Deutsche Bahn (DB) is significantly expanding its range of services on its busiest routes with the introduction of its new 2026 timetable on 14 December. In all, 21 cities in high-speed network ICE trains will now run at half-hourly intervals, almost twice as many as last year. In particular, the German rail company is introducing new, faster ICE-Sprinter trains. With few or no stops between destinations, they will complement this increase in capacity.
Despite a network still heavily marked by renovation projects, the overall long-distance offer has stabilised at a high level. The arrival of the new ICE L, adding to an already modernised fleet, will enable DB to concentrate capacity where demand is highest. On the other hand, some very lightly used routes will be discontinued for economic reasons.
DB's new timetable also aims to simplify the configuration of the ICE network: standardisation of departure and arrival stations, intermediate stops, timetables and equipment types. A few direct links are changing configuration, but the aim is to make the system less complex and more reliable. The good news for business travellers is that fares will remain unchanged, with no increase planned in 2026...
The ICE-Sprinter service is entering a new phase of expansion. From 18 December, a Sprinter will link Berlin to Stuttgart in a record time of 4 hours 45 minutes, with a single stop in Nuremberg - saving over an hour. Fourteen new high-speed connections will also be introduced on the north-south routes, notably between Hamburg and Frankfurt and between Berlin and Munich.
The half-hourly interval will speed up and simplify connections on several major routes. In Nuremberg, for example, optimised connections every two hours will make journeys between Stuttgart and Berlin easier; in Erfurt, passengers will save 30 minutes on journeys between Munich and Dresden.
2026 also marks the entry into service of the new ICE L train. This high-speed train is the first to be fully accessible at ground level. Initially deployed between Berlin and Cologne, it will then run to Hamburg, Sylt, Frankfurt and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Internationally, Deutsche Bahn is launching some 40 new or extended daily services to nine European countries. New services include a Eurocity line between Leipzig and Krakow, a Prague-Copenhagen via Berlin will be faster, as will four daily ICE trains between Cologne and Antwerp via Brussels airport from September. The Paris-Berlin high-speed line will run via Mannheim, Frankfurt, Erfurt and Halle (Saale), near Leipzig.
Finally, DB is gradually simplifying the purchase of international tickets: by the end of 2026, the majority of offers from neighbouring companies will be bookable directly on bahn.de and via the DB Navigator application.
