Deutsche Bahn has unveiled its new winter timetable, effective December 13, featuring expanded high-speed connections and restored routes across Germany and Europe.

Deutsche Bahn (DB) has announced significant updates to its winter timetable, set to take effect on December 13, 2023. Key changes include expanded Sprinter services between Berlin and Stuttgart, now operating three times daily in each direction, reducing travel time to 4 hours and 45 minutes—approximately one hour faster than standard ICE routes via Frankfurt. Additionally, trains between Berlin and Hamburg will resume half-hourly service, with travel times ranging from 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, following extensive corridor renovations that previously caused disruptions.

The new timetable also restores direct connections between Berlin and Jena, passing through Naumburg, Weißenfels, and Leipzig. Travelers heading to the Baltic Sea will benefit from the reintroduction of the Dresden-Berlin-Warnemünde IC line, operating five times daily at two-hour intervals. Furthermore, a daily ICE service from Stuttgart to Rostock, with partial extensions to Warnemünde, will depart Berlin at 4:37 PM. Wittenberge in Prignitz will see increased service frequency, with trains stopping at least every two hours and, in some cases, hourly. International routes are also expanding, with additional direct connections from Berlin to Warsaw and Amsterdam, and two daily ICE trains between Berlin and Vienna via Passau.

DB is enhancing its international network, with over 320 daily cross-border trips to more than 200 cities across 14 countries. Notable expansions include increased services between Hamburg and Copenhagen, Stuttgart and Paris, and Frankfurt and Vienna. Despite ongoing construction projects on key routes such as Hannover-Berlin and Frankfurt-Erfurt, DB has assured that long-distance services will continue, albeit with extended travel times in some cases. Ticket prices for long-distance travel will remain stable, as confirmed earlier this year by DB CEO Evelyn Palla. Passengers can begin booking tickets for the new timetable starting October 14, 2023.