Railway traffic on the Cologne-Hagen connection will be disrupted for a week from the day after Christmas for prep work ahead of a big renovation project scheduled for the first half of 2026.
Long-distance ICE trains and freight traffic will be diverted while many regional (RE) trains will be cancelled with passengers transferred to replacement buses. In many cases, travellers must expect significantly extended travel times.
Where will there be disruptions?
According to Deutsche Bahn (DB), work is being done on the Cologne-Hagen line, which is one of the most important transport axes in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Preparatory work is to be carried out on this line from December 26th until January 2nd, during which time there will be no long-distance trains between Cologne, Wuppertal and Hagen.
ICE trains from Cologne to Berlin and Hamburg will be diverted via Düsseldorf, Duisburg and the Ruhr area - this will take about 20 to 40 minutes longer.
No ICE or IC trains stop in Wuppertal and Solingen, and only a few in Hagen.Â
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In regional traffic, the route from Cologne to Wuppertal will remain completely closed. Between Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Hagen, some regional trains can be diverted via the S-Bahn tracks and are therefore not cancelled completely.
Changes or cancellations are expected on the following lines: RE4, RE7, RE13, RE49, RB48, S7, S8, S9 and S28.
Passengers on many of these connections can transfer to replacement buses (Ersatzbusse), which will drive on the motorway between Wuppertal and Cologne, connecting the main stations.
However, the journey by bus will take significantly longer in some cases. The journey from Wuppertal to Cologne, for example, will take around one and a half hours as opposed to the usual 34 minutes by train.
Some connections, such as those on S-Bahn trains, are set to continue running during this time.
To see how to get to your destination despite the construction work, DB recommends checking online ahead of your journey. You can check the latest updates in regional traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia at zuginfo.nrw and long-distance rail traffic updates at DB's website.
Longer closures in 2026
The works on the Cologne-Hagen line are the final preparations for the general renovation on the same set of tracks set to take place from February 6th to July 10th. During that time the 65-kilometer long-distance and regional line will be closed for five months for the modernisation of tracks, switches and bridges as well as the installation of noise barriers.
Deutsche Bahn suggests that the disruptions, while painful at the time, will ultimately allow for the revitalisation of the country's railway infrastructure, which should help improve it's poor punctuality record.
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The project is the next in a series of big modernisation projects that Deutsche Bahn has planned for the coming years. Overlapping with works in North Rhine-Westphalia, DB is also in the process of renovating tracks linking Berlin and Hamburg.
The railway is planning to spend 800 million euros on these and further renovations in the coming years. The Cologne-Hagen project marks the first time that the general renovation has been implemented on a line in North Rhine-Westphalia.
With reporting by dpa.
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