High-speed route
Hamburg – Berlin
Germany's original high-speed corridor, about 1h45
Route
Hamburg Hbf
Berlin Hbf
What you'll see
- Flat Brandenburg and Prignitz farmland and lake country for most of the ride
- Arrival into Berlin Hbf's glass-and-steel multi-level station, one of Europe's largest interchange stations
Stopover ideas
- Hamburg — Speicherstadt warehouse district and the harbour
- Berlin — Museum Island and the Brandenburg Gate
Practicalities
- Trains
- ICE 12 and other hourly ICE services on the upgraded line via Wittenberge, reaching 230 km/h on parts of the route
- Duration
- about 1h45 on the fastest direct trains
- Best time of year
- Year-round; a popular business and weekend-break route with frequent hourly departures
Which ticket?
For a single trip, a Sparpreis booked ahead usually beats a pass day. If Hamburg–Berlin is one leg among several intercity hops packed into a short trip, count it as one Rail Pass travel day.
Plan the exact connection on the journey planner or work out whether a rail pass pays off on the trip planner.
Source: Deutsche Bahn long-distance and regional timetables (bahn.de). Checked on 4 September 2026.