Due to surprise construction work in Baden-Württemberg, various day and night train services within, to and from Germany will be cancelled, rerouted and disrupted this April. Here’s what travellers need to know:

“Short notice” railworks to disrupt German trains in April

“Short notice” construction work being carried out in Baden-Württemberg means that various public transport services between Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Czechia will be disrupted from April 13 to 28, 2025. 

Construction concerns the Rhine Valley Railway (Rheintalbahn) between Karlsruhe and Basel, Switzerland. The rail line is one of the most important in Germany, serving 300 local, freight and long-distance trains every day. 

Stops on the line include Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden, Freiburg im Breisgau and Basel, though only the stretch between Karlsruhe and Basel will be affected in April.

Affected, long-distance services include the ICE 12 between Berlin and Basel, ICE 20 between Kiel and Basel, ICE 43 between Amsterdam and Basel and the ICE 83 between Paris and Munich. 

Regional services will also be disrupted. The RE2 (Karlsruhe-Konstanz) and RE44 (Karlsruhe-Achern) will only run every hour. Many more regional services which use the line will be disrupted and partially served by replacement buses. For further, real-time information, check the Deutsche Bahn website.

Night train services cancelled or rerouted across Germany

Work on the line will also mean disruption for Nightjet night trains. This includes the Nightjet between Zurich and Prague via Leipzig and Dresden, which will be cancelled entirely between April 13 and 26.

Night services between Zurich and Berlin will not run to the German capital and will instead be diverted to Hamburg between April 14 / 15 and April 27 / 28. Those who wish to travel to Berlin on the night train must change to a day service in Hanover and can use their Nightjet ticket to do so.

Both the amended service and the existing night train between Zurich and Hamburg will be diverted to run via Schaffhausen, meaning they will not stop in Basel, Freiburg im Breisgau, Offenburg, Baden-Baden or Karlsruhe. Finally, on the original Zurich-Hamburg connection, the train will also not stop in Bremen or Verden an der Aller on April 14, 15, 27 and 28. 

Those affected by the disruption can claim a refund for their night train or can use their tickets to reach their destination on daytime services. Check the Nightjet website for more information.

Thumb image credit: Chris Redan / Shutterstock.com