Cologne reaches through: subway stations should become safer and cleaner!

Cologne reaches through: subway stations should become safer and cleaner!

In the past few weeks, the Cologne Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) has launched a comprehensive offensive to increase the safety and cleanliness in the cathedral city underground stations. In view of increasing challenges such as drug use, homelessness and neglect, the transport companies see urgent need for action. According to KStA, closing a stop during the operating break is an important test field to improve the situation.

As part of these measures, KVB, led by CEO Stefanie Haaks, plans to introduce “Passenger Manager teams”. These teams will be active in six districts and will devote themselves to specific lines and stops. Your tasks not only include the presence on site, but also to intensify grievances and contact with passengers and authorities. This initiative is intended to help promote a safe feeling in the subway stations.

safety measures in focus

The KVB also takes action by shortening the cleaning intervals at problem stops such as Neumarkt and Ebertplatz. Special cleaning agents are supposed to combat urine cloth in lifts. The use of cleaning teams is expanded in the cold season to accompany homeless people from the wards and create help. Shuttle buses are planned for emergency sleeping points and a "heat room" in a KVB bus.

Similar problems are also available in other German cities. In Munich, for example, the roller gate is lowered in front of subway stations after the end of the company, which is not perceived as a noteworthy problem at the Munich Transport Society (MVG). The condition of the subway lines in Berlin shows that drug use and violence, as in the U8, are increasingly observed in Cologne.

Together against the problems

The KVB has already taken the first steps in Cologne to intensify the cooperation with the police, regulatory office and street workers. Existing joint strips are to be expanded in order to further increase security. The pilot project to sound two stops also serves the goal of strengthening the feeling of security. In addition, some stops should be closed between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.

A similar strategy is carried out in Hamburg by closing the stations at night after checking cameras whether there are still people in the stations. In the case of cold waves, the elevator also shows openness to ideas for the accommodation of homeless people, as long as this does not cause any security problems.

The KVB realized that these challenges are a problem for society as a whole. The new structure with the passenger manager teams should come into force from January 1, 2026. Cologne may soon become a bit safer and cleaner on their tracks.