Local transport in Cologne

In the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Cologne there is a dense local transport network, which consists of the Cologne Stadtbahn , a mixed system of trams and underground trains, as well as the S-Bahn , regional trains and bus lines.

Cologne light rail

Low-floor light rail of the KVB in the Deutz / Messe underground station

The light rail is the most frequently used means of transport in inner-city public transport. Twelve lines operate in the high and low-floor network, which are operated by the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) AG. A special feature of Cologne are the continuous direct connections to Bonn , here the line 18 runs between Cologne and Bonn main station and the line 16 continues to the station Bonn-Bad Godesberg . Line 1 runs to Bensberg in Bergisch Gladbach , line 7 to Frechen .

Lines of the Cologne light rail

line	course
1	Weiden West - Weiden Center - Junkersdorf - Rheinenergiestadion - Müngersdorf - Aachener Straße / Gürtel - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe Station - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück - Lustheide - Refrath - Kippekausen - Frankenforst - Bensberg
3	Görlinger-Zentrum - Bocklemünd - Bickendorf - Venloer Straße / Gürtel (Ehrenfeld train station) - Hans-Böckler-Platz / West train station - Friesenplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstraße - Deutz train station / Lanxess Arena - Koelnmesse - Buchforst - Buchheim - Holweide Vischeringstraße - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch
4th	Bocklemünd - Bickendorf - Venloer Strasse / Gürtel (Ehrenfeld station) - Hans-Böckler-Platz / West station - Friesenplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstrasse - Deutz station / Lanxess Arena - Koelnmesse - Mülheim Wiener Platz - Höhenhaus - Dünnwald - Schlebusch
5	Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof - Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Hans-Böckler-Platz / West Station - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / Central Station - Town Hall - Heumarkt
7th	Frechen - Marsdorf - Lindenthal - Aachener Strasse / Gürtel - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Poll - Westhoven - Ensen - Porz Markt - Zündorf
9	Sülz - Zülpicher Straße / Gürtel - University - Dasselstraße / South Bf - Zülpicher Platz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe Bf - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim - Rath / Heumar - Königsforst
12	Merkenich - Niehl - Weidenpesch - Neusser Straße / Gürtel - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Hansaring - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Zülpicher Platz - Barbarossaplatz - folding rule
13	Sülzgürtel - Zülpicher Strasse / Gürtel - Lindenthal - Aachener Str./Gürtel - Venloer Strasse / Gürtel (Ehrenfeld station) - Geldernstrasse / Parkgürtel - Neusser Strasse / Gürtel - Amsterdamer Strasse / Gürtel - Mülheim Wiener Platz - Mülheim Station - Buchheim - Holweide Vischeringstrasse
15th	Chorweiler - Heimersdorf - Longerich - Weidenpesch - Neusser Straße / Gürtel - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Hansaring - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Zülpicher Platz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring
16	Niehl Sebastianstr. - Amsterdamer Str./Gürtel - Ebertplatz - Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring - Bayenthal - Rodenkirchen - Sürth - Godorf - Wesseling - Hersel - Bonn Hbf - Bonn Bad Godesberg Bf - Bonn Bad Godesberg Stadthalle (together with SWB Bus and train )
17th	Severinstraße - Chlodwigplatz - Rodenkirchen (- Sürth)
18th	Thielenbruch - Dellbrück - Holweide Vischeringstraße - Buchheim - Bf Mülheim - Mülheim Wiener Platz - Zoo / Flora - Ebertplatz - Breslauer Platz / Hbf - Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Barbarossaplatz - Klettenberg - Hürth - Brühl - Bornheim - Bonn Hbf (together with SWB Bus and train )

North-South light rail

Marktstraße tram stop , southern end of the 1st expansion stage

The northern section of Cologne's north-south light rail with the new stops Rathaus and Heumarkt is served by line 5 , the southern section between Severinstraße and Rodenkirchen / Sürth with the new stations Severinstraße , Karthäuserhof , Chlodwigplatz and Bonner Wall by line 17 . The station Breslauer Platz / Hauptbahnhof was rebuilt for the north-south light rail, but already existed before. The second construction stage of the north-south light rail, which creates the connection to the Rheinuferbahn, has already gone into operation. The Marktstrasse stop of the north-south light rail has already been completed, but not yet in operation as long as the third construction phase of the north-south light rail has not yet opened.

S-Bahn Cologne

Class 423 multiple unit of the Cologne S-Bahn at Cologne Messe / Deutz station

The S-Bahn is a very important local transport system for developing the surrounding area, but is less important for inner-city traffic in Cologne than in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Frankfurt am Main. The main stations of the Hauptbahnhof, Hansaring and Messe / Deutz stations are located in the city center .

Lines of the S-Bahn Cologne

S 6( Essen -) Düsseldorf - Leverkusen - Cologne main station - Cologne Hansaring - Cologne-Worringen
S 11 Düsseldorf Airport Terminal - Düsseldorf Hbf - Düsseldorf-Benrath - Neuss - Cologne-Chorweiler - Cologne Hbf - Bergisch Gladbach
S 12 Horrem - Cologne - Siegburg / Bonn - Herchen - Au (Sieg)
S 13 Aachen - Düren - Horrem - Cologne - Cologne / Bonn Airport - Troisdorf
S 19 Düren - Horrem - Cologne - Cologne / Bonn Airport - Herchen - Au (Sieg)

Regional traffic

Regional express at Cologne Süd station

Vehicle of the TransRegio deutsche Regionalbahn GmbH, the trains run as line RB26 on the left Rhine route from Cologne Messe / Deutz to Mainz

Regional transport (RB and RE), the following stations will be approached: Köln Hauptbahnhof , Köln Messe / Deutz , Cologne South Station , Köln West station , station Cologne-Ehrenfeld , Cologne / Bonn airport station , Cologne-Mülheim Bahnhof , Porz (Rhein) railway station , Stop Cologne Hansaring , stop Cologne Trimbornstraße and stop Cologne Frankfurter Straße.

The transport companies active in regional transport are DB Regio , TransRegio and NationalExpress .

Other means of transport

Gondola of the Cologne cable car, in the background the Colonia high-rise

The Cologne cable car connects the western and eastern banks of the Rhine at the level of the Zoobrücke . The Kölner Seilbahn-Gesellschaft mbH is a subsidiary of KVB AG, but tickets for city traffic are not valid in the cable car, as this is a rather tourist mode of transport.

Transition to long-distance transport

The three Cologne train stations Hauptbahnhof , Messe / Deutz and Airport are served by long-distance trains. The train types InterCity-Express , Intercity / EuroCity and the night train Nightjet of the ÖBB as well as the private long-distance train Flixtrain of Flixmobility stop at the main station, some of the IC and ICE trains also stop at the station Messe / Deutz and the airport station.

There is a connection to long-distance bus services at the long-distance bus stations Cologne South (at Cologne / Bonn Airport) and Cologne North (at Leverkusen Mitte train station) .

Local transport tariffs

Logo of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg

The city of Cologne is in the network area of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS), which enables a uniform tariff for all public transport in Cologne. The state-wide NRW tariff also applies within North Rhine-Westphalia, but this is not a transport association, but a state tariff. In addition, the Quer-across-the-country ticket is valid for regional transport and S-Bahn transport.

Park and Ride (P + R)

Park-and-ride facilities serve as a means of transferring from motorized individual transport to local public transport. These can be found in Cologne at the following transport stations along the following lines:

Motorway: 9
Bocklemünd: 3 , 4
Bridge mouse path: 1
Dellbrück: S11
Godorf: 16
Königsforst: 9
House Vorst / Marsdorf: 7
Heinrich-Lübcke-Ufer: 16 17
Longerich: S11
Ostheim: 9
Porzer Strasse: 9
Rheinenergie-Stadion: 1
Rodenkirchen: 16 17
Sürth: 16 17
Weiden West: S13 , S19 , 1
Worringen: S11
Volkhofener Weg: S11
Thielenbruch: 3 18
Zoo / Flora: 16 18
Zündorf: 7

Bike and Ride

In Cologne, there are various systems of bike-and-ride facilities for cyclists who want to switch to public transport , which are operated by the city of Cologne.

Lockable bicycle boxes , which provide protection against theft and vandalism, are located at the Chorweiler, Ehrenfeld, Kalk, Lindenthal, Mülheim, Nippes, Porz and Rodenkirchen train stations.
Covered frame holders, which contain parking bars and weather protection, can be found at many other train stations and train stops.

literature

Cologne / Bonn Stadtbahn album by Robert Schwandl Verlag

Web links