Germany’s rail network is slowly creaking back to life after one of the most disruptive winter storms in a decade. Deutsche Bahn (DB) confirmed on Sunday, 11 January 2026, that around two-thirds of long-distance trains in the country’s north are running again, up from zero just 36 hours earlier, when the operator took the unprecedented step of suspending all ICE and IC services north of Hanover. Nationwide, DB says capacity has climbed to roughly 75 percent, although speed restrictions, rolling-stock re-positioning and continued snow-clearance mean timetables remain fragile.
The crisis began on Friday evening when “Elli”—the local name for the pan-European winter storm system Goretti—dumped up to 25 cm of snow on parts of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. Gusts above 90 km/h created metre-high drifts that buried track points and damaged overhead catenary. With dozens of trains stranded in depots, DB opted for a blanket suspension to prevent passengers being trapped on the open line. The decision stranded thousands of travellers at Hamburg-Altona, Hanover Hbf and Berlin-Spandau, forcing the company to set up emergency sleeping coaches and provide hot drinks.
For international travelers juggling rearranged rail tickets and last-minute flight alternatives, visa paperwork can add another layer of stress. VisaHQ’s online service (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) streamlines visa applications for Germany and neighboring countries, letting passengers upload documents, track status, and get real-time support—even from a station lounge—so documentation doesn’t become yet another obstacle when plans change.
![German Rail Services Gradually Resume After Storm Elli, but Business Travelers Face Ongoing Delays]()
By Sunday morning, engineering teams had cleared most mainlines, but DB board member Evelyn Palla warned that the recovery would be “stop-start” as new snow showers sweep through early next week. Key north-south axes such as Hamburg-Berlin and Bremen-Cologne are open, yet the Westerland–Hamburg and Norddeich–NRW corridors remain closed, severing links to popular offshore islands and North Sea ports. Trains that are running must crawl at 160 km/h instead of the usual 250 km/h, extending journey times by up to an hour and playing havoc with tightly-timed onward connections.
For corporate mobility managers, the disruption illustrates the importance of multimodal contingency planning. Companies with employees on assignment in the north have been advised to switch to domestic air routes where available and to allow at least half a day of buffer when connecting to intercontinental flights out of Frankfurt. DB has extended its flexible re-booking policy and will refund unused segments of BahnCard 100 subscriptions on request. However, because the strike-bound GDL union remains locked in wage talks, some observers fear that industrial action later this quarter could collide with lingering weather-related repairs, creating a perfect storm for travellers.
Looking ahead, the Federal Transport Ministry has ordered an after-action review into DB’s extreme-weather protocols. Early suggestions include pre-positioning diesel locomotives at critical hubs, expanding snow-clearing train fleets, and accelerating the roll-out of heated switch systems. While those measures will take years, business travellers can expect at least another 48-72 hours of patchy service and should monitor DB’s ICE portal or corporate travel alerts before committing to time-sensitive journeys.
The crisis began on Friday evening when “Elli”—the local name for the pan-European winter storm system Goretti—dumped up to 25 cm of snow on parts of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. Gusts above 90 km/h created metre-high drifts that buried track points and damaged overhead catenary. With dozens of trains stranded in depots, DB opted for a blanket suspension to prevent passengers being trapped on the open line. The decision stranded thousands of travellers at Hamburg-Altona, Hanover Hbf and Berlin-Spandau, forcing the company to set up emergency sleeping coaches and provide hot drinks.
For international travelers juggling rearranged rail tickets and last-minute flight alternatives, visa paperwork can add another layer of stress. VisaHQ’s online service (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) streamlines visa applications for Germany and neighboring countries, letting passengers upload documents, track status, and get real-time support—even from a station lounge—so documentation doesn’t become yet another obstacle when plans change.
By Sunday morning, engineering teams had cleared most mainlines, but DB board member Evelyn Palla warned that the recovery would be “stop-start” as new snow showers sweep through early next week. Key north-south axes such as Hamburg-Berlin and Bremen-Cologne are open, yet the Westerland–Hamburg and Norddeich–NRW corridors remain closed, severing links to popular offshore islands and North Sea ports. Trains that are running must crawl at 160 km/h instead of the usual 250 km/h, extending journey times by up to an hour and playing havoc with tightly-timed onward connections.
For corporate mobility managers, the disruption illustrates the importance of multimodal contingency planning. Companies with employees on assignment in the north have been advised to switch to domestic air routes where available and to allow at least half a day of buffer when connecting to intercontinental flights out of Frankfurt. DB has extended its flexible re-booking policy and will refund unused segments of BahnCard 100 subscriptions on request. However, because the strike-bound GDL union remains locked in wage talks, some observers fear that industrial action later this quarter could collide with lingering weather-related repairs, creating a perfect storm for travellers.
Looking ahead, the Federal Transport Ministry has ordered an after-action review into DB’s extreme-weather protocols. Early suggestions include pre-positioning diesel locomotives at critical hubs, expanding snow-clearing train fleets, and accelerating the roll-out of heated switch systems. While those measures will take years, business travellers can expect at least another 48-72 hours of patchy service and should monitor DB’s ICE portal or corporate travel alerts before committing to time-sensitive journeys.
