Rail transport in Cologne: Expansion of the rail hub aims to solve bottlenecks

The view from Ascan Egerer's office, high up in the Cologne-Deutz town hall, provides a bird's-eye view of the challenge. The Cologne Mobility Minister points down at the numerous tracks that bring and consolidate rail traffic from the surrounding area on the right bank of the Rhine to the cathedral city. They run over switches, across a network of bridges, then continue at ground level to the Cologne Messe/Deutz station, and directly beyond, to the Hohenzollern Bridge, which spans the Rhine with its green arches.

"This is Cologne's rail hub. And some of its problems lie down there," says Egerer. While there are many tracks down there, they are still not enough. To get to the main station, ICE trains, regional trains, and S-Bahn trains have to cross the Hohenzollern Bridge at walking pace.

Germany's busiest railway bridge is crossed by around 1,300 trains a day on its six tracks, two of which are reserved for commuter trains. Yet it's not the bridge itself that causes the chronic congestion – it's the stations directly in front of and behind it.

Egerer is familiar with such problems from a variety of perspectives. Before taking over as head of the transport administration in 2021 at the suggestion of the Green Party, he held positions including managing director of Karlsruhe's municipal transport companies and also held senior positions at DB Regio. But Cologne is a particularly tricky case – if things get stuck here again, it will have repercussions for the rail network throughout Germany and even Europe. A Gordian Knot of the railway?

Around 360,000 people commute daily to North Rhine-Westphalia's largest city, and about half that number commute from Cologne to the surrounding area. Many still do this by car, and the highways are congested during rush hour. Regional and suburban train services in the greater metropolitan area are also overloaded, with train cancellations commonplace. This is evident in the condition of the bridges, tracks, and roads. "Cologne, like most other cities, is not built for the traffic volume we have today," says Egerer.

Jan Görnemann from the Federal Association of Local Rail Transport can confirm this with regard to rail: "The situation is worst in Cologne. But we are also absolutely at capacity in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich." DB Infrastructure Board Member Berthold Huber summed up the situation aptly: Too old, too broken, too crowded.

The regional association Go.Rheinland therefore intends to significantly expand the S-Bahn service in the greater Cologne area in the coming years – in collaboration with the state and, of course, DB InfraGo, which is responsible for rail infrastructure nationwide. Currently, the S-Bahn and regional train network in and around Cologne is designed to carry approximately 30,000 passengers per hour. The goal for this massive project is to double that by 2040 at the latest.

A key point here: In the future, the S-Bahn will run entirely on dedicated tracks so that slower and faster trains don't interfere with each other. An additional, longer platform with two tracks is needed at Deutz station and the main station. This is because delays are particularly common when boarding and disembarking at the stations. "The bottleneck is the trains standing at the platform," emphasizes Egerer. Currently, trains run at a maximum frequency of 3.3 minutes; this is planned to increase to 2.5 minutes, and with future digitalization, 2 minutes will be achievable. Longer platforms are also necessary so that longer trains can run in the future.

After the main line between Deutz and Hansaring, the expansion of the adjoining "Westspange" (Western Span) for the S-Bahn is pending. Planning is currently underway. The federal government is providing €2.3 billion for the project, with €900 million coming from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. How much the project will actually cost is unclear, as the planning approval process is still ongoing. According to DB, 16 expansion projects with additional sub-projects are currently being planned and built at the Cologne hub. Ultimately, there will be ten S-Bahn lines operating in the greater Cologne area, instead of the current five. And there will also be improvements for freight transport at the Cologne hub, which is important throughout Europe .

A march along the railway line shows that there is actually still room on the north side of Deutz station and the main station for another platform with two tracks – even if this means that the bright blue "Musical Dome" event tent, which is used as a permanent temporary structure, right next to the main station has to be demolished.

But just one stop further, at Hansaring, things get crowded. From the balconies of the neighboring buildings, one could almost jump down onto the platform. "The antidote to 'too crowded' can ultimately mean demolishing buildings," says Görnemann. Then tough negotiations ensue.

He and Egerer emphasize the importance of teamwork between the railway and the municipality in such projects. "The railway has to plan this. But it won't work without close cooperation with the local municipalities," Görnemann says. After all, the cities and municipalities have the space the railway needs – and ideally, the plans of both sides will work hand in hand.

"If I know early on where a new S-Bahn station is being built, I can coordinate the urban connection, the possible connection to the light rail system, or even the bicycle traffic planning and bicycle parking," says Egerer. "But the interaction between the modes of transport is also crucial. We have to stop thinking in sectors. Here, local rail passenger transport is managed by the states, there, public transport is managed by the municipalities, and then another program for bicycle traffic." Why can't this be done in an integrated way? he asks himself. "That would help us as a municipality a lot."

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At the same time, Cologne is also implementing an ambitious – and therefore controversial – mobility concept that aims to promote not only public transport but also pedestrian and bicycle traffic. This includes, among other things, a new, wider bridge for pedestrians and cyclists directly on the south side of the Hohenzollern Bridge. Coordination between the railway and the city is therefore extremely important during the construction phases – otherwise, in the worst case, chaotic conditions in urban traffic threaten .

Improving public transport in the city and local transport in the region also contributes to nationwide rail punctuality. "A modernized Cologne rail hub is crucial for the performance of the entire system," emphasizes Görnemann. However, the planned Germany-wide timetable will only function reliably once the last bottleneck has been eliminated – not just the one in Cologne. At the same time, he adds: "If we want to transport more people, we need to run longer trains. Trains with more capacity, including double-decker trains."

"We have climate protection goals to achieve in Germany," Egerer reminds us. The transport sector also has a responsibility. "It must do its part." Cologne aims to achieve climate neutrality as a municipality by 2035.

And another problem is pressing. "We only have one shot until the next election in 2029," fears Egerer. Things have to be underway by then. People are also demanding solutions for better mobility. "We're running out of time. People live here and now. They don't want a solution in 30 years."