As of: March 23, 2024, 5:02 a.m
By: Jonah Reule
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Deutsche Bahn is closing the route between Düsseldorf and Essen during the Easter holidays.
Travelers are faced with a number of cancellations in long-distance and regional transport.
Cologne – Only a few more days until it’s Easter.
With the start of the Easter holidays, the travel season also begins for many people.
Full trains are not uncommon around the holidays.
The good news: Travelers don't have to worry about further rail strikes by the train drivers' union GDL at the moment.
But in North Rhine-Westphalia there are still tough times for rail travelers during the Easter holidays.
Because Deutsche Bahn is opening a new major construction site in the Ruhr area during the Easter holidays.
To this end, the railway line between Düsseldorf and Essen will be closed for more than two weeks from Friday (March 22nd).
The result: almost no trains run around Duisburg anymore.
In local and long-distance transport, there will be cancellations and diversions on a number of lines during the Easter holidays.
This also affects ICE connections to all parts of Germany.
And anyone who wants to travel to the Netherlands must also expect restrictions and cancellations.
Railway construction site around Duisburg – compact
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What?
The railway line is closed between Düsseldorf and Essen.
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When?
From Friday, March 22, 9 p.m. to Monday, April 8, 5 a.m.
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Impact?
There are cancellations and diversions on many S-Bahn lines, regional trains and ICE and IC lines.
Railway closure between Düsseldorf and Essen: Impact on long-distance traffic at a glance
Due to the major construction site in the Ruhr area, some trains will not stop at Cologne Central Station during the Easter holidays.
© Rüdiger Wölk/Imago
The closure of the railway line between Düsseldorf and Essen has, among other things, to do with the work carried out by Autobahn GmbH on the Kaiserberg junction in Duisburg.
The motorway junction will be renewed.
This work and the DB's construction work "lead to disruptions to train traffic on the routes between Duisburg and Essen or Oberhausen and on to Düsseldorf," the railway said in a statement.
During the Easter holidays there will be major changes to the timetable on many long-distance routes.
These are:
Cologne – Berlin route
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ICE line Düsseldorf – Essen – Hamm – Hanover – Berlin:
The trains only run between Essen and Berlin.
This eliminates the stops at Düsseldorf main station, Düsseldorf airport and Duisburg main station.
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ICE line Cologne – Wuppertal – Hamm – Hanover – Berlin:
The trains run differently from or to Düsseldorf.
There is no stop at Cologne main station.
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ICE line Aachen/Cologne – Dortmund – Münster/Bielefeld – Hanover – Berlin:
Due to the construction work, the trains are being run on different routes through the Ruhr area.
From or to Dortmund the lines run on their usual route.
Trains that normally go via Münster only run between Münster and Berlin.
There are no stops between Münster and Aachen.
Route Stuttgart – Middle Rhine Valley – NRW – Norddeich Mole
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IC line Stuttgart – Cologne – Münster – Norddeich Mole:
The trains will be rerouted between Münster and Düsseldorf.
This means that the Duisburg, Oberhausen, Gelsenkirchen, Wanne-Eickel and Recklinghausen stops are no longer available.
Trains that normally start or end in Koblenz only run between Cologne and Norddeich Mole.
Therefore, there are no stops in Koblenz, Andernach, Remagen and Bonn on these trips.
Route Austria – Passau – Middle Rhine Valley – NRW/Hamburg
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ICE line Passau – Nuremberg – Cologne – Münster – Hamburg:
Trains on this line only run between Passau and Cologne and between Dortmund and Hamburg.
This means there are no stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen.
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ICE line Vienna – Passau – Nuremberg – Frankfurt – Cologne – Dortmund:
The trains only run between Vienna and Cologne.
This eliminates the stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund.
Southern Germany/Switzerland route – Cologne-Rhine/Main high-speed route – NRW/Hamburg
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ICE line Munich – Nuremberg – Frankfurt – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Essen/Dortmund:
The trains on this line only run on
the section between Munich and Düsseldorf.
There are no stops in Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund.
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ICE line Interlaken/Zurich/Basel – Mannheim – Cologne – Dortmund – Hamburg:
The trains will be rerouted between Cologne and Dortmund.
This means there are no stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Bochum.
Instead they stop in Solingen, Wuppertal and Hagen.
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ICE line Munich – Stuttgart – Mannheim – Cologne – Dortmund:
Trains on this line only run on the section between Munich and Düsseldorf.
This eliminates the stops in Duisburg, Essen Hbf, Bochum and Dortmund Hbf.
Route NRW – Kassel/Hannover – East Germany
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IC line Cologne – Düsseldorf – Dortmund – Kassel – Erfurt – Gera:
One of the two pairs of trains will be rerouted between Cologne and Dortmund.
There are no stops in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Bochum.
Instead, the pair of trains stops in Solingen.
The second pair of trains only runs on the section between Hamm and Gera.
Therefore there are no additional stops in Cologne and Dortmund.
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IC line Stuttgart – Mainz – Cologne – Dortmund – Hanover – Magdeburg – Dresden:
The trains only run on the sections between Stuttgart and Cologne and between Dortmund and Dresden.
This eliminates the Solingen, Wuppertal and Hagen stops.
Route NRW – Netherlands
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ICE line Frankfurt – Cologne – Duisburg – Arnhem – Amsterdam:
The trains on this line will be rerouted between Duisburg and Arnhem.
This eliminates it
Stop in Oberhausen main station.
Source: Deutsche Bahn; Information provided without guarantee
Note: Travelers can find out about the exact changes in the railway's online information systems and on the platforms.
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Railway construction site in the Ruhr area: All restrictions on local and regional transport at a glance
There are massive restrictions in regional transport.
© Deutsche Bahn AG
In addition to long-distance transport, the construction work also affects local and regional rail transport in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Therefore, there will be significant restrictions and cancellations on 14 RE, RB and S-Bahn lines during the Easter holidays.
According to the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR), the following lines are affected:
RE1 (Aachen – Hamm):
Trains are canceled between Mülheim Hbf and Düsseldorf Hbf.
From Mülheim (Ruhr) Hbf, the trains travel differently to Oberhausen Hbf and end there.
RE2 (Düsseldorf – Osnabrück):
Trains are canceled between Essen Hbf and Düsseldorf Hbf.
RE3 (Düsseldorf – Hamm):
Trains are canceled between Oberhausen Hbf and Düsseldorf Hbf.
RE5 (Koblenz – Wesel):
Trains will be diverted in both directions between Oberhausen-Sterkrade and Cologne Hbf.
The Oberhausen Hbf, Düsseldorf Airport and Düsseldorf-Benrath stops are no longer available.
RE6 (Cologne/Bonn Airport – Minden):
Trains are canceled between Mülheim Hbf and Düsseldorf Hbf.
From Mülheim Hbf, the trains travel differently to Oberhausen Hbf and end there.
RE11 (Düsseldorf – Kassel):
Only a few trains run to Oberhausen main station. Düsseldorf main station is also no longer served.
RE19 (Düsseldorf – Arnhem):
Trains will be diverted from Oberhausen-Sterkrade without stopping to Duisburg Hbf.
RE42 (Mönchengladbach – Münster):
Trains are canceled between Essen Hbf and Duisburg Hbf.
Between Mülheim Hbf and Essen-Steele, passengers can instead use the RE49, S3 and S9 trains.
RE44 (Moers – Bottrop):
Trains are canceled between Oberhausen Hbf and Moers.
Between Moers and Duisburg Hbf, passengers can use the RB31 train.
RB32 (Dortmund – Duisburg):
Trains are canceled between Oberhausen Hbf and Duisburg Hbf.
RB33 (Essen – Aachen):
Trains are canceled between Essen Hbf and Duisburg Hbf.
Between Mülheim Hbf and Essen-Steele, passengers can instead use the RE49, S3 and S9 trains.
RB35 (Gelsenkirchen – Duisburg):
Trains are canceled between Oberhausen Hbf and Duisburg Hbf.
S1 (Solingen – Essen):
Trains are canceled between Mülheim (Ruhr)-Styrum and Duisburg Hbf.
Between Mülheim (Ruhr) Hbf - Essen-Steele, passengers can use the RE49, S3 and S9 trains.
The S1 and S11 trains continue to stop at Düsseldorf Airport.
S6 (Cologne – Essen):
The S6 trains only run between Cologne and Ratingen-Ost during the week during the day.
Trains are canceled between Ratingen Ost and Essen-Kettwig.
On weekends and at night, trains between Düsseldorf Rath-Mitte and Essen-Kettwig are canceled.
There is a shuttle service between Kettwig and Essen main station.
Source: VRR;
All statements without guarantee
Note: Travelers can find out about the exact changes in the railway's online information systems and on the platforms.
Major railway construction site in North Rhine-Westphalia: rail replacement services in local and regional transport
According to the VRR, buses are also being used as replacements so that local and regional transport passengers can reach their destination despite the cancellations and diversions.
These run between Duisburg Hbf/Düsseldorf Hbf and Essen Hbf or Oberhausen Hbf. The following replacement journeys are offered:
Rail replacement service O ((Oberhausen-Sterkrade) – Oberhausen Hbf – Duisburg Hbf):
The buses run every 10 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes in the evenings.
Rail replacement service E (Essen Hbf – Mülheim (Ruhr) Hbf – Duisburg Hbf):
The buses run every 10 minutes during the day and every 15 or 30 minutes in the evenings.
Rail replacement service A (Essen Hbf – Düsseldorf Hbf):
The buses run every 20 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the evenings.
Source: VRR, all information provided without guarantee
Route closure between Düsseldorf and Essen: The railway is carrying out these measures
The railway is using the time of the route closure for several construction works along the railway line between Düsseldorf and Essen.
The following construction work will be carried out during the Easter holidays:
Work on five bridges in Duisburg and Oberhausen
In Duisburg-Duisser, the railway is completing construction work on the newly built noise barriers
Construction continues on platforms ten and eleven at Duisburg main station
The DB is renewing track 3 at the Düsseldorf Airport train station
Six switches are being replaced in Duisburg-Großenbaum
As part of the RRX project, the railway also carries out explosive ordnance detection in the area between Düsseldorf-Lichtenbroich and Düsseldorf-Kalkum.
In addition, further preparations are being made for the six-track expansion
Source: Deutsche Bahn
What railway closures are there currently in North Rhine-Westphalia?
A number of railway lines are repeatedly closed to train traffic, sometimes for weeks.
24RHEIN shows which railway closures there are currently in NRW and which ones are coming soon.
Other railway routes in North Rhine-Westphalia are also closed
Apart from the major construction site in the Ruhr area, there are other major construction sites planned for the railway in 2024.
There are also railway closures that are already active.
This includes, among other things, the railway line between Wanne-Eickel and Recklinghausen-Süd, which is expected to be closed until mid-April.
(jr)