / h near Schönhausen . The train made stops of around ten minutes each in Stendal and Wolfsburg.

The line went into operation on September 27, 1998. The first day of operation was marked by an overhead line fault at Lehrte, which led to delays of up to 120 minutes per train. At the start of operation, the speed of the ICE-2 trains with the leading control car was limited to 200 km / h at two points at risk of side winds. After the ICE line 10 (Berlin – Hanover – Ruhr area) was run over the high-speed line, the ICE line 10A (Berlin-Wannsee - Potsdam - Magdeburg - Braunschweig - Düsseldorf) was set up with three pairs of trains as a concession to Potsdam and Magdeburg state politicians . The utilization of these trains at the end of 1999 was less than 30 percent.

On December 13, 1998, regional rail traffic between Berlin-Charlottenburg and Rathenow was started. 19 pairs of trains on the RB line 13 used the high-speed route between Wustermark and Rathenow with a top speed of 160 km / h. Trains in the direction of Rathenow had to cross the high-speed track in the opposite direction twice. The bus stops in Buschow and Nennhausen were served at irregular intervals.

Effects

The commissioning of the new line shortened the regular route for passenger trains between Hanover Central Station and Berlin Zoo from 284.3 km to 255.2 km.

With the timetable change on September 27, 1998, the travel time between Berlin and Hanover was reduced by around one hour to one hour and 47 minutes. The travel time between Berlin and the Ruhr area also fell by an hour, with hourly intervals being introduced. The travel time between the capital and Frankfurt am Main was reduced by 47 minutes. In 1990 the travel time between Berlin and Hanover was four hours and twelve minutes. Later the travel time was reduced to around one and a half hours and the travel time to Frankfurt am Main to four hours. The drastic reduction in travel times due to the new route led to increasing numbers of passengers, as a result of which the competing air traffic between Berlin and Hanover was discontinued. When operations began, two pairs of ICE Sprinter trains were also used between Frankfurt and Berlin, with a journey time of three hours and 50 minutes. When the timetable changed on May 30, 1999, the travel time between Berlin and Hanover was further reduced to one hour and 36 minutes.

With the opening of the high-speed line, the two state capitals Magdeburg and Potsdam lost a large part of the ICE trains that had previously stopped there. After protests, ICE trains ran again between Berlin and Braunschweig over the old route for some time.

According to Deutsche Bahn, the number of passengers traveling to and from Berlin on this route increased by almost 50 percent between 1999 and 2008, to 27,000 passengers per day. According to Deutsche Bahn, even larger numbers of travelers are reached on Fridays.

In 2011, around 170 trains per day use the route. Around 10,000 passengers travel between Berlin and Hanover every day (as of 2013).

technology

Slab track in asphalt design (ATD) near Staffelde

Slab track type BTD V2 on the track near Gardelegen

In 1994 the decision was made to build a new German line for the first time with the new line, mainly in slab track . The system was also used here in Germany for the first time on large bridges. In the high-speed section, the system has been laid on 91 kilometers of track in both tracks: between kilometers 118 and 241, excluding the bustard protection area (km 148 to 166) and the bypass around Stendal (km 201 to 215). To the west of the Elbe, the types ATD (5.1 km), Züblin (10.6 km) and BTD-V2 (15.8 km) are used, east of the Elbe a modified form of the Rheda type (59.2 km) ).

For the first time on a German high-speed line, steel truss bridges with an underlying carriageway were built. With the bridges over the Havel and the Havel Canal, the slab track was also used for the first time on high-speed bridges. A conventional ballast superstructure with new, heavy sleepers (B 75) was installed on 14 kilometers of the Stendal southern bypass.

The high-speed line from Lehrte to Berlin-Spandau (route km 111) is equipped with regular train control. The new line is centrally controlled by an electronic interlocking with three sub-centers from the Berlin operations center, the Hanover – Oebisfelde expansion section from the Hanover operations center.

The operational organization of the line tracks, which are considered to be two single-track lines, is remarkable. Track changes are thus signaled by direction indicators instead of opposite track indicators. The tracks of the parallel Lehrter Bahn are also included in this assignment. The up to four tracks are with the letters R , S , T and U , respectively.

On the new line, a total of 45 high-speed switches that branched off at 130 km / h (occasionally 160 km / h) were installed, 27 of them on the slab track. For the first time in Germany, clothoid switches were used. In 1997 the longest railway switch in Germany at around 150 meters was installed near Möringen . Another innovation is the Re 330 overhead contact line , which allows travel speeds of up to 400 km / h. A total of 213 kilometers of railway power lines , four substations and a switchgear were installed. The upper current limit on the new line is 1500  A .

business

An ICE 1 from Basel on the way to Berlin near Wustermark

Several ICE / IC lines are run along the route :

• ICE line 10: Berlin - Hanover - Hamm (Westf) - Dortmund - Duisburg - Düsseldorf or Hamm - Wuppertal - Cologne. This line is operated with ICE-2 multiple units, which can be winged in Hamm thanks to their half-train concept. The trains run every hour.
• ICE lines 12/13: Berlin - Braunschweig - Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Basel (partly to Interlaken-Ost) or Mannheim - Stuttgart - Munich. Every hour to Mannheim, then alternately every two hours to Basel or Munich. This line also runs over the high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg . Here, ICE 1 -Garnituren used. ICE Sprinter trains can reach the banking metropolis of Frankfurt am Main in three and a half hours.
• IC line 77: Berlin - Hanover - Osnabrück - Rheine - Amsterdam / Schiphol every two hours. Individual trains on the edge of the day run from Osnabrück to Münster (and back).

The RE 4 trains (Rathenow – Berlin – Jüterbog) also use the high-speed line between Rathenow and Wustermark. Freight trains also operate.

Around 800 people commute daily from Berlin to Wolfsburg, in the opposite direction there are 250 (as of 2013).

Driving speeds

An ICE 1 on the high-speed line at Gardelegen

The new line can be traveled between route kilometer 178 of the Lehrter Bahn (near Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde) and route kilometer 118 of the high-speed route (near Berlin-Staaken ) at 250 km / h as planned; In the bustard protection area (route kilometers 148 to 166) the route was designed for a maximum speed of 200 km / h. In the future, this section should be passable at 250 km / h and expanded accordingly. The upgraded line in the Lehrte – Wolfsburg – Oebisfelde section (route km 237 of the Lehrter Bahn to route km 178 of the new line) has also been upgraded to a speed of 200 km / h.

On May 23, 2000, following the official presentation of the first train, an ICE 3 ran the high-speed line to Wolfsburg. As part of this presentation drive for journalists, a maximum speed of 307 km / h was achieved with a special permit. During a presentation and test drive in the same year, an ICE 3 reached a speed of 368 km / h and thus set a new world record for mass-produced rail vehicles . The record lasted until September 2006, when it was surpassed by a Velaro E with 403.7 km / h on the high-speed route Madrid – Barcelona – French border . On February 22, 2001, an ICE 3M reached a top speed of 355 km / h during a test drive.

On August 13, 2001, the ICE S with experimental bogies reached 393 km / h on the new line. After the speeds of up to 406.9 km / h achieved in the ICE world record run on May 1, 1988 , this is the second highest speed ever achieved on German rails.

For the approval of the ICE 3 trains for 330 km / h, an ICE 3 reached a speed of 367 km / h during an acceptance test on September 3, 2001 at Gardelegen .

Accidents and other incidents

On September 21, 1998, a measuring train (locomotive 101 043) crashed near the Elbe bridge in Hämerten with a construction vehicle for a switch factory at a speed of 200 km / h. The three track workers were able to save themselves while the construction vehicle was thrown from the rails into the Elbe. The cause is a transmission error.

On April 9, 2002 there was a near collision at Fallersleben. After the computer for the liner train control crashed in Fallersleben , two trains each came to a halt on both tracks. When the computer started up, the rear train was signaled a speed of 160 km / h, the front train 0 km / h. One of the two train drivers who followed him saw the train standing in front of him, the other asked the operations center to be on the safe side, which warned him of departure.

Flooding from the Elbe in 2013

On the night of June 10, 2013, the Elbe bridge in Hämerten was closed as a result of the Elbe flood . As a result of the Elbe floods, a dam broke at Fischbeck (Elbe) over a length of 50 meters that same night . About five hours later, the stretch between Schönhausen and Schönhauser Damm was flooded over a length of about 5 km and remained under water for several days. The route formed a barrier for the water flowing in from the south. After delays of one to two hours had been the rule on some lines since June 10, due to large diversions, Deutsche Bahn introduced an interim timetable on June 21, which was later changed several times.

On July 29, 2013, an interim timetable concept with around 10,000 changed timetables for passenger and freight traffic came into force. From July 29, 2013, the section between Stendal and Wolfsburg of the high-speed line was used every two hours by ICE line 11 , which stopped at both stations. On September 9, 2013, regional trains were initially resumed on the main line of the Lehrter Bahn, which runs parallel and is not electrified in this area. In addition, a pair of intercity trains with diesel traction ran between Berlin and Hanover on this route.

At the beginning of July 2013, when there was still extensive water on both sides of the route, clean-up work began. In mid-July 2013, TÜV Rheinland began taking measurements using ground-penetrating radar , and test drilling was also carried out. External experts checked the condition of the route throughout August 2013. In the course of the repairs, 100 kilometers of cables were replaced and 180 signals were repaired.

In mid-September 2013, the restart of the high-speed line and the return to the regular timetable on November 4, 2013 were announced. Expert reports have shown that the flood did not cause any deeper damage to the embankment. The acceptance test took place on October 22, 2013. Operations started on November 4, 2013.

The federal government paid for the renovation with funds from its flood relief fund.

Further construction work

The route was extensively renovated in the 2011 timetable. According to media reports, damage to the slab track made the construction work necessary. Construction work began on April 21, 2011. Between June 20 and October 22, 2011, alternating sections of the new line could only be used on a single track. In long-distance traffic, this resulted in longer travel times of around 30 minutes and diversions, around 50 freight trains were diverted daily.

Between March 1 and June 30, 2011 (as of December 2010), a total of around 133,000 sleepers were replaced on the upgraded line over a length of 2 × 40 km. This became necessary due to a serial error in the concrete sleepers used in the construction of the upgraded line (due to poorly executed reinforcement, there were massive longitudinal cracks in the sleepers in the area of ​​the sleeper dowels).

Between May 13 and August 31, 2017, the rails will be changed over a length of 82 km (between Gardelegen and Ribbeck as well as Schönhauser Damm and Nahrstedt).

From January 12th to May 17th, 2019, the automatic control system will be gradually modernized in three stages. During this period, this leads to travel time extensions of up to 30 minutes, in Berlin to further schedule deviations.

From November 2 to November 11, 2019, eight points were replaced at Meinersen station. For this, the route between Gifhorn and Dollbergen was closed to long-distance traffic.

Due to a short-term change of rails over a length of 20 km between Nahrstedt and Gardelegen, travel times of up to 60 minutes will be extended between January 24 and February 14, 2020.

expansion

In the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 , a further expansion of the path is provided. In the area of ​​the bustard protection area, an increase in speed to 250 km / h is planned, as well as closing the gap for the third track, which between Vorsfelde and Wustermark is also to be electrified and upgraded for 160 km / h. The total cost is planned to be 303.6 million euros; the measure is carried out under Urgent Needs. The increase in speed on the high-speed line reduces travel time by around 2 minutes in ICE traffic, while the continuous and electrified third track expands the capacities for freight traffic.

The first expert draft of the Deutschland-Takt , presented in October 2018, provides for an expansion between Wolfsburg and Berlin for a line speed of 300 km / h. With 300 km / h trains between Berlin-Spandau and Hanover, without intermediate stops, a scheduled travel time of 74 minutes should be achieved, the travel time between the two main stations should then be 85 minutes. A basic offer of three and a half trains per hour and direction is planned for long-distance transport between Wolfsburg and Berlin-Spandau. A reduction in travel time from 40 minutes to 3 hours and 36 minutes is planned for the entire axis between Cologne and Berlin. The second expert draft published in May 2019 now provides for four hourly train pairs between Wolfsburg and Berlin-Spandau.

The line is to be expanded between 2024 and 2034. Between 2024 and 2027, as part of a first construction phase, additional transfer connections are to be created between the high-speed line and the old line. This paves the way for a renewal of the slab track on the line. Between 2027 and 2034, as part of a second construction phase, an expansion between the Ribbeck branch and Bamme branch for 250 km / h is planned.

Web links

Commons : High-speed route Hanover – Berlin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Representation of the route and the permitted speeds on the OpenRailwayMap
• The high-speed train connection Hanover - Berlin, DB AG brochure (PDF; 3.4 MB)

literature

• Erich Preuß: The Hanover – Berlin express train . Geramond-Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-932785-31-2 .
• Jürgen Hörstel: Hanover – Berlin. History and construction of a rapid transit system . Transpress-Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-613-71088-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Winfried Hanslmeier, Armin Keppel , Heinz Pfaff: Schnellbahn connection Hannover – Berlin . Technical principles, standards and requirement profiles. In: The Federal Railroad . No. 9 , 1990, ISSN  0007-5876 , pp. 859-862 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Into the future at 300 kilometers per hour . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , No. 213, 1998, p. 16.
3. ↑ ^{a b} The ICE tracks are in Saxony-Anhalt . In: Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH (publisher): Info-Brief , ZDB -ID 2668166-3 , issue 2/1997, August 31, 1997, p. 1.
4. ^ ^{A b c d e f g h i} Christian Tietze: New Hanover - Berlin line in operation at the time of the timetable change . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 11/1998, ISSN  1421-2811 , pp. 497–503.
5. ↑ ^{a b c} plastics and elastics . In: Der Spiegel . No. 44 , 1985, pp. 72-80 ( online ).
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Heinz Dürr , Knut Reimers (Ed.): High-speed traffic . 1st edition. Hestra-Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-7771-0234-2 ( Yearbook of Railways , Volume 42), p. 100 f.
7. ↑ Here the arrow races . In: Der Spiegel . No. 10 , 1984, pp. 114-118 ( online ).
8. ^ ^{A b} Rüdiger Block: ICE racetrack: the new lines . In: Eisenbahn-Kurier Special: High-speed traffic . No. 21, 1991, excluding ISSN, pp. 36-45.
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH: The high-speed train connection Hanover - Berlin ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 20 pages, 3, 2 MB)
10. ↑ ^{a b} points set for express traffic to Hanover . In: Der Tagesspiegel , November 30, 1987
11. ↑ ^{a b} rapid train connection between Hanover and Berlin . In: Die Bahn informs , Issue 1, 1990, p. 10 f.
12. ↑ High- speed train connection Hanover - Berlin . In: Eisenbahn-Kurier , issue 9/1988, p. 35.
13. ↑ Annual review 1988 - new and upgraded routes . In: Die Bundesbahn 1/1989, p. 58
14. ↑ Friedrich Schrewe, Helmut Weber, Gernot Arnhold: The rapid-transit railway connection Hanover – Berlin in the process . In: Railway technical review . 41, No. 7/8, July / August 1992, pp. 457-473.
15. ↑ ^{a b c d} Rudolf Seidel, Hans-Georg Kusznir: The new railway bridge at Hämerten in the course of the high-speed railway connection Hanover-Berlin . In: Baukultur , Heft 3, 1994, pp. 34-39, ISSN  0722-3099
16. ↑ ^{a b c d} Helmut Weber, Gernot Arnhold: express connection Hanover – Berlin: section Oebisfelde – Staaken one year after the start of planning . In: Die Bundesbahn 10/1991, p. 977 ff.
17. ↑ The Federal Minister of Transport (ed.): Federal Transport Route Plan 1985 - Status of Realization . Annex to the status report of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 1985 and the German Transport Infrastructure Plan. Bonn October 2, 1990, p. 42 .
18. ^ Starting shot for the high-speed route to Berlin . In: Eisenbahn-Kurier , 8, No. 215, 1990, ISSN  0170-5288 , p. 13.
19. ^ ^{A b} Planungsgesellschaft Schnellbahnbau Hannover – Berlin (ed.): Schnellbahn Hannover – Berlin . Brochure (20 A4 pages) dated December 1990, Berlin 1991.
20. ↑ ^{a b} Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH (ed.): Information on the rail transport projects German unity in the state of Brandenburg (as of March 1993) .
21. ^ ^{A b} Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH (Ed.): Information on the rail transport projects German unity in the state of Brandenburg. Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH as of May 1993 . May 1993.
22. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport: Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 1992 , p. 21
23. ↑ Bahn secures more influence again. Project company reorganized. In: Der Tagesspiegel , February 6, 1996.
24. ↑ ^{a b c} Planungsgesellschaft Hannover -Berlin mbH (ed.): Schnellbahnverbindungen Hannover - Berlin: Construction work in the state of Saxony-Anhalt . Brochure, Hanover, March 1995, pp. 10 f, 14.
25. ↑ Bundestag approves Stendal southern bypass . In: Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau , Volume 42 (1993), Issue 9, p. 555.
26. ↑ ^{a b} Eberhard Krummheuer: Planning with Investment Measures Act . In: Handelsblatt , August 30, 1994, p. 5.
27. ↑ ^{a b c} German unity transport projects. Status: 1997 . Federal Ministry of Transport, Bonn 1997, p. 14 f., Brochure (50 A4 pages)
28. ↑ ^{a b c} Schnellbahn Hannover – Berlin . In: Eisenbahn-Kurier , No. 305, February 1998, ISSN  0170-5288 , pp. 26-28.
29. ↑ Construction project Hanover - Berlin (Lehrter Stammbahn) , BauInfoPortal of Deutsche Bahn, accessed on July 30, 2018
30. ↑ Federal Law Gazette . (PDF) Retrieved July 31, 2018 . 
31. ↑ Dossier. Retrieved July 31, 2018 . 
32. ↑ Project number 2-032-V01 in BVWP 2030
33. ↑ ^{a b} Johannes Leithäuser: As far as the speed is concerned, the thirties would have been overtaken . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 5, 1994, p. 10.
34. ^ ^{A b} Federal Minister of Transport (ed.): The country needs new ways. Now! So that the future doesn't fall by the wayside: Hanover-Stendal-Berlin . Brochure (eight A4 pages) as of January 1992
35. ^ The courtship, the train and a lot of concrete . In: Die Zeit , No. 21/1992
36. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG, network division (ed.): Route map of the high-speed rail connection Hanover - Berlin . 1st edition 1994.
37. ↑ Great bustards courted normally . In: Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH (publisher): Info-Brief , ZDB -ID 2668166-3 , issue 2/1996, July 15, 1996, p. 6.
38. ^ ^{A b} Siegfried Knüpfer : Railway lines for German unity - an interim balance 1996 . In: Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau , No. 7/8, July / August 1996, pp. 461–469.
39. ↑ Offspring of the great bustard . In: Berliner Morgenpost , July 15, 2003.
40. ↑ Million project: earth wall protects against railway line . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , May 12, 2009
41. ↑ ^{a b c} German unity transport projects. Status: April 1996 . Federal Ministry of Transport, brochure (50 A4 pages), Bonn 1996, p. 9.
42. ↑ ^{a b c} The bustard's love for the ICE . In: mobile . February 2000, p. 14.
43. ↑ According to the state of Brandenburg, quoted from the Bundestag Drs. 17/10191 (PDF; 101 kB)
44. ↑ Dorothée March: Predation . Website of the Grosstrappenschutz e. V., accessed on May 15, 2017.
45. ↑ Investment framework plan until 2010 for the federal transport infrastructure . Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, April 2007
46. ↑ Ruhlebener Schanzenwald with Murellenberg accessible again . Senate Department for Urban Development, press box, November 28, 2007
47. ↑ Deutsche Bahn AG: Green area handed over as compensation for construction projects . Press release from April 9, 2009
48. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG: Deutsche Bahn receives 1st prize for compensatory measure. Gustav Meyer Prize 2008 for Bullengraben green corridor in Spandau. Press release from May 20, 2009.
49. ↑ Commissioning Hanover – Berlin . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , Issue 6, 1998, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 227
50. ↑ The new Wolfsburg – Stendal line is already in operation . In: Eisenbahn Magazin , issue 8/1998, p. 7 ff, ISSN  0342-1902 .
51. ↑ News in brief . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , Issue 9, 1998, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 339
52. ↑ Hanover - Berlin continuously operational . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , Issue 9, 1998, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 338
53. ↑ Expansion of the POS . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 11/1998, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 451.
54. ↑ ^{a b} Götz Walther, Konrad Koschinski: High- speed line Berlin - Hanover: premiere train with Tempo 306 . In: LOK Report , Issue 11, 1998, p. 14 f.
55. ^ ICE-T line Berlin - Düsseldorf . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 2/2000, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 51
56. ↑ Regional train on the high-speed line . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , Issue 1/2, 1999, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 7
57. ↑ Length of the route according to TPIS ( Memento of May 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) 2011 on routes 1730, 1900, 6400, 6110, 6118 and 6109 (previous regular route) or 1730, 6107, 6185, 6100 and 6109 (regular route on a new route with a bypass from Stendal).
58. ↑ ^{a b} From Sunday the new train timetable . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , No. 121, 1999, ISSN  0174-4917 , p. 14.
59. ↑ Quickly to Berlin - for ten years . In: DB Welt , September 2008 edition, p. 52
60. ↑ Ten years of Berlin's ICE connection celebrated . In: Berliner Morgenpost , September 16, 2008
61. ^ Mindener Tageblatt of April 10, 2011, accessed on April 11, 2011.
62. ↑ ICE route remains closed for longer . In: Kölnische Rundschau . July 10, 2013 (similar version online ).
63. ↑ Germany's longest turnouts . In: Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit mbH (Ed.): Info-Brief , ZDB -ID 2668166-3 , Issue 2/1997, August 31, 1997, p. 6.
64. ↑ Electrical operation at Deutsche Bahn in 2000 . In: Elektro Bahnen , Heft 1–2 / 2001, p. 12.
65. ↑ ICE route: Less damage than feared . Berliner Zeitung online, September 10, 2013.
66. ↑ Project number 2-032-V01 in BVWP 2030
67. ↑ Konrad Koschinski: The ICE 3 is rolling to the EXPO . In: Eisenbahn-Journal . Vol. 26, No. 7, 2000, ISSN  0720-051X , p. 26 f.
68. ^ Spain: Velaro E in passenger use . ( Memento of the original from November 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: eurailpress.com from June 25, 2007 
69. ↑ News in brief . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 4/2001, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 355.
70. ↑ ICE 3 approval . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 11/2001, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 474.
71. ^ Accident on the NBS Hanover – Berlin . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 11/1998, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 450.
72. ↑ Erich Preuss: Railway accidents at the Deutsche Bahn . transpress Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-71229-6 , p. 109
73. ↑ Christian Endt: Setting the course for the flood . Time online , June 13, 2013.
74. ↑ ^{a b c d} Falk Hebenstreit, Ruby Schwurack, René Kipper, Jürgen Wolf: Flood June 2013 - Flooding of a slab track and the consequences . In: Railway technical review . tape 63 , no. 3 , 2014, ISSN  0013-2845 , p. 22-27 ( PDF file ).
75. ↑ Emergency timetable makes ICE connections faster again . In: Berliner Morgenpost , July 23, 2013.
76. ↑ Improved flood timetable from July 29th for trips to and from Berlin and Wolfsburg . Deutsche Bahn, press release from July 19, 2013.
77. ↑ Flood damage in Stendal eliminated: the train is coming, the ICE is not yet . In: Leipziger Volkszeitung . August 31, 2013, ISSN  0232-3222 , p. 4 .
78. ↑ Consequences of the flood: Berlin traffic still impaired . In: Netznachrichten . No. 3 , 2013, ZDB -ID 2548162-9 , p. 6 ( deutschebahn.com ( memento from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) 0.7 MB [PDF]). Consequences of the flood: Berlin traffic still impaired ( memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
79. ^ Kerstin Schwenn: King measurement in imperial weather . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . October 24, 2013, ISSN  0174-4909 , p. 7 (similar version online ).
80. ↑ Hanover – Berlin high-speed line: From November 4th, train traffic will be back to the regular schedule. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn AG, September 17, 2013, archived from the original on September 20, 2013 ; Retrieved September 17, 2013 . 
81. ↑ Markus Falkner: Full trip to Spandau . In: Berliner Morgenpost . No. 289 , October 23, 2013, ZDB -ID 749437-3 , p. - ( online ).
82. ↑ Deutsche Bahn saves itself economy prices . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . August 21, 2013, p. 16 (similar version to faz.net ).
83. ↑ The express train to Hanover also needs to be renovated . In: Berliner Zeitung , June 5, 2009.
84. ↑ ICE and IC to and from Berlin faster again . Deutsche Bahn AG, press release of August 26, 2011.
85. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Compilation of the 2011 network timetable construction corridors. Construction-related infrastructure restrictions relevant to the network timetable  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6 MB) DB Netz AG, March 25, 2010, p. 6 f.  
86. ^ D-Hannover: permanent way work . Document 2010 / S 240-367238 of December 10, 2010 in the Electronic Official Journal of the European Union.
87. ↑ Changes to the timetable between Berlin and Hanover. Rail renewal from May 13th to August 31st on 82 kilometers • Three periods with different restrictions. (No longer available online.) In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, May 8, 2017, archived from the original on June 19, 2017 ; accessed on May 14, 2017 . 
88. ↑ Plan more time for travel on the Berlin - Hanover route. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, January 10, 2019, accessed on January 25, 2019 . 
89. ↑ Traffic announcement: Plan more time between Berlin and Hanover: construction work from January 24th to February 14th. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, January 7, 2020, accessed on January 8, 2020 . 
90. ↑ BVWP 2030 - 2-032-V01 .
91. ↑ Target timetable Germany-Takt Presentation of the first expert draft within the framework of the future alliance rail. (PDF) October 9, 2018, p. 22 , accessed October 19, 2018 . 
92. ↑ Target timetable Germany-Takt: First expert draft long-distance traffic. (PDF) SMA und Partner , October 9, 2018, accessed on October 21, 2018 . 
93. ↑ Rainer Engel: Berlin - Rhine / Ruhr with 300 km / h: New project in Germany . In: Bahn-Report . January 2019, ISSN  0178-4528 , p. 5-7 .
94. ↑ Destination timetable Germany-Takt. (PDF) Second expert draft for long-distance transport. SMA und Partner AG , May 7, 2019, accessed on June 19, 2019 . 
95. ↑ ^{a b} Hanover - Berlin (Lehrter Stammbahn). In: bauprojekte.deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, accessed on February 27, 2019 ("Schedule" tab). 
96. ↑ Expansion of the Hanover – Berlin line (Lehrter main line). (PDF) Expansion work in the section Vorsfelde – Wustermark. Deutsche Bahn, 2019, accessed on March 17, 2019 . 

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on December 10, 2008 .