In a statement on Wednesday, Deutsche Bahn wrote that around 1,000 meters of track needed to be replaced. This was revealed by an examination of the damage on the Aachen – Cologne train route. The infrastructure of the affected section is therefore more damaged than initially assumed. The railway assumes that the most important work will be completed on December 23rd. The area can then be used by long-distance and regional trains at reduced speed. Further work on the overhead lines will be necessary at the beginning of 2025 and should be completed in February.
Regional trains are running again between Aachen and Cologne
On Friday night last week, a freight train collided with a construction train on the section of track near Kerpen. Both the locomotive and several wagons of the freight train derailed. The vehicles then had to be laboriously removed from the route. Three people were injured, including the driver of the freight train. The authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident.
The accident caused train cancellations and delays as the affected Cologne-Aachen route had to be closed. The route is also relevant for international long-distance traffic.
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The accident also affected 1,800 concrete sleepers. In addition, a total of five overhead line and signal masts would have to be replaced. The DB has already commissioned the production of the sleepers.
“Unfortunately, the production of the sleepers and masts takes some time,” says Reiner Krieger, head of operations in the Cologne network of DB Infrago. “We also have to take into account the time for the concrete to harden. Installation is not possible beforehand. Unfortunately, we cannot use other sleepers on the high-speed route. We are in contact with the producers and rely on fast delivery. We are working hard to make the route completely passable again as quickly as possible.”
Since the accident, long-distance trains have not been able to run between Aachen and Cologne. Trains from Frankfurt end in Cologne, trains from Brussels end in Aachen. Buses or regional trains run as replacements. Since Tuesday, RE lines 1 and 9 have been running again via Kerpen to Aachen and Cologne respectively over the undamaged S-Bahn tracks. The S-Bahn lines 12 and 19 towards Troisdorf end and begin in Horrem. Occasionally the trains end and begin in Sindorf. In the short term there may be cancellations on the entire section between Hennef (Sieg) and Düren. A replacement rail service has been set up for S-Bahn drivers between Horrem and Düren.
