Deutsche Bahn (DB) continues to invest in the infrastructure of the Rhine-Main region for more reliable traffic and more capacity. Wherever construction is underway, there will of course be disruptions, train cancellations and other effects on passengers. Commuters and schoolchildren are particularly affected. To minimize the impact on them, DB will focus on bundling numerous individual projects during the Easter vacations and will work increasingly at night. From March 31 to April 24 (start of operations), DB will be renewing the tracks and switches in the Frankfurt City Tunnel, the main line of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn. In addition, there will be work in the stations in the City Tunnel Offenbach. Due to the demanding construction workload, the S-Bahn can not drive the tunnels from Frankfurt Hauptwache to Offenbach East or Frankfurt South during the entire Easter vacations. Preparations for the work will begin on March 5, especially during the night hours. In parallel, from 31 March to 17 April the construction of its own tracks for the S6 between Frankfurt West and Bad Vilbel continues. In addition, construction work is required here from February 3 to March 13 in the Bad Vilbel and Eschersheim area. Modernization and expansion of the rail network in the greater Frankfurt area will involve line closures and extensive changes to the timetable. The main station can still be reached from all directions during the construction phases.
During the Easter vacations, buses will be used as a substitute for the S-Bahn trains in the Offenbach - Frankfurt section. These will run from Offenbach to various end points in Frankfurt every five minutes or so. In addition, the S8 runs every half hour from Offenbach Ost to Frankfurt-Süd/Flughafen and the S1 to Offenbach Hauptbahnhof (main train station) or partially to Frankfurt. During the construction work for the S6, the S-Bahn trains between Groß Karben and Frankfurt West/Hauptbahnhof will be replaced by regional or express buses, each running every 30 minutes. The regional trains to/from Central Hesse run via Hanau to Frankfurt Main Station or terminate in Hanau, Frankfurt South or Offenbach. In addition, DB operates trains that commute hourly on weekdays from Friedberg via Friedrichsdorf to Frankfurt and back.
The ICE and IC will be diverted via Kassel, Fulda and Darmstadt during the first two Easter holiday weeks. Some trains will not be able to stop as usual at Frankfurt Central Station.
Deutsche Bahn asks all passengers for their understanding for the resulting restrictions and inconveniences during the construction work and recommends that they contact www.rmv.de, www.bahn.de or in the DB Navigator for information on travel and connection options. All connections are published in the passenger media of DB and RMV. There, it is also displayed what alternatives there are for travelers, for example, by subway, streetcar or bus. A detailed overview of timetable changes and replacement services will also be available from mid-February on the website: http://bahn.de/ersatzverkehr-rhein-main. Starting in March, posters, notices, signage and information sheets will also be available on site. DB and RMV also provide information via display boards in stations and S-Bahn trains.
Effects of Easter construction sites on train traffic at a glance
S-Bahn
S-Bahn traffic is interrupted during construction work between Frankfurt Hauptwache and Frankfurt Süd/Offenbach Ost. For the cancelled trains, a replacement bus service will be offered.
- The S1, S2 and S9 lines run from Wiesbaden or Niedernhausen to Frankfurt Hauptwache. Line S1 additionally operates from Frankfurt to Rödermark-Oberroden, line S2 between Offenbach Ost and Dietzenbach.
- Lines S3 and S4 operate from Bad Soden/Kronberg to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof and from Frankfurt Süd to Langen/Darmstadt.
- Line S5 runs between Friedrichsdorf and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.
- For the S6 trains, there is a replacement service with buses between Friedberg and Frankfurt from March 31 to April 3. From April 3 to 17 inclusive, DB will also use buses in the section Groß Karben - Frankfurt. In the last Easter holiday week (April 18 to 24), the S6 between Friedberg and Frankfurt West is back on the road regularly.
- Passengers on the S7 line can use the S-Bahn in the usual way.
- The S8 runs from Wiesbaden to Hanau and is diverted between Frankfurt Stadium and Offenbach East via Frankfurt South.
Regional traffic
- RE 30 (Kassel - Marburg - Giessen - Frankfurt): In the period from 3. February to March 12, trains will run on weekends via alternative routes. Between March 31 and April 17, DB will reroute trains from Friedberg via Hanau to Frankfurt Central Station. It comes in each case to longer travel times and stop cancellations.
- RB 34 (Glauburg-Stockheim - Bad Vilbel - Frankfurt): on weekends from February 3 to March 12, the trains start/end in Niederdorfelden and between March 6 and 10 in Bad Vilbel. On weekends from March 31 to April 17, trains will start/end in Niederdorfelden; Monday through Friday, trains will depart/end in Bad Vilbel. DB will set up a substitute bus service for passengers in each case.
- RB 48 (Nidda - Beienheim - Friedberg - Frankfurt): from March 6 to 10, trains will run via detours, which is why stops in Frankfurt West and Bad Vilbel cannot be offered. Between March 31 and April 17, trains will end in Friedberg. DB is also setting up an hourly shuttle service for passengers, which runs Monday to Friday between Friedberg and Frankfurt via Friedberg South, Rosbach, Rodheim, Burgholzhausen and Friedrichsdorf.
- RB 40/41 (Treysa/Dillenburg - Giessen - Friedberg - Frankfurt): from February 3 to March 12, the trains will be diverted on weekends and from March 6 to 10 daily and turn around in Hanau main station. This will result in longer travel times and cancellations. In the period from March 31 to April 17, trains will run daily to Hanau with service to all intermediate stops.
- RB 49 (Giessen - Friedberg - Hanau): From February 3 to March 12, the trains are canceled on weekends, from March 31 to April 17 generally between Friedberg and Hanau. Passengers can alternatively use the RB 40/41.
Long-distance
There are schedule deviations for ICE/IC during the first two weeks of the vacations:
- ICE line Hamburg - Hanover - Giessen - Frankfurt - Karlsruhe: DB reroutes the trains via the route Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe - Fulda - Frankfurt South - Darmstadt. As a result, the ICEs cannot stop at Frankfurt Central Station and on the Main-Weser-Bahn (Giessen - Friedberg - Frankfurt). Instead, the ICE stop in Frankfurt South.
- IC line Münster - Dortmund - Siegen - Wetzlar - Frankfurt: trains start/end in Friedberg during the construction work. The IC do not stop in Frankfurt West and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.
- ICE line Dortmund - Cologne - Frankfurt - Nuremberg - Ingolstadt - Munich: DB is rerouting trains between Frankfurt Airport long-distance station and Aschaffenburg on a large scale. They do not stop in Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.
In the last week of the Easter holidays, trains are running regularly according to schedule.
Infos about the construction work between Frankfurt Hauptwache and Offenbach East or. Frankfurt South during the Easter closure break (March 31 - April 24)
The rail infrastructure in the S-Bahn tunnel is used daily by about 1,100 trains. To ensure that traffic can continue to roll reliably over the tracks on this traffic artery in the coming years, DB is replacing nine kilometers of rail during the Easter vacations and renewing four switches at each of the Frankfurt Konstablerwache and Frankfurt Mühlberg stations. Two further points are being renewed at the Schlachthof junction, where the Frankfurt City Tunnel branches off to Frankfurt South and Offenbach. At the same time, DB is working on platforms, fire protection systems and tunnel walls in the Offenbach City Tunnel. Tunnel emergency lighting and escape and rescue routes are also on the agenda for renewal. In addition, the overhead contact line systems will be inspected and the four weir gates below the Main River will be maintained.
DB will begin preparations as early as the night hours from March 5. The skilled workers assemble here, among other things, switch large parts and install a weathering system. This will protect DB employees and contractors as well as passengers in the tunnel stations that will remain in use during the work. The ventilation system discharges and filters the emissions generated during construction. This is being done via the Frankfurt Ostendstrasse S-Bahn station, which will therefore have to be completely closed from March 27 (1:40 a.m.) to April 28 (4:20 a.m.). By May 8, DB will be dismantling the ventilation system again, which will require several more nighttime closures. During the summer vacations, DB will continue the work in the area of Frankfurt Südbahnhof. The DB informs about this again separately.
Infos on the construction work in the project "Own tracks for the S6" during the Easter closure break (31. March to April 17)
DB kompakt is carrying out a wide range of work during the spring 2023 closure break. A large part of this will be concentrated on the area around the stop in Eschersheim. Here, the next almost two kilometers of new track can be put into operation after completion of the construction work in April. In addition, DB is dismantling existing tracks in Eschersheim and carrying out earthworks, track construction and overhead line work. Also on the agenda in April is the partial demolition of the existing platform and the construction of noise barriers. In the Bad Vilbel area, deep drainage and work on the overhead lines will be carried out north of the station. Along the entire route, DB is founding the masts for new train signals at various points.
The S6 will receive its own tracks between Frankfurt West and Bad Vilbel and is expected to roll on them more reliably, punctually and at a regular interval in the future. Regional and long-distance traffic will also benefit from the additional capacity on the line.
