Cologne Central Station will be closed from November 14th – travelers will have to reschedule!

Cologne Central Station will be closed from November 14th – travelers will have to reschedule!

If you want to travel by train to or from Cologne in the next few weeks, you should think through your plans carefully and prepare for some significant changes. On November 14th at 9 p.m., Cologne Central Station will be completely closed to regional and long-distance traffic until November 24th at 5 a.m. This is made necessary by the commissioning of the second construction stage of Deutsche Bahn's new electronic signal box, which is being driven forward with an investment of around 360 million euros in the infrastructure. The first construction stage was already converted for S-Bahn traffic at the end of 2021, but there are now massive impacts on long-distance traffic, as 24rhein.de reports.

Travelers have to prepare for various timetable changes. For example, the ICE trains to Aachen and Brussels will stop in Cologne-Ehrenfeld instead of at the main station as usual. Trains towards Amsterdam divert to Cologne Messe/Deutz. For Berlin travelers there are only two-hourly connections to and from Cologne Messe/Deutz; all further trains are cancelled. If you want to go to Frankfurt, you will also have to accept changes, as the connections only run via Cologne Messe/Deutz. There have also been drastic reductions in services to Bonn, Koblenz and Mainz, and some trains only stop in Cologne South.

Limited regional transport

Things are also getting tight in regional transport. During the closure, only the S-Bahn lines and the RB 25 will run. Important stops on most regional express lines will be rerouted, which will significantly affect the connection between the western and eastern districts of Cologne. Replacement stops are planned in Neuss, Dormagen and Leverkusen, and there will be partial cancellations on many regional train lines. For the nights of 18/19. and 19/20. November there will also be an eight-hour complete closure of S-Bahn traffic, with only a few rail replacement services.

These restructurings are the result of extensive work that has seen the renewal of 176 new signals, 208 kilometers of cable, 11 new signal bridges and 2 switches over the last four years. In November, the operation of around 1,300 trains will also be organized with the new control center in Cologne city. Here, Deutsche Bahn will make important progress in the efficiency and safety of rail traffic.

Entertainment on the big screen

Times of India However, the audience has to make compromises here too: the depth in Taka's transformation into Scar is somewhat lacking, and the soundtrack by Lin-Manuel Miranda is not entirely convincing compared to Elton John and Tim Rice's original compositions.

Fortunately, there is also reason to be happy outside of the train station. Whether traveling or enjoying a film – the next few weeks will bring both challenges and exciting new experiences for the people of Cologne!