Massive railway chaos in North Rhine-Westphalia: Cologne main station will be closed for 10 days!

Massive railway chaos in North Rhine-Westphalia: Cologne main station will be closed for 10 days!

Travelers in and around Cologne are currently experiencing a challenging time characterized by massive disruptions to rail traffic. A defective signal box in Cologne-Kalk has significantly affected the connection to important long-distance and regional trains. While the situation appears to be easing on October 15, 2025 after a day of considerable chaos, local transport will continue to be affected by slightly delayed connections for the time being. Thousands of commuters and travelers in North Rhine-Westphalia are affected by these problems, especially because of the upcoming almost complete closure of Cologne Central Station in November.

As the West German General Newspaper reported, the closure of the main station will take place from November 14th to 24th, 2025, which will lead to significant diversions and possible train cancellations. Restrictions are to be expected, particularly on long-distance transport connections. Deutsche Bahn has announced that trains will mainly be rerouted via Deutz station during this time and that some connections will not go to Cologne.

Details of the faults

The disruptions caused by the defective signal box affect a large number of trains. The affected long-distance trains that serve routes such as Cologne – Frankfurt/Main and Cologne – Brussels deserve particular attention. Numerous regional trains are also affected, including the RE 6 and RE 8. Travelers who rely on these connections should be prepared for delays.

• Betroffene Fernzüge:
• ICE Köln – Frankfurt/Main – Süddeutschland
• ICE Amsterdam – Köln – Frankfurt/Main
• ICE Brüssel – Köln – Frankfurt/Main
• Betroffene Regionalzüge:
• RE 6: Köln/Bonn Flughafen–Neuss–Düsseldorf–Duisburg–Essen–Dortmund–Hamm–Bielefeld–Minden
• RE 8: Mönchengladbach–Köln–Köln/Bonn Flughafen–Troisdorf–Bonn-Beuel–Koblenz
• RE 9: Aachen–Köln–Troisdorf–Au (Sieg)–Betzdorf–Siegen
• RB 25: Köln–Overath–Engelskirchen–Marienheide–Meinerzhagen–Lüdenscheid
• RB 27: Mönchengladbach–Rommerskirchen–Köln–Troisdorf–Bonn-Beuel–Koblenz
• S 6: Köln-Worringen–Köln–Düsseldorf–Ratingen–Essen
• S 11: Bergisch-Gladbach–Köln–Neuss–Düsseldorf–Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal
• S 12: Au (Sieg)–Hennef–Troisdorf–Köln/Bonn Flughafen–Köln–Horrem
• S 19: Au (Sieg)–Hennef

New challenges and solutions

A promising step is imminent: The conversion and commissioning of a new electronic signal box is scheduled to take place from November 14th to 24th, 2025. This measure is part of a larger plan to renew the railway infrastructure in Cologne and is intended to ensure more stability and reliability in train traffic in the long term. In the last four years, 176 new signals and 208 renewed switches were installed and 208 kilometers of cable were laid to modernize the technology. Nevertheless, Deutsche Bahn expects that train handling at the main station will not increase significantly.

In order to offer affected travelers alternative options, Deutsche Bahn recommends finding out about current connections before starting your journey and allowing more time if necessary. On bahn.de Travelers can view up-to-date information on disruptions and train cancellations as well as track the real-time positions of trains.

In addition to the problems in Cologne, there are also train cancellations in Hamburg due to cable damage, so that the entire region is struggling with rail traffic difficulties. The coming weeks promise to be challenging, but those responsible are doing everything they can to resolve the disruptions as quickly as possible and restore connections between the cities.