In 2022, Deutsche Bahn invested around two billion euros in infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia. How high the sum will be in the new year is still open. However, the focus is again on the expansion for the RRX between the Rhine and Ruhr.
Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) – Even in 2023, the railways in North Rhine-Westphalia will invest billions in improving the infrastructure. As in the past year, travelers and commuters must therefore be prepared for restrictions, diversions and delays. The focus remains the expansion of the tracks for the Rhein-Ruhr-Express (RRX) from Cologne via Düsseldorf to Dortmund. In 2022, Deutsche Bahn invested around two billion euros in NRW. Deutsche Bahn was not yet able to present an investment figure for the next twelve months at the end of the year.
“Despite the corona pandemic and the material price increases and bottlenecks resulting from the Ukraine war, DB managed to almost completely cope with the demanding construction workload in 2022,” says the DB press office in Düsseldorf. Positive: The work at the train stations in Dortmund and Duisburg during ongoing operations is progressing as planned. After a delay of several years, Duisburg is getting a new wave-shaped glass platform hall and new platforms for more than 220 million euros.
The main train station in Dortmund also gets them. The platforms will be completely rebuilt from north to south. Because the work there is also on schedule, all long-distance trains will again be routed via Dortmund from April. Some of the express trains are currently still running via Gelsenkirchen in the direction of Münster because the capacities in Dortmund station are not sufficient due to the renovation work.
At the end of its expansion stage, the Rhein-Ruhr-Express (RRX) is to connect the metropolises of Cologne and Dortmund in the Ruhr area at 15-minute intervals. To this end, Bahn 2023 between Langenfeld and Leverkusen will be expanding the existing track by a fourth track by the summer. In addition, bridges will be modified, noise barriers built and the Leverkusen Mitte train station expanded for the RRX project. A third track is being added between Oberhausen and Emmerich. On the RRX line from Wesel to Koblenz, Dinslaken station will get a new platform in 2023.
This year, the two Cologne signal boxes for the main station and the left bank of the Rhine will be further modernized. The modernization of tracks, switches and bridges will also continue throughout the country this year. In the Ruhr area, travelers and commuters must therefore expect disruptions on the routes between Oberhausen and Duisburg and between Essen and Duisburg. According to Bahn, the tracks are also being renewed in the node around Dortmund Central Station.
Construction work at the Cologne hub and track renewal between Düsseldorf main station and Düsseldorf-Derendorf will kick off at the beginning of the year. Several regional express lines are affected here. Rail customers must expect detours and cancellations of stops. In order to keep the impact on customers as low as possible, Deutsche Bahn bundles the times when no trains can run due to the work.
In order to guide travelers and commuters to their destinations at the major construction sites, Deutsche Bahn and its partners at the stations are spending millions to deploy service personnel and add additional markings.