Starting August 1, Deutsche Bahn's 280-kilometer (174-mile) route linking Berlin to Hamburg will be completely closed for at least nine months. With up to 30,000 passengers daily, it is the most heavily used direct connection in Germany's long-distance rail transport. Around 230 regional, long-distance and freight trains travel daily on the tracks between Germany's two largest cities.

Starting Friday, the intercity passenger trains will have to take a 100-kilometer detour, while freight trains will be rerouted even further. In addition, 170 buses will be deployed daily to continue connecting the towns between Berlin and Hamburg that will be cut off from rail service. Both the construction work and the replacement transport will be complex and potentially prone to disruption.

On Thursday, Deutsche Bahn reported a loss of €760 million for the first half of the year. The company billed this as progress, as losses had been reduced by almost €1 billion compared to the previous year.

"Deutsche Bahn is facing its biggest crisis in 30 years," CEO Richard Lutz admitted in May. "We cannot ensure stable operations on a fault-prone and outdated........

© Deutsche Welle