On the night of June 23 to 24, 2026, train passengers in Germany had to be very patient. The trains no longer left the stations. After a nationwide major disruption late Tuesday evening, Deutsche Bahn now reports that train services have "largely resumed smoothly". However, restrictions may still occur.
Why did the trains stop running?
At around 10:30 PM on June 23, Deutsche Bahn announced that due to a malfunction of the digital train radio system GSM-R, "all trains would temporarily be held at stations". The company promised that technicians would work "at full capacity" to resolve the problem. Shortly after midnight, the corporation announced that it would issue taxi and hotel vouchers to passengers and, where possible, provide stationary trains for shelter.
It was also announced that the cause of the disruption had been identified. Less than an hour later, an update declared that the disruption had been resolved and train services would gradually resume. On Wednesday morning, the company finally stated that "train services had largely resumed smoothly in the morning". However, isolated restrictions could still occur.
Deutsche Bahn has not yet disclosed the exact technical cause of the problems with the GSM-R radio system. A statement by Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla to the "Bild" newspaper suggests that the trigger is apparently still being investigated. "After the 90-minute disruption, all trains are now running again. We were able to stabilize the situation with an emergency system. We now need to clarify the cause", Palla is quoted in an article published Wednesday morning.
#S1, #S15, #S2, #S3, #S41, #S42, #S46, #S47, #S5, #S7, #S8, #S85, #S9: Bisher sind keine größeren Verspätungen mehr feststellbar. Hoffen wir, dass es so bleibt. https://t.co/m0vjVu2W7s
— S-Bahn Berlin (@SBahnBerlin) June 24, 2026
Problems in regional local transportation as well
According to media reports, the nationwide disruption also partially led to problems in regional and commuter rail services. During the night, the S-Bahn Berlin account announced on the social media platform X that the commuter trains were running again: "Please expect that delays and train cancellations may still occur on lines #S1, #S15, #S2, #S3, #S41, #S42, #S46, #S47, #S5, #S7, #S8, #S85, and #S9, and check your train connections before departure via the electronic timetable information tomorrow morning as well." In the early morning, the company announced that in this regard, "no major delays were detectable anymore".
