Germany will transition to summer time on the night of Sunday, 30 March. As part of this change, Deutsche Bahn (DB) will advance approximately 120,000 clocks by one hour at stations, ticket machines, offices, as well as in information and security systems. The adjustment will take place at 2 a.m., when clocks will move directly to 3 a.m.
Travellers using DB‘s online services, including bahn.de and the DB Navigator app, will see the updated departure and arrival times reflecting the summer schedule.
The transition occurs while train operations continue. As a result, S-Bahn services scheduled between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. will be effectively omitted without passengers noticing. Freight and long-distance night trains, which typically have extended stopovers or adjusted schedules, will see travel times shortened accordingly on the night of the time change.
How are the DB clocks adjusted
DB clocks receive updates via the DCF77 time signal transmitter, located in Mainflingen near Aschaffenburg. This long-wave transmitter is synchronised with the atomic clock of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, ensuring precise and automatic timekeeping.
At approximately 4,500 smaller stations, over 6,500 dynamic display boards provide departure information. These, like many smartphones and computers, update the time automatically.
Germany’s standardised timekeeping with Central European Time (CET) dates back to 1893, following an initiative led by the railway industry. Prior to this, individual cities set their clocks independently.
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