Overview
- The Köln–Wuppertal–Hagen corridor was declared finished and reopened on Friday after about five months of work that replaced 81 km of track, 50–51 switches and more than 21 km of overhead line and came in under the original cost forecast.
- Deutsche Bahn began a full closure of the right‑bank Rhine line on Friday evening for a five‑month Korridorsanierung covering roughly 160 km with an estimated cost of €1.6 billion and a replacement plan of 13 bus lines plus ferries.
- The replacement concept includes express bus services, barrier‑free coaches with Wi‑Fi and some toilets, published timetables in DB apps, and planned helicopter lifts of signalling equipment that will produce rotor noise and require residents to secure loose items.
- A vegetation fire between Langenfeld and Leverkusen on Friday damaged signal cables and rails, forced an immediate closure of the Düsseldorf–Cologne section, prompted investigations by the Kölner Staatsschutz and Bundespolizei and left the repair timeline uncertain.
- The works form part of a multi‑year programme to clear a maintenance backlog by bundling long possession windows, a strategy that reduces later works but creates short‑term disruption and local frictions such as the approved Darmstadt bridge design facing unresolved DB possession scheduling.