Tracks, switches and overhead lines on the Nuremberg–Regensburg corridor have already been completed, but approval checks for the new interlocking technology are taking longer than expected.
The route had been due to reopen on 10 July 2026. DB InfraGO now says through traffic will resume no later than 31 July, at the beginning of the Bavarian summer holidays.
Until then, long-distance and freight trains will continue to use diversionary routes, while cancelled regional services will remain replaced by buses. Updated timetable data is to be added to electronic journey planners.
“It is disappointing that we cannot reopen the Nuremberg–Regensburg route as planned,” said Gerd-Dietrich Bolte, DB InfraGO Board Member for Infrastructure Planning and Projects. “Safety comes first in railway operations.”
DB InfraGO said it was also coordinating directly with freight operators affected by the delay. Supplies to industrial customers are expected to continue, with individual operating arrangements introduced where necessary.
Many freight services are already being diverted because of the parallel Obertraubling–Passau corridor renewal.
Elsewhere, works remain on schedule. The Hagen–Wuppertal–Cologne corridor and the Hamburg–Hannover route are due to reopen on 10 July, ending regional replacement bus services and longer diversions for passenger and freight trains.
