The railway is closing the busy route from Cologne via Wuppertal to Hagen for a week. From Friday evening (December 26th/9 p.m.) until January 2nd, there will be no trains on the 65 kilometer long section. Travelers in the region have to switch to buses and long-distance trains are being rerouted over a wide area. The railway wants to use the week to prepare for the major general renovation next year.
From February 6th to July 10th, the 65 kilometer long long-distance and regional route will be closed for more than months. During this time, tracks, switches and bridges will be renewed, noise barriers will be built and train stations will be modernized.
One of the most important traffic axes in North Rhine-Westphalia
According to Deutsche Bahn, the route is one of the most important traffic axes in North Rhine-Westphalia. ICE, regional and freight trains travel there at frequent intervals. It is therefore important that the rail network becomes more efficient. The railway is planning to do this at a cost of 800 million euros. It is the first time that the new railway concept of comprehensive general renovation is being implemented on a route in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Replacement buses and diversions
In preparation for this general renovation, there will be no long-distance trains running between Cologne, Wuppertal and Hagen from the evening of Boxing Day until January 2nd. ICE trains from Cologne to Berlin and Hamburg are being rerouted via Düsseldorf, Duisburg and the Ruhr area – making the journey take around 20 to 40 minutes longer. No long-distance trains stop in Wuppertal and Solingen, only a few in Hagen. IC connections are also completely eliminated in this section.
In regional traffic, the route from Cologne to Wuppertal is completely closed. Between Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Hagen, some regional trains can be rerouted via the S-Bahn tracks and are therefore not completely canceled. Nevertheless, there are changes or cancellations on numerous lines. Lines RE4, RE7, RE13, RE49, RB48, S7, S8, S9 and S28 are affected.
Replacement buses will be used instead of trains. Like S-Bahn trains, some are supposed to stop at all stations on the route. According to Deutsche Bahn, express buses are also in use, which travel on the motorway between Wuppertal and Cologne and only connect the largest stations.
However, the journey by bus takes significantly longer than by train. It takes a good hour and a half to get from Wuppertal to Cologne instead of 34 minutes by train.
To see how you can get to your destination despite construction work, the railway recommends online information. All changes have already been incorporated there.
