Trains to Hamburg again? Sort of.

Earlier this year, I shared how excited I was for a direct service between Amsterdam and Hamburg by GoVolta. This rail link could have also provided a hop to Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia, especially as it lined up with GoVolta’s expansion plans. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long and the service to Hamburg was cancelled only three months after starting. According to Thibault Lapers from mobilithib in an interview with GoVolta’s co-CEO, Hessel Winkelman, the route had low demand and the company faced issues with their rail operator. GoVolta instead focused their rolling stock on the more popular Amsterdam-Berlin service.

ICE to Hamburg

This might not be all so bad for eager Hamburg travelers. Later this year there are extensive track works scheduled between Hannover and Berlin, which is scheduled to last until the end of 2027. This is part of a broader iniative to modernise the tracks, switches, stations and other infrastructure along the line.

While inconvenient, because of this NS will have to divert their ICE service between Amsterdam and Berlin through Hamburg! This does add an extra hour to travellers destined for Berlin but the announcement from NS remains positive about the new destination and travel possibilities¹. Four daily trains will depart to Berlin via Hamburg and three will depart destined for Hannover where travelers can make other transfers. This will be in place until the rail works are completed in December 2027.

The NS service to Berlin-Spandau will start on 2 October 2026 and stops at Hilversum, Amsersfoort Centraal, Apeldoorn, Deventer, Hengelo, Bad Bentheim, Rhein, Osnabrück Altstadt, Hamburg-Harbrug, Hamburg-Bergedorf and Ludwigslust. Travelers can still expect to ride the new ICE 3neo trains that are used on the more direct route to Berlin today. The total travel time is expected to be 6 hours and 38 minutes, that’s almost an hour longer than the previous 5 hours and 45-minute journey. These stops change slightly starting 23 December 2026, as the train will stop at Bremen Hbf, and Hamburg Hbf, tickets to these stations can only be booked starting 14 October.

The track works actually favour GoVolta slightly as their travel times to Berlin remain roughly the same, at around 7 hours and 25 minutes, although still longer than the NS service but now close enough to be worth considering if time constrained with the additional benefit of a lower price. One thing I did find odd is that the NS International travel planner shows GoVolta trains will also be diverting to Bremen and Hamburg, but the International Railway Journal confirms the diversion will be through Braunshweig and Magdeburg instead. Would be a little funny if they did indeed go through Hamburg though.

Future night trains

It’s clear the diversion to Hamburg for NS is temporary, but I hope it provides an indicator for potential passenger demand that might open up future destinations, espcially for trains further towards Scandanavia. That being said, earlier this week European Sleeper filed a notification with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, ACM, where they plan to run trains three times a week between Brussels and Malmö and back starting 1 April 2028. This service would depart in the evening and travel through Antwerpen-Centraal, Roosendall, Rotterdam Centraal, Den Haag HS, Amsterdam Centraal, Amersfoort, Deventer, Hamburg Hbf, Padborg and Copenhagen Lfhvn. It’s not decided where they would include stopping services, but dropping off passengers at Hamburg Hbf around four in the morning wouldn’t be ideal. On the return trip, a stop at Hamburg would be around midnight, not the greatest either.

European Sleeper plans to transport up to 750 passengers across 14 carriages with seats, berts and sleeping compartements.

Jon Worth is of the impression this will likely happen, as European Sleeper is partnering with RDC Dutschland for the operations. Exciting stuff!