The main train station is within walking distance of the city’s landmark – Cologne Cathedral.
Source: dpa
1,300 trains per day, hundreds of thousands of passengers: Cologne Central Station is the center of rail traffic in western Germany. Starting Friday evening (November 14), the hub will be down for ten days. The railways closed all lines to long-distance and regional traffic in major city centers – only S-Bahn trains still ran to the main station.
The new signal box should actually be operational at this time. But because the software for the signal box was causing problems, these plans were scrapped at short notice – with unfortunate consequences for travellers. The reason is, the railway line is still closed.
Why is extensive closure necessary?
The railway has been working for years to upgrade its aging signal boxes around Cologne. During the closure, the plan was actually to disconnect some of the old signal boxes and then control rail traffic from modern electronic signal boxes.
But no results. At the last moment, the railroad said they discovered a glitch in the software for the new signal box. This means that there is no guarantee whether safe and reliable train operations will be possible with the new signal box. That’s why the new signal box hasn’t been connected yet.
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Why are the main stations still closed now?
The railway is still sticking to its long-planned ten-day closure. This time can be used for “critical work”, such as on switches and overhead lines, a railway spokesman said.
But one thing is clear: Cologne Central Station will have to close again within a few months for the signal box to actually be operational.
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Is there a date for this second lockdown yet?
The search for appointments is ongoing – and complicated. According to Deutsche Bahn, a date in spring 2026 is conceivable. However, general renovation of the Köln-Wuppertal-Hagen route will also begin. The route will be closed for five months from February 2026 for extensive construction work. This also has a far-reaching impact on long-distance and regional transport in Cologne. According to Deutsche Bahn, the extent to which the two collide with each other still needs to be seen. And the main station probably won’t be closed at the height of the street carnival around Rose Monday.
It’s also unclear how long long-distance and regional trains will be unable to travel to Köln Central Station during this second closure – that is, whether another ten-day closure is necessary or whether the preparatory work that can now be done will make things quicker.
In the signal box, the dispatcher ensures that the train goes from A to B – for example by setting the switches correctly and switching the signal to green when a section of track is clear. Each signal box is responsible for a specific area. The new Cologne signal box will be responsible for all train routes from Cologne to Düsseldorf, Aachen and Bonn.
What’s new about signal boxes: Until now, dispatchers had to sit in front of levers and buttons and use them to set switches and signals. In the future, they will sit in front of a wall of screens and what they will need most is a computer mouse. According to Deutsche Bahn, this is faster and requires less staff – an important aspect, because recently, due to a lack of staff among operators, individual signal boxes remained unmanned, meaning no trains could run in the region.
What benefits will tourists get in the future?
According to Deutsche Bahn, the new electronic signal box can be used to respond more flexibly in the event of interference. If there is a problem somewhere, don’t let it paralyze the entire area. The railway promises that this will ensure greater reliability and punctuality. In total, the railway has built three new electronic signal boxes around the Cologne junction in recent years and invested 360 million euros in them.
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How exactly do you still manage to get to your destination during lockdown?
Deutsche Bahn, National Express, Eurobahn and other providers have a broad concept. The company suggests that it is best to use online information to see how your connection is working despite construction work.
Long distance transportation changes:
- Many ICE trains stop right outside Ehrenfeld train station or Fair/Deutz instead of at the main station.
- Several long-distance trains also give the city ample berths, so travelers from Düsseldorf or from Bonn other connections have to use.
Long distance transportation changes:
- Even in regional transport, some lines such as RE 1 (Aachen-Hamm) or RE 5 (Wesel-Koblenz) mostly pass through the city and therefore do not stop in Leverkusen or Düsseldorf-Benrath, for example. In total, around a dozen regional transport routes were diverted.
- Tourists have to go to places that cannot be reached by trains as usual change to the S-Bahn or to buses and subways. Replacement buses also operate on certain nights.
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September 22, 2025 | 3:31 min
Will everything return to normal from November 24?
The plan is for the train to arrive on time during rush hour Monday, November 24 at 05.00, play again according to plan. However, they will continue to be controlled from the old signal box – with all the problems of train reliability and punctuality that travelers from the past will already know.
Source: dpa
