“No understanding at all”
Wüst complained about the chaos of the signal box in Cologne
November 19, 2025 – 13.27Reading time: 2 minutes
The closure of Cologne Central Station fell into the hands of politicians: now even the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst is disappointed. He did not understand the railroad’s actions.
Cologne Central Station is currently closed to almost all train traffic. Only a few S-Bahn and one regional train still stop. The cause is construction work on a new signal box which should be operational next week.
But then it came to light: There was a software problem with the signal box. Therefore, although the waiting time is long, it cannot be started after the ten-day closure. Instead, there will be another shutdown next spring. Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) does not understand this.
Wüst said on Instagram that railway chief Richard Lutz was with him at the State Chancellery in the summer: “We talked about it; better communication, better coordination on railway construction sites in North Rhine-Westphalia.” However: “It doesn’t work anymore.”
Wüst continued: “Sometimes you get the impression that the railway is doing this for the first time. (…) That’s why I honestly don’t understand at all the new delays.”
Wüst Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Green Party) had said in a WDR2 interview a few days ago about the second closure due to a software error, “Of course it is a mental hospital. There is no other way to say that.”
Krischer said: “We had been planning this for a long time. And then I found out two days before: April, April – the software couldn’t be installed because it didn’t work.” The railway has now announced that the new closure will not last as long as the current closure at least.
