Line 18 in Cologne: Restrictions from June 14th due to track work!

Line 18 in Cologne: Restrictions from June 14th due to track work!

From Saturday, June 14th, light rail line 18 will be shortened in the part of Cologne on the right bank of the Rhine. This affects the section between “Thielenbruch” and “Buchheim Herler Straße”, which is restricted until July 13th. The section between Buchheim and Wiener Platz will not be accessible by train for about a month. The reason for the closure is track construction work at Wiener Platz in Mülheim ksta.de reported.

The Cologne Transport Company (KVB) has announced that it will install a new type of “Continuously Elastic Rail System” (KES) in order to reduce noise emissions. In the meantime, a replacement bus (bus 113) will serve the route every ten minutes. The bus connects the stops “Buchheim Herler Straße”, “Bahnhof Mülheim”, “Elisabeth-Breuer-Straße” and “Mülheim Wiener Platz”. The journey time from the Buchheimer section to Wiener Platz is around 13 minutes. In the direction of Buchheim, the replacement buses stop at “Mülheim Wiener Platz”, “Bahnhof Mülheim” and “Buchheim Herler Straße” with a journey time of around eight minutes.

Impact on traffic

The construction work on Wiener Platz also has an impact on the Mülheimer Bridge, which has been being renovated for several years. The renovation costs are expected to have risen to 302 million euros, compared to 164 million euros originally planned. The damage to the structure is more extensive than expected. The renovation work began three years ago and is expected to be completed by mid-2026, a delay of half a year, according to 24rhein.de reported.

In order to inform citizens about the ongoing renovation projects, the city of Cologne is offering a guided tour of the partial structure of the ramp on the right bank of the Rhine on June 11th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The aim of this measure is to promote understanding of the demolition work and the duration of the construction project. The Mülheim Bridge had to be completely closed several times due to the renovation, which also led to disruptions for Cologne transport companies, especially on lines 13 and 18.

Commuters and diversions

Commuters who want to travel from Sülz to Dellbrück must expect diversions during the closure. You are forced to first take the Stadtbahn 18 to Ebertplatz, then change to bus 118 and finally change to bus 113 from Wiener Platz. From the “Buchheim Herler Straße” stop you have to change back to the tram 18. These diversions are inconvenient for many passengers and require additional time for their journeys.

There will be no changes to light rail line 3 during the construction work; it will continue to run to “Thielenbruch”. The replacement lines 14 (light rail) and 118 (bus) will also remain in use in order to maintain traffic flow despite the restrictions.