Rail Transport: Line Closures in Hamburg and Emmerich

In addition to other current restrictions in rail freight traffic, a planned line closure is scheduled for July 2025, which will affect combined transport services.

From Friday, 4 July to Tuesday, 8 July 2025, the main rail connection to the Port of Hamburg will be completely closed for an estimated 96 hours.
The reason for this is the expansion of the Hamburg-Süderelbe motorway junction (A26/A7) – an infrastructure project intended to ease traffic congestion in the long term.

Impact:

  • Temporary closure of rail access to the port, meaning no rail traffic at all during the entire period
  • Reduced transport capacity, also beyond the closure period
  • Diversions via Hamburg-Billwerder, although full compensation is not possible

Other current rail network restrictions:

  • Hamburg: General delays in port handling
  • Emmerich: Due to the planned full closure of the Emmerich – Oberhausen line (from early July until 24 August 2025) as part of rail infrastructure upgrades, trains are being widely rerouted. This may also affect our CRS trains that normally operate via Venlo, as the junction is already heavily congested due to the additional diverted traffic.

These developments are currently affecting the reliability and planning security of rail services. Significant impacts are expected particularly in calendar weeks 27 and 28 (late June to mid-July).

We are doing everything we can to minimise the effects on your transport operations. We are continuously reviewing alternative routings and will proactively inform our customers of any relevant changes.