A Preview of timetable changes in December
A number of changes to regional transport, particularly in the east and south of Saxony-Anhalt, will come into effect on 14 December when the 2026 timetable for regional and long-distance rail transport comes into effect. These are due to the expansion of the Central German S-Bahn network and nationwide adjustments to long-distance services. The following routes will be affected:
Magdeburg – Leipzig
The RE13 service between Magdeburg and Leipzig Central Stations will take one hour and 33 minutes in future. This is six minutes faster than at present. Departure times will change accordingly (eleven minutes earlier from Magdeburg Central Station and 17 minutes later from Leipzig Central Station), affecting connections in Magdeburg-Neustadt, Roßlau, Dessau Central Station, Bitterfeld and Leipzig Central Station. Some current transfer options will also become impossible. Nevertheless, the expansion measures between Dessau and Bitterfeld, which have been gradually completed in recent years, will have a positive effect, as the maximum speed of trains will be able to increase to 160 kilometres per hour on an increasing number of sections.
Lu. Wittenberg – Halle
The two-hourly direct S8 connection will be around ten minutes faster due to the elimination of long-distance overtaking. The connection to Leipzig will be via Bitterfeld, with a change to the RE13, rather than the S2 as before.
Halle-Trotha – Leipzig
In future, the S5 and S5X lines will be extended to Halle-Trotha, serving the Steintorbrücke, Dessauer Brücke, Zoo and Wohnstadt Nord stations. These lines will provide direct connections to Leipzig City Tunnel and the airport every 30 minutes. The S47 shuttle line, which has been operating temporarily to connect Trotha, will be discontinued, as will the RB47 service to the aforementioned stations.
Stendal – Uelzen and Osterburg – Wittenberge
The restrictions on regional transport that have been in place since August 2025 due to the renovation of the Hamburg–Berlin ICE line will continue until the end of April 2026. The replacement timetables currently in place will remain unchanged.
Tangermünde – Stendal – Wittenberge
The RB33 line will run between Stendal and Tangermünde with altered journey times, and will also serve Osterburg during rush hour. This will create new direct connections. For instance, commuters travelling between Stendal and Tangermünde will be able to board at Stendal-Stadtsee and Stendal-Hochschule stations, reaching Tangermünde without changing trains. From 1 May next year, the RB33 will also run every two hours between Stendal and Wittenberge at weekends. Combined with the S1, this will provide an hourly service.
Wolfsburg – Stendal – Rathenow
Electrification work on the main line continues to cause significant disruption. The RB35 line will be completely suspended between Wolfsburg and Stendal for the entire 2026 timetable year, with buses providing an alternative service. Additional express buses with only a few stops and shorter journey times will operate during rush hour. The RB34, which has been cancelled since June 2025, will also not run between Stendal and Rathenow in 2026. The previous replacement concept involving rail replacement services every two hours will continue. The RE4 is unaffected and will continue to run as normal.
Bernburg – Halle
In future, the RB47 will travel faster through the Halle city area, bypassing the stations of Wohnstadt Nord, Zoo, Dessauer Brücke and Steintorbrücke. This will reduce journey times on the Salzlandbahn between Halle Hbf and Bernburg Hbf by up to five minutes. Passengers wishing to travel to these stations will need to change to the S5/S5X at Halle-Trotha. The maximum waiting time is ten minutes.
Dessau – Bitterfeld
From Monday to Friday, five trains per direction will run within two hours. The total service from Dessau Central Station will consist of an hourly RE13 to Leipzig and Magdeburg, an hourly S2 to Leipzig City Tunnel, and a bi-hourly S8 to Halle, all from Monday to Friday. This expansion of services meets the high and steadily increasing demand on this route
Bitterfeld – Halle
From December, S-Bahn trains will run twice an hour in each direction at weekends. Due to the large number of long-distance and freight trains, it is not possible to run services at 30-minute intervals.
Bitterfeld – Leipzig
Three trains per hour in each direction will also run here at weekends within a two-hour period. The total service consists of the hourly RE13 and an expanded S2 service. The S2 will terminate at Leipzig-Connewitz, south of the Leipzig City Tunnel, instead of at Leipzig-Stötteritz.
Halle – Kassel
The RE8, which currently runs every two hours between Halle and Leinefelde, will be extended to Kassel. Together with the RE9, this will provide an hourly service along the entire route daily. This doubling of the number of trips is necessary to meet the significantly increased demand for the RE9 service. Additionally, the travel times of the S7, RE8 and RE9 lines will be adjusted. Trains will depart up to eight minutes later from Halle and arrive up to eight minutes earlier.
Halle – Magdeburg
In the late evening, the RE30 service between Halle and Magdeburg will be more frequent, with three departures after 10 p.m. instead of two. The last train will depart from Halle Central Station at 12:45 a.m. instead of 12:08 a.m.
Dessau – Aschersleben
The RB50 towards Aschersleben will depart every two hours and will stop at Köthen for just one minute, rather than ten.
Coswig – Leipzig and Lutherstadt Wittenberg – Magdeburg
Improved connections between the RB51 and RE13 at Dessau Central Station will reduce journey times between Coswig and Leipzig by around 18 minutes. However, the connection between the RB51 and RE13 in Roßlau towards Magdeburg will be extended by around 13 minutes.
Jessen, Annaburg and Elster
The RB51 offers direct connections to Dessau-Roßlau at least every two hours. This replaces the previous through service on the S2 towards Leipzig. For connections in Falkenberg, the transfer time will increase from 15 to approximately 30 minutes.
Dessau – Halle
Due to an expansion of services on the S8, the direct connection with the S8 will be maintained from Monday to Friday every two hours, but with different departure times. At weekends, the connection will be made in Bitterfeld between the S2 and S8.
Halle – Leipzig
The frequency and, in some cases, the destination stations on the S-Bahn lines through the Leipzig City Tunnel will change. In future, the S3 will run towards Borna–Geithain instead of Wurzen–Oschatz. The changed departure times will affect the S3 and S5/S5X services to Halle-Nietleben and Halle-Trotha, respectively. At Halle Central Station, the S5/S5X will also stop on the west side of the station (platforms 1 and 2). Depending on the route, the amended timings will result in shorter or longer transfers to other lines.
Naumburg – Leipzig
The RB20 now only runs between Eisenach, Erfurt and Naumburg. Between Naumburg and Leipzig, the S6 provides the same service as the RB20. All the usual connections between the RB20, RB25 and S6 lines at Naumburg Central Station remain in place, albeit with slightly different departure times. However, the S6 will not be able to enter the Leipzig City Tunnel until the 2026 timetable comes into effect. A continuous connection from the Leipzig City Tunnel to Bad Dürrenberg, Weißenfels and Naumburg is planned for the start of the new transport contract in December 2026.
The RE15's departure times have changed by about ten minutes. Between the Saale Valley (Saalfeld–Jena) and Merseburg–Halle, connections to the RE16 will be available every two hours at Naumburg Central Station. The RB25 will also run hourly.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg – Berlin
The RE3 will depart approximately ten minutes earlier or later. At Lutherstadt Wittenberg Hbf, the transfer time to/from the S-Bahn towards Halle/Leipzig will increase to 35 minutes.
Leipzig – Zeitz – Gera
The RE12 and RB22 will no longer run every hour towards Gera, but instead at different times, to maintain connections to/from the ICE at Leipzig Hbf.
Restrictions due to construction work
Extensive restrictions will also remain in place during the 2026 timetable year due to construction work. These will particularly affect the Halle–Sangerhausen–Kassel, Halle/Leipzig–Naumburg–Jena/Erfurt, Dessau–Bad Belzig–Berlin, Magdeburg–Sangerhausen–Erfurt, Wolfsburg–Stendal–Rathenow, and Stendal–Uelzen railway lines. Replacement plans will be published alongside the new timetables to provide passengers with comprehensive information in good time.