The railway line from Duisburg towards Essen and Oberhausen will be closed for four weeks at the beginning of next year. This will have an impact on thousands of travelers on long-distance and local transport in Düsseldorf from January 9th (9 p.m.) to February 6th (9 p.m.).
This time the reason for the closure is not the railway’s fault. Autobahn GmbH will continue its renovation and expansion work at the Kaiserberg motorway junction at the beginning of 2026. The Deutsche Bahn tracks cross the motorway in this area and therefore have to be closed.
The railway uses the time for necessary work along the route. The first noise barrier in the state capital is being built in Düsseldorf-Lichtenbroich for the RRX expansion. The approximately 900 meter long wall consists of highly sound-absorbing light metal elements that reach a height of up to six meters. According to Bahn, houses and apartments that are further away should also benefit from the effect of the noise insulation measure.
However, the closure also has a significant impact on rail traffic for passengers in Düsseldorf. First of all, the affected lines on the route Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf:
The affected lines on the Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf route:
An important alternative for commuters between Essen and Düsseldorf will be the S6 during the upcoming closure. The S-Bahn route was closed for almost two years after a landslide at the beginning of 2024, but is due to be put back into operation along its entire route with the upcoming timetable change on December 14th. The S6 trains are the only ones that do not run via Duisburg, but from Essen via Ratingen to Düsseldorf.
In addition, a rail replacement service (SEV) was set up. The SEV “RE 1” runs every ten minutes during the day between Essen, Mülheim and Duisburg. The SEV “RE 19” runs between Oberhausen and Duisburg, also every ten minutes.
There will also be diversions and stop cancellations in long-distance transport during construction work:
For individual information, Deutsche Bahn advises all travelers to check the online information on how to get to their destination during the closure. All changes are included there.
