Hamburg relocates Altona long-distance station to Diebsteich

Hamburg-Altona station is being completely relocated to the new Diebsteich site - the second such relocation in Altona's history. Construction has been underway since the July 2021 groundbreaking; the new Diebsteich S-Bahn station (capacity up to 12,500 passengers/day) has already been operating since February 2025. According to the official project site, the full long-distance and regional station with six additional tracks is scheduled for completion with the December 2029 timetable change; investment volume is about EUR 548 million (earlier plans had targeted 2027). Update (1 Apr 2026): The federal government states, citing DB AG, that total costs of EUR 550–600 million are currently expected for moving the long-distance and regional station of Hamburg-Altona to Diebsteich (reply 21/4907 to a parliamentary question by Die Linke). Funding comes mainly from LuFV (performance and financing agreement) funds, DB's own funds and Hamburg funds, with the split to follow once costs are finalised; proceeds from land sales flow back into the project via DB's own-funds quota (LOK Report, 1 Apr 2026). Update (14 Aug 2026): DB InfraGO has put the new Altona electronic interlocking (ETCS-ready, the first use of combined signals in Altona) into service; it is to take over further areas step by step and, together with the station in late 2029, control all signalling on the Verbindungsbahn. The Langenfelde flyover was blown up in late July 2026 and has been fully dismantled since the end of July, which starts construction of the long-distance and regional platforms, first platform 4 (end of 2027), then 2 and 3. The December 2029 date for the new station is unchanged. (LOK Report, 14 Aug 2026)