Image credit: Rob Dammers via Wikimedia Commons / Flickr, CC BY 2.0. License: CC BY 2.0.
The busiest right-Rhine rail link between Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof and Köln-Mülheim is closed to regular trains through Friday, September 4, 2026, at 9 p.m. Deutsche Bahn InfraGO opened the full outage on Friday, August 21, at 9 p.m., and travelers on ICE, IC, regional, and S-Bahn services now face diversions, canceled stops, and rail-replacement buses.
If your itinerary crosses that corridor before the September 4 deadline, recheck the live timetable tonight. The left-Rhine RE 6 and RE 7 paths still move people between Düsseldorf or Neuss and Cologne, while many right-Rhine trips shift onto replacement buses or longer detours.
- Full closure: Friday, August 21, 9 p.m., through Friday, September 4, 2026, 9 p.m.
- Segment: Entire right-Rhine line between Düsseldorf Hbf and Köln-Mülheim.
- Who is hit: Long-distance, regional, and S-Bahn passengers on that corridor.
- Next phase: S-Bahn tracks stay closed from September 4 through December 4, 2026.
- Where to check: bahn.de schedules plus zuginfo.nrw message 134053.
What Deutsche Bahn closed and why it matters now
DB InfraGO is bundling track, switch, bridge, and Rhein-Ruhr-Express expansion work into one corridor shutdown rather than months of nightly single-track limits. The official press notice lists station work at Düsseldorf-Benrath, bridge bearing replacements in Düsseldorf, and more than 7.8 kilometers of track renewal between Leverkusen and Köln-Mülheim.
That package also includes three switches and about 140 meters of track near Langenfeld, plus preparatory probing on Düsseldorf city territory for the next RRX phase. Straßen.NRW is using the same rail silence to rebuild the Knipprather Straße road bridge in Langenfeld.
For travelers, the practical result is simple. About 380 daily trains that normally use the right-Rhine path are gone from that alignment until September 4. Local reporting from WDR and regional papers matches the operator dates and the bus-bridge plan.
The closure is already live as of late August 24. Anyone holding tickets for August 25 through September 4 should treat the published replacement plan as the default, not a contingency.
How long-distance trains are moving instead
According to Deutsche Bahn InfraGO, most long-distance trains between Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Cologne now divert onto alternate routes. Stops can drop in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, and Bochum during the full closure window.
From Düsseldorf, DB still aims for roughly two-hourly long-distance service toward Berlin, Frankfurt Airport, Stuttgart, and the North Sea coast, plus transfers via Cologne, Dortmund, and Duisburg for Amsterdam connections. From Cologne, many directions keep at least a two-hourly backbone, but some coastal and eastern Germany paths thin out and force changes in Düsseldorf, Dortmund, or Hamburg.
DB also warns that the August replacement timetable had to be rewritten after damage on the Wupper bridge near Opladen on a diversionary route. Updated times are still being loaded into booking systems and onto the construction map, so a ticket bought weeks ago may no longer match tonight’s operating plan.
Independent coverage from WDR confirms the same full-closure window and the follow-on S-Bahn shutdown through early December. That second source matters because it restates the traveler consequence without relying only on the operator’s press language.
Regional and S-Bahn replacements through September 4
DB, go.Rheinland, and VRR built a joint bus and diversion package for local riders. RE 1 trains divert via Neuss Hauptbahnhof and Dormagen, skipping Düsseldorf-Benrath, Leverkusen Mitte, Köln-Mülheim, Köln Messe/Deutz, and Köln Hbf. Replacement buses cover Düsseldorf Hbf, Düsseldorf-Benrath, Leverkusen Mitte, and Köln-Mülheim, leaving from the long-distance bus station at Düsseldorf Hbf.
RE 5 trains are canceled between Düsseldorf Hbf and Köln-Mülheim and point riders to the same bus bridge. RE 4 booster trains between Aachen and Düsseldorf do not run during the full closure. S 6 trains vanish between Düsseldorf Hbf and Köln-Mülheim, with buses from Bussteig 17 in Düsseldorf to Langenfeld and onward to Köln-Mülheim, plus peak-hour express buses on the Langenfeld to Köln-Mülheim hop.
S 11 is canceled between Neuss and Köln-Worringen to protect diversion capacity, again with buses. S 68 disappears between Düsseldorf Hbf and Langenfeld, and those riders should use the S 6 replacement buses. The left-Rhine RE 6 and RE 7 remain the cleanest rail options between Düsseldorf or Neuss and Cologne Hauptbahnhof when they fit your destination.
Passenger guides were posted at Köln-Mülheim, Köln-Worringen, Langenfeld, and Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof in the first days after August 21. Even after that staffing thins out, the posted SEV boards and the live apps remain the authority for which bus bay to use.
What changes after September 4
When the full corridor reopens for long-distance and most regional trains after 9 p.m. on September 4, the S-Bahn tracks stay closed through Friday, December 4, 2026, at 9 p.m. RE 1 toward Aachen skips Düsseldorf-Benrath. RE 5 toward Koblenz skips Köln-Mülheim.
From October 9 through October 30, RE 5 also skips Düsseldorf-Benrath in both directions, with a temporary bus link among Düsseldorf Hbf, Düsseldorf-Benrath, and Leverkusen Mitte. S 6 and S 68 keep their bus replacements on the closed S-Bahn segment through early December.
Düsseldorf-Benrath’s S-Bahn platform modernization continues in the background. DB and partners are spending about 3.6 million euros to rebuild the platform with dual boarding heights, extend it to roughly 220 meters, and add tactile wayfinding, lighting, and traveler information. That work is scheduled to finish in the second quarter of 2027, so Benrath remains a planning variable even after the December S-Bahn reopening.
Travelers heading to Cologne-area day trips, including a visit planned around Phantasialand, should not assume the usual Düsseldorf to Cologne rail hop will feel normal before early December on local S-Bahn paths.
Three checks before you leave for the station
First, open your exact train on bahn.de or the DB Navigator and compare it with the zuginfo.nrw advisory for message 134053. If the app still shows a right-Rhine stop that DB says is canceled, trust the construction plan and rebuild the journey.
Second, decide whether a left-Rhine RE 6 or RE 7, a Neuss diversion, or the Düsseldorf Hbf bus bridge is the faster door-to-door path for your party. Luggage-heavy travelers usually do better on the remaining rail diversions than on multi-hop SEV buses.
Third, if you are flying into or out of the region instead of forcing a broken rail connection, review current Lufthansa routing options through Cologne Bonn or Düsseldorf only after the rail plan for that same day is confirmed. Do not buy a same-day flight solely because the app looks messy without checking the published bus and diversion times first.
One concrete scenario: a family with two large suitcases traveling Düsseldorf to Cologne for a late-afternoon museum visit should prefer an RE 6 or RE 7 that still reaches Köln Hbf on rail. Chasing the SEV bus chain with heavy bags through Langenfeld often costs more time than the longer left-Rhine ride.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Travel Düsseldorf to Cologne before Sept. 4, 9 p.m. | Prefer RE 6 or RE 7, or accept the published SEV bus bridge from Düsseldorf Hbf. |
| Hold a long-distance ticket with Düsseldorf or Cologne stops | Recheck canceled intermediate stops and transfer cities before leaving home. |
| Need S 6 or S 68 local stations through Dec. 4 | Budget bus time via Langenfeld and confirm Bussteig 17 departures in Düsseldorf. |
| Are connecting to a flight the same day | Protect at least one extra hour and avoid tight Düsseldorf or Cologne station changes. |
- Rebook early: Rebuild any right-Rhine itinerary dated before September 4, 9 p.m., in the live DB systems tonight.
- Watch the apps: Diversion times are still loading after the Opladen bridge rewrite, so refresh before each trip.
- Keep December in view: Local S-Bahn riders should plan bus replacements through December 4, not only through early September.
Treat the September 4 evening restart as a long-distance and regional milestone, not a full return to normal. S-Bahn passengers still face three more months of replacement buses on the same corridor.
Is the Düsseldorf to Cologne train line closed right now?
Yes. The right-Rhine main line between Düsseldorf Hbf and Köln-Mülheim remains fully closed through September 4, 2026, at 9 p.m.
Which buses replace canceled regional trains?
SEV buses link Düsseldorf Hbf, Düsseldorf-Benrath, Leverkusen Mitte, Langenfeld, and Köln-Mülheim, with Düsseldorf departures from the long-distance bus station or Bussteig 17 depending on the line.
Do ICE and IC trains still serve Düsseldorf and Cologne?
Many long-distance trains continue on diversion routes with reduced or canceled stops in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Duisburg, Essen, and Bochum, so confirm each train individually.
When does normal S-Bahn service return?
DB keeps the S-Bahn tracks closed from September 4 through December 4, 2026, at 9 p.m., with bus replacements on the affected segments.
