Cologne light rail

Cologne light rail

Basic data
Country	Germany
city	Cologne , Alfter , Bergisch Gladbach , Bonn , Bornheim , Brühl , Frechen , Hürth , Wesseling
Transport network	Rhine victory
opening	1968
Lines	12
Route length	198.0 km
Stations	233
Tunnel stations	39
Long-distance train stations	2
use
Shortest cycle	5 min (single line) 2 min (line overlay)
Passengers	213 million per year (2017)
vehicles	Type B light rail car , Bombardier Flexity Swift
operator	Cologne transport company
Gauge	1435 mm standard gauge
Power system	750 V = ( overhead line )

The Cologne Stadtbahn is the backbone of local public transport in Cologne . It consists of twelve lines and has a route network of 194.8 kilometers, around 28 kilometers of which run in tunnels and another 5 kilometers as an elevated railway . In addition, the Cologne rail is on the railway lines of the HGK with Bonn light rail links. The operator of the Stadtbahn in Cologne is the Cologne Transport Company (KVB). SWB bus and train vehicles are also used on lines 16 and 18 . The trains run regularly in double traction . The tariff of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS) applies to the entire network .

history

Cologne tram

→ Main article : History of the Cologne tram

In 1877 the first horse trams in Cologne started operating. This horse tram was a private company that mainly operated the traffic between Cologne and the suburbs that were not yet incorporated. The first purely inner-city line, the “Rundbahn”, was not built by a second company until 1879 (merger in 1882). In the opinion of the City of Cologne, the necessary expansions to the rapidly growing suburbs were made all too slowly and the horse-drawn tram company did not want to risk investing in electrification. Therefore, the city took over the horse-drawn railway company on January 1, 1900 and initiated the electrification of the network as quickly as possible. At the same time, numerous branches were built into the Cologne districts. A close-knit network existed in the narrow streets of the densely built-up city center.

Between 1904 and 1912, special suburban railway lines were also built to the more distant suburbs. These ran in the densely built-up area on the tracks of the tram and further outside mainly on their own track body with a full-track-like character. The suburban railways differed from the trams until the 1960s in that they had their own, mostly larger vehicles and the line designation with letters, while the city lines had numbers.

As early as 1902 there were considerations in Cologne to build an underground railway in the former moat around Cologne's Neustadt. 1910-12 one took up the topic again through further considerations and planning for the construction of a subway in the city area. However, due to the First World War and its aftermath or the global economic crisis , these plans did not result in any consequences.

After the city of Mülheim am Rhein was incorporated into Cologne in 1914, it would take until 1933 before the trams there, the Mülheimer Kleinbahnen , also became part of the Cologne trams.

Expansion to the tram

Initial situation: Tram network 1960

Eight-axle vehicle on line 7 in the 1960s at Hahnentor

The dense tram network that existed in Cologne city center in the pre-war period was only partially rebuilt after it was destroyed in World War II . For example, the main train station , the relocation of which to Aachener Strasse, Hansaring or to Cologne on the right bank of the Rhine, was initially only connected to the ring roads surrounding the city center by a branch line. There was no direct connection between the train station and the central inner-city squares, Neumarkt and Heumarkt . This was partly due to the expansion plans for Cologne to make it a city suitable for cars. In this context, old rail routes (such as the north-south crossing of the city center) were replaced by bus routes; In some cases, however, the pre-war network had also led through many very narrow streets, in which the intended upgrading of tram traffic by using wider trains was not possible. In particular, the lack of a north-south connection and a good connection to the main train station were criticized as a shortcoming in the post-war period. The connection to the right-hand side of the city on the right bank of the Rhine, which had been made via the Hohenzollern , Mülheim and Deutz bridges before the war, was initially unclear ; after the war it was decided to dedicate the Hohenzollern Bridge entirely to rail traffic and to build a new Rhine bridge further south for inner-city traffic; Only after the opening of the Severinsbrücke in 1959 was this project completed and the tram lines could be reorganized.

Even before that, in 1956, the general transport plan for the Cologne tram, which was adopted by the City of Cologne, provided for a new line that was to cross under the city center in a north-south direction in a tunnel. The above-ground course parallel to the new north-south route was discarded as it would have passed the central squares. The tunnel was not designed as a subway, as in other cities , but as a tram laid underground, for which the term subway tram was coined. This meant a similar concept as for tram routes on the surface, i.e. tight curve radii, short distances between the stops, branches on the same level and platforms suitable for tram vehicles . At the end of the tunnel, the trains were supposed to run above ground again as trams, although the expansion on its own track body was advanced early on. For this operating mode - tunnels in narrow and heavily used streets, otherwise as a tram or overland railway - the term light rail was later chosen. Similar concepts were later developed in numerous other cities in North Rhine-Westphalia in order to disentangle tram and car traffic; Similar models can also be found in neighboring countries (Brussels, Antwerp).

Opening of the Dom / Hbf underground station in 1968

The term Stadtbahn has not established itself in the parlance of Cologne's residents to this day, especially since the terms underground (and sometimes also tram) are also officially used. Underground stops are marked with a large white U on a medium blue background, which is reminiscent of the term subway; the addition "Stadtbahn" chosen in Düsseldorf, for example, is missing. The people of Cologne therefore mostly speak of the underground , tram or simply of the train or the KVB .

The beginnings of light rail construction in Cologne are to be seen against the background that at that time there were no commitments for co-financing by the state and federal government; In the worst case, the city of Cologne would have had to pay the costs alone. Under these conditions, the construction of the inner city tunnel between Magnusstraße and the cathedral / main train station began in 1963. On October 11, 1968, this first phase of construction was put into operation. Until 1970 the other branches were via Neumarkt - Poststr. - Barbarossaplatz, Poststr. - Severinstr. and Cathedral / Central Station - Turiner Strasse ramp, the core of the tunnel route network in the city center, completed. A later continuation of the tunnel sections was already planned structurally. Almost all of the subsequently built tunnels are not new routes, but replace existing or former tram routes on the surface.

The suburban railway lines - predominantly on the right bank of the Rhine - which had predominantly had their own railway structure for decades, were advantageous for the expansion of the urban railway. In addition, most of the tram routes in Cologne had been developed for a vehicle width of 2.5 meters since the 1950s. Tram cars in other cities at that time were no more than 2.3 meters wide. The additional centimeters later made it possible in Cologne to use the 2.65-meter-wide type B light rail vehicles on tram routes, which were gradually upgraded to light rail standards.

There was also mixed operation between trams and railways in Cologne early on. After the foothills of the Cologne-Bonn Railways (KBE) had already come to Cologne via Luxemburger Strasse in 1898, the Rheinuferbahn , which opened in 1906 on the banks of the Rhine , used Cologne tram tracks from the start. The Cologne-Frechen-Benzelrath Railway (KFBE), which opened in 1893, was converted from meter gauge to standard gauge in 1914 and has been operated with tram vehicles approved according to EBO since it was taken over by the KVB in 1955 . Already in the mid-1960s it was planned to integrate the trains of the Rheinufer- and Vorgebirgsbahn into the light rail network. For this, however, suitable vehicles first had to be developed in the subsequent period, which met both the requirements of a railway and a light rail system that sometimes ran in tunnels.

As in many large cities with ideas of an appropriate, efficient transport system that have changed over the decades, it can be seen as characteristic of Cologne's light rail construction that the planning was determined by changing requirements and parameters. An example of this is the length of the platforms. While the first stations were designed for two 30 m long tramcars stopping one behind the other, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia later made its subsidies dependent on the suitability for three - or sometimes four - coupled type B light rail vehicles. This led to platform lengths of up to 110 m, with the considerably shorter above-ground platforms currently allowing a maximum of a double traction of 58 m in length. The routing parameters also changed: The curve radii were enlarged, branches at the same level were largely avoided. The outer branches of the tunnel network are designed for a maximum speed of 70 km / h, but the distances between the stops are mostly based on those of the previous tram routes, so that the maximum possible speed cannot be consistently achieved.

A target plan for the final expansion of the network, such as B. on the subways in Berlin , Munich or Nuremberg , does not exist. The routes were built in the order in which it appeared to be the most favorable in terms of traffic and road congestion. The first construction phase after the inner city tunnel was the heavily used Neusser Straße in the northern part of the city of Nippes . At about the same time, the satellite town of Chorweiler , which was under construction at the time , also in the north of Cologne, was connected to the network.

Many of the ramps that lead from the tunnel to the surface were built as makeshifts in order to prepare for the later continuation of the tunnel. The lack of target planning and the uncertainty regarding the long-term financing of large construction projects by the state and federal government meant that there were also very few preliminary structural work for the expansion of the tunnels, such as the shell of crossing stations or connecting nozzles.

Steps from the low platform to the previously planned high-floor level, here at the Deutz / Messe underground station

The mixed operation of trams and light rail vehicles initially only allowed side platforms with a platform height of a maximum of 35 cm. In 1985, construction began on the first section of the route, which was only passable by high-floor light rail vehicles and had central platforms with a platform height of 90 cm.

Since the summer of 2006 there have been no more classic trams in Cologne. However, a few years earlier, for financial and urban planning reasons, the city council decided not to convert the entire network for operation with the high-floor light rail vehicles (the high platforms were criticized by the citizens of Cologne as disturbing the cityscape), but to keep the low platforms on some routes permanently , for which low-floor light rail cars were procured. At the beginning of the 1990s, the decision was made to separate the network into a high-floor area, the platforms of which have now been expanded to a height of 90 cm, and a low-floor area, which has a platform height of 35 cm. A first line bundle was converted to low-floor operation in 1994, another followed in 2003. This led to the. As in other large cities in which a tram system is gradually being converted into an underground or light rail network (e.g. in parts of the Ruhr area, but also in Brussels) Curious that at some stops (such as Christophstraße / Mediapark or Deutz / Messe train station) the escalators from an earlier construction phase do not end at platform height, but instead you have to go down three steps or a handicapped-accessible ramp to get up to get to the platform level. At these stops, it was originally intended to later raise them to a platform height of 90 cm.

Line network

Today's line numbers are largely historical; therefore there is no clear separation of the numbers according to high-floor / low-floor, especially since users do not perceive both systems as separate systems. The colors used below correspond to those of the line network plan . Timetable publications and line designations on the vehicle are not color-coded.

During the day all lines run at least every 10 minutes on weekdays, with three lines overlapping on some inner-city routes and even four lines on one section. On individual outer branches, especially outside the city limits, a 20-minute cycle is offered all day; in the morning, further outer branches are thinned out. Line 18 runs all day every 5 minutes, lines 1, 7, 9 and 15 are condensed into sections during rush hour . In the off-peak times and on weekends, it runs every 15 minutes (on outer branches every 30 minutes). During the nights on Saturday, Sunday and before public holidays, most lines run every 30 minutes.

	course	length	Travel time (entire route)	medium cruising speed	average distance between stops
1	Weiden West - Junkersdorf - Müngersdorf - Aachener Str./Gürtel - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Deutz Station - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück - Refrath - Bensberg Junkersdorf - Brück in rush hour traffic every 5 minutes, in the morning every 20 minutes Brück - Bensberg	26.5 km 19.9 km in Cologne	56 min	28.9 km / h 27.1 km / h in Cologne	736 m 710 m in Cologne
3	Görlinger-Zentrum - Mengenich - Bocklemünd - Bickendorf - Ehrenfeld station - West station - Friesenplatz - Neumarkt - Deutz station - Buchforst - Buchheim - Holweide - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch in the evening and all day on Sundays only to Holweide	22.1 km	50 min	26.3 km / h	717 m
4th	Bocklemünd - Bickendorf - Ehrenfeld train station - West train station - Friesenplatz - Neumarkt - Deutz train station - Mülheim Wiener Platz - Höhenhaus - Dünnwald - Schlebusch in the evening and on Sunday mornings only from Rochusplatz	21.7 km	48 min	28.3 km / h	775 m
5	At the Butzweilerhof - Neuehrenfeld - West train station - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / Central Station - Town Hall - Heumarkt	12.3 km	27 min	21 km / h	735 m
7th	Frechen - Marsdorf - Lindenthal - Aachener Str./Gürtel - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Deutz - Poll - Westhoven - Ensen - Porz - Zündorf except during rush hour Frechen-Braunsfeld every 20 minutes (sometimes also Frechen - Frechen train station), on weekends Frechen -Moltkestrasse every 30 minutes	25.8 km 22.0 km in Cologne	62 min	22.4 km / h 26.4 km / h in Cologne	806 m 956 m in Cologne
9	Sülz - University - South Bf - Neumarkt - Deutz Bf - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim - Königsforst in rush hour traffic on school days 5-minute intervals University - Deutz Bf	16.0 km	38 min	25.9 km / h	727 m
12	Merkenich - Niehl - Weidenpesch - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - folding rule in the morning at 20-minute intervals Merkenich - Niehl	17.0 km	44 min	22.7 km / h	654 m
13	Sülzgürtel - Lindenthal - Aachener Str./Gürtel - Ehrenfeld station - Neuehrenfeld - Bilderstöckchen - Nippes - Amsterdamer Str./Gürtel - Mülheim Wiener Platz - Mülheim station - Buchheim - Holweide Vischeringstr.	16.2 km	35 min	29.5 km / h	736 m
15th	Chorweiler - Heimersdorf - Longerich - Weidenpesch - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring in rush hour traffic 5-minute intervals Longerich - Ubierring	15.2 km	38 min	24.0 km / h	705 m
16	Niehl Sebastianstr. - Amsterdamer Str./Gürtel - Ebertplatz - Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring - Bayenthal - Rodenkirchen - Sürth - Godorf - Wesseling - Hersel - Bonn Hbf - Bonn-Bad Godesberg outside the peak hours from Sürth every 20 minutes	45.6 km 19.9 km in Cologne	88 min	33.4 km / h 29.1 km / h in Cologne	950 m 905 m in Cologne
17th	Severinstr. - Chlodwigplatz - Rodenkirchen (- Sürth) Mon – Fri between 6:45 am and 10:00 am and between 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm to Sürth	8.5 km	15 minutes
18th	Thielenbruch - Dellbrück - Holweide - Buchheim - Bf Mülheim - Mülheim Wiener Platz - Zoo / Flora - Ebertplatz - Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Barbarossaplatz - Sülzgürtel - Klettenberg - Hürth - Brühl - Schwadorf - Bornheim - Alfter - Bonn Hbf Buchheim - Klettenberg 5- Every minute, from Schwadorf every 20 minutes	48.4 km 18.1 km in Cologne	90 min 97 min 81 min 87 min 42 min 44 min	33.4 km / h 26.5 km / h in Cologne	1008 m 724 m in Cologne

Since the line network was simplified in August 2007, there have been various trips according to plan that change their line number during the journey and then continue the journey on another line. These are u. a. at five amplifier trains in the morning from Porz to the university as well as trips from Ubierring to Buchheim and back in the marginal hours and on Sunday mornings.

Low-floor network

East-West Lines (Lines 1, 7 & 9)

Mauritiuskirche low-floor stop in the west-east network

The east-west line bundle was formed in 1994 with a view to the delivery of the first low-floor light rail cars, with line 9 west of Deutz Technical University receiving its current route. After the reconstruction of the above-ground junction at Neumarkt , line 1 was already fully equipped with 35 cm high platforms from 1995 , which enable stepless entry into the low-floor light rail vehicles used here. The stops on the remaining lines were gradually upgraded with platforms: the western branch of line 9 was rebuilt in 1998, that of line 7 the following year. The east branch of line 7 has been completely rebuilt since 2005. With the renovation of the terminus of line 9 in Sülz, the expansion of the east-west lines was completed in June 2005.

After the conversion of the rings lines to low-floor, not all scheduled low-floor lines could be served with suitable vehicles. During the delivery of the low-floor vehicles of the K4500 series from 2005 to 2007, high-floor vehicles were therefore temporarily used on some amplifiers on Line 1 and the then Line 8. Since the delivery of all low-floor vehicles of the K4500 series, only the low-floor vehicles of the K4000 and K4500 series have been used on all low-floor lines, rarely both series in double traction . If there is a temporary shortage of low-floor vehicles, high-floor vehicles from the K5000 series can also be used on Line 1, as is the case with B. was the case several times in 2014.

The common section Neumarkt – Heumarkt – Deutzer Brücke reaches at peak times with 30 trains per hour and direction the same train density as the inner city tunnel has all day and will be the strongest when this is relieved in a few years by the north-south light rail be a busy route in the Cologne light rail network.

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Route of the east-west lines 1, 7 and 9

Rings-Lines (Lines 12 & 15)

The ring lines exist in their current form since the timetable change on December 14, 2003, when the second stage of the low-floor concept was implemented. Since then, line 12 has been running instead of lines 17 and 19 via the rings instead of through the inner city tunnel and line 15 has swapped the line branch north of Ebertplatz with line 18 . This means that the high-floor and low-floor networks are largely unbundled. Only on the belt line between Aachener Str./Gürtel and Dürener Str./Gürtel, with lines 7 and 13, and on the southern ring line from Barbarossaplatz to Ubierring with lines 15 and 16, high-floor and low-floor vehicles still operate mixed traffic . The latter will be retained until the north-south light rail goes into operation, after which line 15 will remain there between Eifelstrasse and Ubierring as the only line.

The conversion of the ring lines was the "smallest" of several investigated variants for expanding the low-floor network and, above all, offered the advantage that the fewest stop conversions were necessary. The most important counter-argument was that the Ford plants, as a bulk buyer of job tickets , attached great importance to a direct connection to the main train station, from which they were cut off by routing line 12 over the rings.

All rings lines are now fully equipped with 35-centimeter platforms. The elevated platform at the Hansaring stop was reduced to 35 centimeters in autumn 2003, the elevated platform at the Chorweiler terminus was made usable for low-floor vehicles in August 2006 by piling up the tracks. Accordingly, low-floor vehicles have been used on line 12 since 2003, and on line 15 since 2006. The south branch of line 12 (Eifelstraße – Zollstock) was equipped with central platforms from October 2006 to August 2007 and was out of service during the construction phase. Before that, you had to enter from street level. The Kalscheurer Weg station was abandoned as it proved to be superfluous due to the longer platforms.

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Route of the north-south lines 12 and 15 over the rings

High-floor network (lines 3, 4, 5, 13, 16, 17 & 18)

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Line plan of the high-floor network

The remaining lines (lines 3, 4, 5, 13, 16, 17, 18) of the light rail network are combined as a high-floor network. What they have in common is that they are operated with classic light rail vehicles, the floor of which is about one meter above the track. Correspondingly high platforms are required for stepless entry into these vehicles. The outer branches of the high-floor network are now almost completely equipped with such elevated platforms, exceptions are the stops at Reichenspergerplatz and Slabystraße on Riehler Straße in the north of the city, almost all stops on the Gürtel line  13 (the only tangential line ) and - because of the mixed traffic with EBO- Vehicles - the overland stations on line 16 between Wesseling and the Bonn city limits. Until 2010, none of the stations on line 5 to Ossendorf on the surface had an elevated platform.

High-floor stop at Suevenstrasse in Deutz

In the inner city area, almost all stops had to be boarded from lower platforms using folding steps. A conversion was usually not possible, as trams with fixed steps were still driving through the inner city tunnel until December 2003. But here too, expansion is now progressing. The busiest tunnel stops at Neumarkt and Dom / Hbf were converted to elevated platforms in 2004 and 2005, and at the beginning of October 2006 the two stations Appellhofplatz / Breite Straße and Poststraße were raised to high-floor level. The Breslauer Platz stop , which was passed through without stopping in the course of the construction of the north-south light rail system from August 2007 to December 2011, has also had elevated platforms since its reopening on December 11, 2011. The Appellhofplatz / Zeughaus stop and the platforms for lines 16 and 18 at Barbarossaplatz still need to be rebuilt .

The Severinstraße stop was provided with temporary wooden high-floor platforms as part of the construction of the north-south light rail. The final platforms were completed in January 2014. Lines 3 and 4 that run here became the first high-floor lines on which folding steps are no longer required.

Former lines

line	Lines	from	to
1	Weiden Schulstr. - Junkersdorf - Müngersdorf - Braunsfeld - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück - Refrath - Bensberg	June 16, 2002	May 27, 2006
	Junkersdorf - Müngersdorf - Braunsfeld - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück - Refrath - Bensberg	2nd August 1980	June 15, 2002
	Sülz, Hermeskeiler Platz - University - Zülpicher Platz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück - Refrath - Bensberg	19th October 1970	August 1, 1980
	Bocklemünd - Bickendorf - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Brabanter Str. - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück - Refrath - Bensberg	June 12, 1967	October 18, 1970
2	discontinued (replaced by line 7 between Neumarkt and Frechen)	May 30, 1999
	Benzelrath - Frechen - Marsdorf - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt (- Heumarkt - Deutz - Poll - Porz - Zündorf)	September 25, 1994	May 30, 1999
	Benzelrath - Frechen - Marsdorf - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt (- Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim)	2nd August 1980	September 24, 1994
	Sülz, Hermeskeiler Platz - University - Zülpicher Platz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz - Vingst - Ostheim	19th October 1970	2nd August 1980
	Folding rule, Südfriedhof - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Dom / Hbf.	October 6, 1969	October 18, 1970
	Zollstock, Südfriedhof - Barbarossaplatz - Zülpicher Platz - Mauritius Church - Neumarkt - Poststrasse - Barbarossaplatz - Zollstock, Südfriedhof	June 12, 1967	5th October 1969
3	Mengenich - Bocklemünd - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Station Deutz / Messe - Buchheim - Holweide - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch	June 16, 2002	August 26, 2018
	Bocklemünd - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Station Deutz / Messe - Buchheim - Holweide - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch	19th October 1970	June 15, 2002
	during the underground construction in Ehrenfeld only from Venloer Str./Gürtel	September 16, 1989	May 30, 1992
	Bickendorf, loop on Erlenweg - Akazienweg - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Brabanter Str. - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Kleiner Greeksmarkt - Severinsbrücke - Deutz / Messe station - Buchheim - Holweide - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch	June 12, 1967	October 18, 1970
4th	Bickendorf, Äußere Kanalstrasse - Subbelrather Strasse / Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Deutz / Messe station - Mülheim - Höhenhaus - Dünnwald - Schlebusch	June 24, 1989	May 30, 1992
	Bocklemünd - Subbelrather Straße / Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Deutz / Messe station - Mülheim - Höhenhaus - Dünnwald - Schlebusch	April 24, 1985	June 23, 1989
	Bocklemünd - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Deutz / Messe station - Mülheim - Höhenhaus - Dünnwald - Schlebusch	7th January 1975	April 23, 1985
	Bickendorf, Akazienweg - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Hans-Böckler-Platz - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Deutz / Messe station - Mülheim - Höhenhaus - Dünnwald - Schlebusch	19th October 1970	January 6, 1975
	Rudolfplatz (Moltkestr.) - Neumarkt - Severinstr. - Station Deutz / Messe - Mülheim - Höhenhaus, Neurather Weg;	April 8, 1968	October 18, 1970
5	At the Butzweilerhof - Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / main station. - Town hall	12/2012	12/2013
	At the Butzweilerhof - Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / main station. - Ebertplatz - Reichenspergerplatz	12/2010	12/2012
	Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / main station. - Ebertplatz - Reichenspergerplatz	May 23, 1993	12/2010
	Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / main station. - Ebertplatz - Reichenspergerplatz - Zoo / Flora - Mülheim - Höhenhaus, Neurather Weg	November 9, 1986	May 22, 1993
	Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / main station. - Ebertplatz - Reichenspergerplatz	19th October 1970	November 8, 1986
	Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / main station.	October 11, 1968	October 18, 1970
6th	discontinued (replaced by condensing line 15)	06/2007
	Longerich - Weidenpesch - Nippes - Ebertplatz ("6 North")	10/2006	06/2007
	Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring ("6 South")	10/2006	06/2007
	Longerich - Weidenpesch - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring	09/2002	10/2006
	Longerich - Weidenpesch - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Bayenthal - Marienburg, Südpark	07/27/1974	September 7, 2002
	(HVZ: Fordwerke, Ölhafen -) Niehl - Weidenpesch - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Bayenthal - Marienburg, Südpark	19th October 1970	July 26, 1974
7th	Sülz, Hermeskeiler Platz - University - Zülpicher Platz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz - Poll - Porz - Zündorf	2nd August 1980	May 29, 1999
	Junkersdorf - Müngersdorf - Melaten - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz - Poll - Porz - Zündorf	June 12, 1967	2nd August 1980
8th	set (replaced by compression of lines 7 and 9)	06/2007
	University - Zülpicher Platz - Neumarkt (- Poll - Porz) / (- Station Deutz / Messe)	1999	06/2007
	set	2nd August 1980	1999
	Müngersdorf (stadium) - Melaten - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Heumarkt - Deutz / Messe - Kalk - Höhenberg - Merheim - Brück (- Refrath)	April 8, 1968	2nd August 1980
9	Chorweiler - Heimersdorf - Longerich - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Cathedral / Central Station - Neumarkt - Deutz - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim - Rath-Heumar - Königsforst	17th November 1973	September 24, 1994
	Chorweiler, Stallagsweg - Heimersdorf - Longerich - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Deutz - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim - Rath-Heumar - Königsforst	18th May 1971	November 16, 1973
	Longerich - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Dom / Hbf - Neumarkt - Deutz - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim - Rath-Heumar - Königsforst	19th October 1970	17th May 1971
	Longerich - Niehl - Fordwerke, Ölhafen (only during rush hour)	June 12, 1967	October 18, 1970
10	discontinued (replaced by compression of line 12)	September 26, 1994
	Folding rule, Südfriedhof - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Niehl - Merkenich	October 31, 1987	September 26, 1994
	Klettenberg - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Niehl - Fordwerke, Ölhafen	August 25, 1974	November 9, 1986
	Klettenberg - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Weidenpesch - Longerich	October 6, 1969	July 27, 1974
11	discontinued (replaced by line 18)	November 9, 1986
	Klettenberg - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / Central Station - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Höhenhaus, Neurather Weg	July 27, 1974	November 9, 1986
12	Folding rule, Südfriedhof - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Dom / Hbf. - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Niehl - Merkenich	October 18, 1970	12/2003
13	Sülzgürtel - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Ehrenfeld - Nippes - Riehl - Mülheim - Höhenhaus, Neurather Weg	May 23, 1993	May 31, 1997
	Sülzgürtel - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Ehrenfeld - Nippes - Riehl - Mülheim, Wiener Platz	August 25, 1974	May 22, 1993
	Sülzgürtel - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Ehrenfeld - Neuehrenfeld, Takuplatz	October 23, 1972	August 25, 1974
	Sülzgürtel - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Ehrenfeld - Bilderstöckchen, Longericher Str.	September 30, 1963	October 22, 1972
14th	set	2003
	KölnMesse - Deutz / Messe - Neumarkt - Dom / Hbf. (Use only on trade fair days)	17th January 1984	May 27, 2003
15th	Thielenbruch - Dellbrück - Buchheim - Mülheim - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring	September 25, 1994	December 13, 2003
	Thielenbruch - Dellbrück - Buchheim - Mülheim - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Chlodwigplatz - Ubierring - Rodenkirchen - Sürth	August 12, 1978	September 24, 1994
	Ossendorf - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Neumarkt - Severinsbrücke - Deutz - Mülheim - Höhenhaus, Neurather Weg (only during peak hours)	19th October 1970	October 23, 1972
	Sülz, Hermeskeiler Platz - University - Zülpicher Platz - Friesenplatz - Dom / Hbf.	October 11, 1968	October 18, 1970
16	Bonn-Bad Godesberg - Bonn Hbf - Wesseling - Sürth - Rodenkirchen - Ubierring - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Niehl, Sebastianstr.	10/2006	6/2007
	Bonn-Bad Godesberg - Bonn Hbf - Wesseling - Sürth - Rodenkirchen - Ubierring - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Dom / Hbf - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Buchheim, Herler Strasse	1997	2003
	Bonn-Bad Godesberg - Bonn main station - Wesseling - Sürth - Rodenkirchen - Ubierring - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Dom / Hbf - Ebertplatz - Mülheim, Wiener Platz	August 12, 1978	May 31, 1997
	Rodenkirchen, Siegfriedstrasse - Rheinufer - Ubierring - Chlodwigplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Holweide - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch		August 11, 1978
17th	set	10/2006	12/2015
	Ubierring - Chlodwigplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Dom / Hbf - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Buchheim, Herler Straße (only in the evenings and on weekends)	12/2003	10/2006
	Ubierring - Chlodwigplatz - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Niehl, Sebastianstraße (only in the evenings and on weekends)	May 31, 1997	12/2003
	Klettenbergpark - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / Central Station - Ebertplatz - Reichenspergerplatz	November 9, 1986	1992
18th	Bonn main station - Brühl - Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Buchheim - Dellbrück - Thielenbruch	10/2006	6/2007
	Bonn main station - Brühl - Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / main station - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Longerich - Heimersdorf - Chorweiler	9/1994	10/2003
	Bonn main station - Brühl - Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / main station - Ebertplatz - Mülheim	November 9, 1986	09/1994
	Bonn, Rheinuferbahnhof - Brühl - Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz Operated by the Cologne-Bonn Railways	August 12, 1978	November 9, 1986
19th	discontinued (replaced by condensing line 18)	August 5, 2007
	Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / Central Station ("19 South")	October 9, 2006	August 5, 2007
	Breslauer Platz - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Buchheim, Herler Str. ("19 North")	October 9, 2006	August 5, 2007
	Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / Central Station - Ebertplatz - Mülheim - Buchheim, Herler Str.	December 15, 2003	October 8, 2006
	Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Niehl, Sebastianstr.	May 31, 1992	December 14, 2003
	Hürth-Hermülheim - Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Niehl, Sebastianstr.	September 27, 1991	May 30, 1992
	Hürth-Hermülheim - Klettenberg - Sülzgürtel - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Weidenpesch - Niehl	November 9, 1986	September 26, 1991
	Brühl Mitte - Brühl Ost - Berzdorf - Wesseling Querbahn , operated by the Cologne-Bonn Railways	August 12, 1978	May 31, 1981
	Longerich - Nippes - Ebertplatz - Friesenplatz - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt - Deutz - Kalk - Vingst - Ostheim - Rath-Heumar - Königsforst	5th October 1964	19th October 1970
20th	set (replaced by line 2)	2nd August 1980
	Benzelrath - Frechen - Marsdorf - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt	October 10, 1969	2nd August 1980
	Benzelrath - Frechen - Marsdorf - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Rudolfplatz - Neumarkt (- Heumarkt - Deutz - Poll) (only in high season)	October 6, 1969	October 9, 1969
	Klettenberg - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Ebertplatz - Nippes - Niehl - Fordwerke, Ölhafen	June 10, 1967	April 8, 1968
21st	Klettenberg - Barbarossaplatz - Rudolfplatz - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / Central Station.	October 11, 1968	5th October 1969
	Klettenberg - Barbarossaplatz - Neumarkt - Cathedral / main station.	October 6, 1969	October 18, 1970
23	Sülzgürtel - Lindenthal - Braunsfeld - Ehrenfeld - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Dom / Hbf.	October 11, 1968	October 18, 1970

business

Basically, all lines within the Cologne city area run Monday to Friday from approx. 5/6 a.m. to approx. 8 p.m. every 10 minutes, with lines 1, 9 and 15 being condensed to a 5-minute cycle during rush hour and line 18 runs twice as often as the other lines all day and also on weekends. The outer branches of lines 1 (Brück - Bensberg), 7 (Aachener Straße / Gürtel or Frechen Bahnhof - Frechen-Benzelrath), 12 (Niehl - Merkenich), 16 (Sürth - Bonn) and 18 (Klettenberg - Hürth / Brühl / Bonn ) are sometimes only served every 20 minutes on weekdays. In the off-peak hours (after 8 p.m. and on weekends), it runs every 15 minutes, and late in the evening every 30 minutes.

The light rail lines in Cologne's urban area usually run Monday to Thursday between 5/6 a.m. and 1 a.m. On the nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the light rail lines operate at night every 30 minutes, sometimes every 15 minutes.

New buildings

The start of the conversion of the Cologne tram to the Stadtbahn standard cannot be determined as a single event. Tunnels and individual above-ground sections have been built almost continuously since the mid-1960s, with different parameters being used as a basis for almost every project and sometimes even being changed between several construction phases. Accordingly, there were a large number of master plans that rarely lasted for a long time. Therefore, the new buildings are treated in chronological order in the following lines.

Inner city tunnel

Appellhofplatz in the inner city tunnel: condition before the conversion to elevated platforms

The inner city tunnel went into operation in stages between 1968 and 1970. First, traffic on the section from the cathedral / main train station via Appellhofplatz to a provisional ramp in front of Friesenplatz was started, and the following year the section from Appellhofplatz to Barbarossaplatz was added. At the Appellhofplatz station , an underground track triangle was created , with the track from Friesenplatz to the main station crossing under the other tracks. In October 1970 the sections Poststrasse - Severinsbrücke and Dom / Hauptbahnhof - Breslauer Platz followed . Another provisional ramp was built behind the Breslauer Platz stop . The also provisional ramp on Barbarossaplatz is still in operation today.

The inner city tunnels were laid out as an underground tram route . That is why they have some very tight curves and two branches at the same level on Appellhofplatz and Poststrasse. There are currently three lines running on the route every 10 minutes and one line every 5 minutes. ^[outdated]

Chorweiler

Heimersdorf tunnel station

The first subway-like section from the outset is the new line connecting the satellite town of Chorweiler, built in the early 1970s, in the north of Cologne. In 1971, the construction was carried out of the first, 2.3-kilometer section section: On a separate sheet body it branches in Longerich of the existing tram route towards the north, passes under Militärringstraße and crosses the highway A1 to the tunnel station Heimersdorf . The route ended in a provisional loop about 200 meters behind.

In 1973 the route, partly in a trough , but mostly in a tunnel, was extended by one kilometer to the Chorweiler terminus . The route ends here in a tunnel station shared with the S-Bahn line S 11.

Line 9 ran to Chorweiler with eight-axle Duewag GT 8 trams until 1994 . As part of the route network reform in 1994, the rail line took 18 of Bonn coming with high-floor light rail vehicles Type B . A few years later, the platform track was lowered by 55 centimeters in order to allow entry and exit at the same height. At the end of 2001 it was decided to extend the low-floor system to the ring route and the branches to Chorweiler, Merkenich and Zollstock. In order to enable level entry and exit in Chorweiler at platforms 35 centimeters above the top of the rails, the platform track was graveled again in 2006. Since then, low-floor vehicles have been used on line 15, which swapped its northern route to Thielenbruch with line 18 in 2003.

Ebertplatz, Nippes and Gürtel-Hochbahn

B-car as line 13 on the Gürtel elevated railway

From the park belt , the urban railway line 13 runs as an elevated railway

1974 saw the largest ever commissioning of tunnel routes: the routes from Breslauer Platz and Hansaring to the zoo and under Neusser Strasse with a four-track tunnel station on Ebertplatz. The station is designed for efficient operation. Almost all branches are free of height. The two tunnel tubes from Ebertplatz to Hansaring have a cross connection so that an underground turning loop is created. Likewise, at Reichenspergerplatz, the tunnel connection towards Amsterdamer Straße was used to set up a turning loop. Since the Bundesbahn's planning for the construction of the main S-Bahn line was well advanced, the section from Ebertplatz to behind the railway underpass at Hansaring was included. A S-Bahn stop was planned here. The tunnel for the light rail was also built when the north-east connections to the north-south route were built.

In addition to the completion of the inner city route, the construction of a tunnel under Neusser Strasse was given priority. In the Nippes district , Neusser Strasse is a narrow main traffic and shopping street and the route to the north of Cologne on the left bank of the Rhine was at that time the most heavily frequented section of the entire network outside the city center. In order to shorten the journey time from the north of Cologne as much as possible, large distances between stops were chosen under Neusser Straße, at the price of a poorer development effect. For cost reasons, the tunnel could only be led to the Mollwitzstrasse stop. Originally, an underground tour was planned as far as Wilhelm-Sollmann-Straße, where the route divides into two branches. The current tunnel ramp is therefore designed as a provisional ramp.

The plans for road construction at that time envisaged an early extension of the belt as a four-lane road from Bilderstöckchen to the Mülheimer Brücke . This is why this line was also built, mainly as an elevated railway . The line connects to the Nussbaumerstraße with the belt line, which runs up to there in the median of the belt, and connects it with the Mülheim bridge. However, the Cologne – Neuss railway line is underpassed in the tunnel; there is an underground station here (Geldernstrasse / Parkgürtel) with the option of changing to the S-Bahn. On the approach to the bridge, the belt section meets the section from Reichenspergerplatz, which is also completely cross-free in the median of Riehler Straße. In order to create the necessary space to overcome the differences in altitude, the two routes initially cross on different levels in the area of ​​the Slabystraße stop before they merge.

Deutz / Kalk

Tiles typical of the time in the Fuldaer Straße underground station, which opened in 1979

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

Construction work for lines 3 and 4

In Cologne, on the right bank of the Rhine, the first urban railway tunnel was opened in four construction phases from the outskirts into the city between 1976 and 1983. After the Frankfurter Straße stop had been relocated to a trough in Höhenberg in 1964 , the ramp to the first section of the tunnel with the Fuldaer Straße station was put into operation. The adjoining tunnel in Kalk , Vingst and Deutz followed in three further construction phases in 1980, 1981 and 1983. At the Kalk Kapelle station, the route from Königsforst runs without any intersections. The Deutz Fachhochschule branch has only been used as an operating line since 1994 to connect the Merheim depot to the high-floor network. However, on the outward and inward journeys to and from Merheim, passengers are often also transported via this junction. These trains are often, but not always, marked as an E line .

A four-track underground parking facility was also built between the Deutz Technical University and Deutz / Messe station . The Kalk Post stop was designed as a civil defense system. Under the stop at Cologne Messe / Deutz train station, an additional stop level was built in the shell as an advance payment for a lowering of lines 3 and 4 planned at the time. However, since this tunnel route will not be built for the foreseeable future, the shell is viewed as a ruined investment in the Cologne light rail network.

At the same time as the tunnel was being built, the Deutz bridge was widened as an access route to such an extent that the light rail system could have a route completely separated from individual traffic.

The branch towards Porz on the bridgehead on the right bank of the Rhine was also planned as a temporary measure during construction. In a further stage of expansion, the route should only branch off to the south after the Deutz Fachhochschule stop. For this purpose, short nozzles were built into the tunnel at this point.

Rheinuferbahn

Stop at Schönhauser Str. On the banks of the Rhine in front of the new building

→ Main article : Rheinuferbahn

Line 16 has been an overland line since 1978: At the level of the Marienburg stop (now Heinrich-Lübke-Ufer ), it branches off from its previous route in the center of Rodenkirchen to the Rheinuferbahn of the Cologne-Bonn Railways (KBE), which runs up to leads to Bonn. In contrast to the solution chosen later in Karlsruhe, the railway line was converted to run with light rail vehicles for light rail operations, instead of building light rail vehicles for free use on railway lines. However, the Rheinuferbahn, already operated with direct current by KBE, could be converted by changing the voltage (750  V instead of 1200 V) and adding magnetic travel locks to the inductive train protection system and converting the switches for the narrower wheel tires of the light rail vehicles. However, the line will continue to be operated as a railway line according to the EBO, whereby there is still freight traffic with rail cars on the southern section . Bonn vehicles entered the Cologne network for the first time via line 16, with drivers changing in Wesseling until 1984.

KBE had already inaugurated a new Rodenkirchen Süd stop (today Michaelshoven ) in 1971 , and in 1979 the Siegstrasse stop was also put into operation. In the 1990s, all the stops up to Wesseling were retrofitted with elevated platforms, which means that this section of the route can only be used with light rail vehicles, as the platforms protrude into the EBO clearance profile .

A turning system was set up at the Sürth stop for light rail operations . In order to relieve this turning system with the commissioning of the southern section of the north-south light rail in December 2015, the existing turning system in Rodenkirchen was expanded in autumn 2015. Since 2015, the specially created line 17 has been traveling the part south of the collapse site from the Severinstraße transfer station , including the branch to the second construction stage south of the Bonner Wall stop , to the south of Cologne.

Friesenplatz - Gutenbergstrasse

The inner city tunnel was extended in 1985 from Friesenplatz. At the Hans-Böckler-Platz / Bahnhof West stop , where there are direct elevators from the platforms to the platform of the DB Cologne West station , the tunnel branches off the extension to Ehrenfeld at no height, swings to the north under the inner green belt reaches the surface again at the Gutenbergstrasse stop . According to the timetable, the section from the Hans-Böckler-Platz stop has been used by line 5 since the opening. However, with the opening of the section, the route of lines 3 and 4 through Ehrenfeld for the construction of the tunnel under Venloer Straße was taken out of service. During the construction phase, these lines used the new tunnel exit and from Subbelrather Straße / Gürtel a diversion route that met again on the Äußere Kanalstrasse to the old route to Bocklemünd.

Foothill railway

→ Main article : Vorgebirgsbahn

Like the Rheinuferbahn eight years earlier, the Vorgebirgsbahn was completely converted to light rail operation in 1986. The trams and foothills have been using the same tracks between the terminus at Barbarossaplatz and Klettenberg since the gauge change and electrification in the 1930s . In Cologne, the changes to light rail operations were initially limited to the changed use of vehicles and the closure of the KBE terminus on Barbarossaplatz. Modifications were only necessary on the EBO route, which begins at the Cologne city limits. During the conversion, tram lines 10 and 11 were replaced by the Stadtbahn, so that the Klettenberg turning loop could subsequently be replaced by a turning track. In the years 1990 to 1992, the route section was finally retrofitted with elevated platforms in the middle position, which could be built without the track swiveling, as the tracks along Luxemburger Strasse are very far apart.

For the years 2018/20, the construction of a short tunnel behind the Klettenberg turning facility is planned to pass under the congested intersection of Luxemburger Strasse and Militärringstrasse.

Rings tunnel

Stop at Christophstraße / MediaPark

The tunnel under the rings has existed since October 1987 . It connects to the existing tunnel from Ebertplatz at Hansaring and crosses under the surface east-west section at Rudolfplatz . At Friesenplatz, it crosses under the inner city tunnel, creating a tower station. This is the only completely underground crossing in Cologne, which is a bit angled because of the side platforms lying one above the other. At Zülpicher Platz, the tunnel ends at a formerly very narrow stop on the surface, which is located directly at a track crossing. This stop was widened somewhat in the early summer of 2006 - at the expense of the second lane for vehicles. The renovation was necessary because, due to changes in operations during the construction of the north-south light rail, many transfer operations were relocated. Thus, the capacity of the platforms has been adapted to the expected number of passengers.

The Rings Tunnel is the last Cologne tram tunnel to be built with low side platforms.

The Rudolfplatz stop and the mezzanine floor were also expanded as a shelter during the construction of the Rings Tunnel .

In August 1999, the Christophstraße / Mediapark stop was the scene of the worst accident in recent Cologne light rail history, when the CitySprinter prototype hit a stationary train without braking.

Ehrenfeld

K5000 on line 3 and line 4 at the Rochusplatz stop (formerly Äußere Kanalstraße)

The tunnel through Ehrenfeld was opened in two stages: The route from Hans-Böckler-Platz to the Venloer Straße / Gürtel stop has been open since 1989 . In addition to the belt line, there will also be a connection to the DB train station in Cologne-Ehrenfeld . In a second construction phase, light rail operations to Bocklemünd began in 1992. In Bocklemünd (initially for lines 3 and 4 and since 2002 for line 4 terminus) there is the possibility of changing to bus lines at a combined platform .

The Ehrenfeld Tunnel differs from the previous tunnels in several ways: For the first time, a tunnel section has been equipped with elevated platforms from the outset, and the stops have middle instead of side platforms. Based on the experience with the tunnel under Neusser Straße, the distances between the stops have been significantly shortened compared to the original planning in order to achieve better access. As a premiere, the previously common wall tiles were dispensed with in favor of a more elaborate design.

Amsterdam street

Tunnel ramp between the children's hospital and Reichenspergerplatz

Also in 1992 the tram line from Reichenspergerplatz to Niehler Sebastianstraße was opened. The route was planned in the 1960s, so that in the early 1970s, in addition to a tunnel branch at Reichenspergerplatz, an approximately 300-meter-long tunnel section under an intersection and the HGK route to Niehler Hafen was built as an advance payment. Since the latter tunnel was temporarily misused for mushroom cultivation , it was nicknamed the mushroom tunnel .

The rest of the route runs on the surface in the median of Amsterdamer Straße and is largely covered with grass track . The platforms are designed as central platforms and were designed very elaborately by Cologne standards, with the overhead line masts in particular representing works of art. The last 300 meters to the three-track (2 platform tracks, 1 siding) terminus run next to the embankment of a six-lane road. An approx. 1½ kilometer long extension to the line to Merkenich would be spatially possible, but is not currently planned.

Mülheim

Mülheim station tunnel stop

The Mülheim tunnel , which opened in Mülheim on the right bank of the Rhine on June 1, 1997, begins at the ramp of the Mülheim bridge , passes under Wiener Platz with a stop , runs under Frankfurter Strasse with a connection to the Cologne-Mülheim DB station and ends on the surface in Buchheim . It is the first light rail tunnel in Cologne that was dug with a tunnel boring machine in two tubes under the built-up area. Tunneling began in Buchheim in December 1992. A year later, the tunnel boring machine had returned to its starting point and in the meantime had dug two tunnels with a total length of 2.5 kilometers.

The Wiener Platz stop is just below the lower plaza that merges into the intermediate level of the stop. Daylight falls into the stop through several skylights. The Mülheim station stop is significantly lower. Nevertheless, the ceiling reaches just below the surface, which gives the system a distinctive shape. There is a continuous elevator from the Stadtbahn platform to the S-Bahn tracks.

Before this line was built, a tram line existed on the surface from Vischeringstrasse to Wiener Platz. Shortly after the Vischeringstraße stop, it left the route in the direction of Deutz and a short time later crossed the A3 motorway on a bridge before it merged onto Bergisch Gladbacher Straße. The entire route to Wiener Platz ran in the median of the street, where the stops were. The route had three stops: Herler Ring , Mülheimer Ring and Montanusstraße . At the Mülheimer Ring stop there was a double-track turning loop away from the road. The entire route was two-pronged. The old Wiener Platz stop was on the surface, approx. 50 meters north of the current one, before the Bergisch Gladbacher Straße confluence with the Clevischer Ring. At this point there was a double-track turning loop with a bus stop. Today this is covered with a parking garage. In the further course of the Clevischer Ring there was a double-track turning system for the railways on lines 16 and 18 since 1978.

Bensberg

K 4500 in Bensberg

Line 1 was extended in 2000 at its east end in Bergisch Gladbach - Bensberg : The route is led under the center of Bensberg to the new underground terminus Bensberg with a tunnel . The former terminus on the surface in front of the tunnel entrance, which had been called Bensberg , was renamed Im Hoppenkamp .

The 487-meter-long tunnel begins at the old bus stop and continues almost flat, while the surrounding area rises significantly. 242 meters were excavated using the mining method, the tunnel portal and the new stop were constructed using the open construction method. The new Bensberg stop is 14 meters below the surface. There are two parking levels in an underground car park above the stop . Behind the stop there is a short connection that is intended for a possible extension towards Herkenrath .

Pastures

Final stop Weiden West

On the same day as the extension to Mengenich, the section at the western end of Line 1, which was closed in 1956, was reopened: From its previous endpoint at Junkersdorf , the line was extended to the Schulstraße stop (now Weiden Römergrab ) in Weiden .

A particular problem arose with the reconstruction of the section of the route that led past the former headquarters of the television station RTL : In order to avoid disruptions to broadcasting operations due to vibrations, the rails had to be mounted on a complex mass-spring system .

For the 2006 World Cup , line 1 from Schulstrasse to the newly built S-Bahn stop Weiden West was again extended. At its new end point, line 1 meets the high-speed line Cologne – Aachen at right angles , on which lines S 13 and S 19 create new connections, especially towards the west. The purpose of this measure was to make the RheinEnergieStadion accessible from both directions with the tram: Up until now, 1. FC Köln's home games had been used on a large scale for reinforcement trips between the Deutz train station , Neumarkt and the stadium. It was hoped that the new connection to the S-Bahn on Bonnstrasse would enable them to cope better with these peaks in demand.

In addition, a park-and-ride area with 430 parking spaces was created at the new terminus . In particular, in contrast to the P + R car park Haus Vorst located on Line 7, the capacity is unexpectedly high, so that it has now been expanded by a further 250 to 680 spaces.

Butzweilerhof

When the timetable changed on December 12, 2010, line 5 was extended at its northwestern end by 1.85 kilometers to the Butzweilerhof industrial estate . In order to be able to implement the project as quickly as possible, the construction was financed by the KVB without subsidies from the state or the Federal Republic with the support of the companies located there. The companies based in the Butzweilerhof industrial park took over 5 million euros, the remaining 13 million euros were borne by KVB.

The line crosses the Cologne – Frechen railway line and is then on the south side of Hugo-Eckener-Strasse to the Alter Flughafen Butzweilerhof stop at the corner of Köhlstrasse. There the route branches off from Hugo-Eckener-Straße, runs via the stop IKEA Am Butzweilerhof into the center of Butzweilerhof with the final stop Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof .

Between the summer holidays 2010 and the opening date, not only was the extension line connected, but some stops along the previous line were also made barrier-free: the Takuplatz and Ossendorf stops were abandoned, the new Lenauplatz stop was moved towards Takuplatz.

QuantityI

In the early 1960s, a tram connection to the satellite town was also planned for the new Bocklemünd / Mengenich housing estate . This should take place as an extension from the old terminal Bocklemünd south of the military ring road with a crossing of the military ring road by means of a bridge. As a further course, a route was planned over the green strip to the left of the Ollenhauerring to Buschweg next to the A1 motorway . There the route should end in a turning loop. This initial planning was postponed for the time being, later replaced by the planning of a tunnel to the Görlinger center and also made as good as impossible by the expansion of the military ring road. In 2002, line 3 above ground was extended from Bocklemünd north of the military ring road to the new stop at Mengenich Ollenhauerring . This is the first construction stage of an originally planned extension to Bocklemünd / Mengenich, Görlinger-Zentrum . The second construction stage was to be carried out as a tunnel. The 944-meter-long extension would have cost around 45 million euros and was rated in the Integrated Overall Transport Planning NRW with a cost-benefit ratio of −0.37, which meant that there was no possibility of state funding. Instead, in 2006 the city council decided to take a tour on the surface, which would be considerably cheaper, but only run along the edge of the residential area. For the extension along the military ring road, which is pursued with high priority , several variants were developed, which provide for stops at Tollerstraße, Schumacherring or Buschweg and were presented in the course of 2008 for public participation.

On February 6, 2018, the symbolic first groundbreaking took place on the construction site for the new terminus at Schumacherring for the main work. This was preceded by a council decision on construction in September 2009, the planning approval decision in December 2015, the clearing of the route from the beginning of 2016 as well as work on new and existing water pipes by Rheinenergie and then the Europe-wide tendering of the contracts in autumn 2017.

The opening of the new Görlinger-Zentrum terminus took place on August 27, 2018.

The opening trip to Ollenhauerring was also the first official use of the new K5000 light rail vehicles .

expansion

Stepless access to platforms and trains

Barrier-free Am Emberg stop on line 4

In addition to the major north-south light rail project , step-free boarding and barrier-free access to all platforms have priority for the Cologne light rail system. While the low-floor lines had had suitable platforms at all stations for several years, the renovation of the stops in the inner city area in the high-floor network could only begin in 2003 due to the earlier mixed operation of high-floor and low-floor lines. The stops in the inner city tunnel have been or will be gradually converted to elevated platforms. At the end of May 2010, lines 3 and 4 became the first fully converted high-floor lines in Cologne. After the renovation of most of the inner city stops, the lack of high-floor platforms is now concentrated on the Belt Line (lines 5 and 13) and line 16. The Friesenplatz stop is a heavily frequented and so far not barrier-free tunnel stop ; There are no elevators here to get from street level to the platforms. Of a total of 352 stops, 323 are barrier-free.

line	1	3	4th	5		7th	9	12	13		15th	16		17th	18th
Stops	37	31	29	17th		33	24	27	23		23	50		8th	50
... with high-floor platforms	-	31	29	14th		-	-	-	10		-	40		8th	47
... with low-floor platforms	37	-	-	3		33	24	27	13		23	10		-	3

For explanation - the following stops are meant:

1. ↑ Sülzgürtel, Escher Str., Geldernstr./Parkgürtel, Neusser Str./Gürtel, Amsterdamer Str./Gürtel, Wiener Platz, Mülheim station, Herler Str., Wichheimer Str., Vischeringstr.
2. ↑ Appellhofplatz / Zeughaus, Subbelrather Str./Gürtel, Nussbaumerstr.
3. ↑ Reichenspergerplatz, Barbarossaplatz, Eifelstrasse, Ulrepforte, Chlodwigplatz, Ubierring, Urfeld, Widdig, Uedorf, Hersel
4. ↑ Slabystr., Reichenspergerplatz, Barbarossaplatz

Expansion on line 18 between Brühl and Bonn

In February 2015, the Cologne district government approved the double-track expansion between Brühl Mitte and Brühl-Badorf, followed by a public tender. After a good three years of construction, the expansion should be put into operation in the second half of 2018. A second track has already been laid between Brühl-Mitte and Badorf, which, however, could not yet be used due to delays in commissioning the signal box. The expansion was completed in April 2019.

Public transport roadmap 2018

As part of the so-called public transport roadmap, which was published by the City of Cologne in February 2018, eight major measures for the expansion and construction of the light rail network have been defined:

• Upgrading the east-west axis for operation with long trains, d. H. in particular, the extension of the platforms of Line 1 to allow the use of triple tractions, which are intended to cope with the increasing demand on this route (due to the high level of capacity utilization, it is currently hardly possible to increase the timetable); For details see below (East-West light rail)
• Extension of the north-south light rail from Arnoldshöhe south to Cologne-Meschenich
• Light rail connection from the Mülheim-Süd development area to Stammheim and Flittard in the north, starting from the trade fair roundabout in Cologne-Deutz
• Extension of the left-bank Gürtelbahn (line 13) to the south, possibly connection to line 16 on the banks of the Rhine
• Platform extensions for light rail lines 4 and 13
• Extension of the tram line 7 in the urban area on the right bank of the Rhine to the south beyond the current terminus at Zündorf
• further projects, the processing of which is dependent on further developments
• further operational additions to light rail traffic.

In addition, the Cologne transport company announced the reintroduction of line 8, which will connect Porz with Sülz (via Heumarkt - Neumarkt) on existing tracks from 2024 and relieve lines 7 and 9 respectively.

North-South light rail

→ Main article : North-South light rail

The north-south light rail is the current major project, with which the inner city tunnel is to be relieved and line 16 is to be accelerated. The first construction phase of the north-south light rail system was drilled in two tubes from Marktstrasse in the south under archaeologically interesting layers. Between the cathedral and the Philharmonie, they were connected with the two smaller tunnels that lead under the tracks of the main train station to Breslauer Platz. The second construction phase branches off from the tunnel of the north-south light rail at the Bonner Wall stop , was partially led to the surface of the Rhine and connects to the existing Rhine bank route at the Schönhauser Straße stop . Line 16 is significantly accelerated because the detour via the rings to Barbarossaplatz is no longer necessary to get to the inner city tunnel. In addition, this will end the mixed operation of high-floor and low-floor vehicles on the southern rings.

City hall underground station

On March 3, 2009, earth broke into the construction pit of the track changeover at Waidmarkt for three to five minutes. The historical archive of the city of Cologne and two adjacent buildings fell into the resulting crater at 1:58 p.m. and were destroyed as a result. Two residents of one of the collapsed neighboring houses died.

In July 2010, the KVB announced that the four-kilometer route would be ready in 2015 at the earliest; the construction work could also extend into 2017. The KVB named investigations after the archive collapse and the recovery of archive material as the reasons for the long construction period. While in February 2012 it was assumed that the route would be fully operational in 2019, as the investigations continued, completion had been expected in 2023 since 2015. In December 2017, the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe assumed completion in 2025. After the court-appointed appraiser surprisingly declared in May 2018 that the investigations into the collapse of the subway construction site and the Cologne city archive had now been completed, it appeared possible that construction work on Waidmarkt could be resumed at short notice. Then completion of the continuous line in 2022 would have been conceivable. However, in March 2019 it was announced that it is now expected to open from 2026 to 2027. In order to be able to use the completed parts of the route in advance, it was put into operation in sections. In December 2012, line 5 was extended to the new Rathaus stop and since December 2013 it has been running to the next stop, Heumarkt . Since a track change is not possible in this section of the tunnel, only the track in the western tunnel tube is used.

The southern section between Severinstrasse and Rodenkirchen / Sürth was put into operation on December 13, 2015 as line 17. Originally, it was only planned to operate during rush hour, but the decision was made to operate all day.

The construction work of the 3rd construction phase between Marktstrasse / Raderberg and Arnoldshöhe / Marienburg should start at the beginning of 2016 and be completed by the end of 2018. The plan approval decision was issued in April 2016, but was complained about and the start of construction was therefore postponed until the grant notification was received. The lawsuits against the planning approval decision were rejected by the Higher Administrative Court in Münster on October 14, 2017 and the tree felling necessary for the construction began on October 20, 2017. The preparatory work was started in March 2018 by RheinEnergie and this should be completed by February 2020 ^[obsolete] . At the same time, the municipal drainage company started construction of the storage sewer in October 2019 and construction for the north-south light rail is planned for summer 2020.

East-west light rail

East-West light rail (long variant)
from Bensberg and Königsforst from Zündorf Deutz Bridge Start of the east-west tunnels Heumarkt ( north-south light rail ) Neumarkt ( inner city tunnel ) no route to the south station Rudolfplatz ( Rings Tunnel ) Moltkestrasse Direction Sülz Universitätsstrasse End of the east-west tunnel Melates after Weiden and Frechen

Already since the 1970s there has been discussion about letting the east-west lines run in a tunnel in the downtown area. This is why the mezzanine floor of the new Heumarkt stop of the north-south light rail is built in such a way that it can accommodate the east-west lines. In the course of the construction of the Rings Tunnel, the Rudolfplatz stop was designed in such a way that a third level could be built from an architectural and static point of view ( tower station ). The Neumarkt is problematic because there is no preliminary construction work there . A new east-west tunnel would have to be bored well below the existing north-south urban railway tunnel. The connections between the platforms and the levels should be no less complicated.

In February 2006 the City Council of Cologne decided to put the plans for an east-west tunnel into concrete terms. This is intended to accelerate rail traffic and create space for a reorganization of surface traffic, for example to be able to relocate vehicle traffic completely to the south side of central Neumarkt and to end its island location. The aim is to improve the quality of stay for pedestrians in parts of the city center. There are different planning variants for the route of the east-west light rail, which differ in length from each other:

• short variant: West ramp Deutzer Brücke to Hahnenstraße (including the Neumarkt stop)
• middle variant: West ramp Deutzer Brücke to Aachener Weiher (in front of Universitätsstraße) with a branch to the route to Sülz between Neumarkt and Zülpicher Platz
• long variant: Ostrampe Deutzer Brücke to Melaten with a branch to the route to Sülz under Universitätsstraße or in front of the Aachener Weiher

The plans for an east-west tunnel have been subject to massive criticism for years, especially because the routes on the surface are already of a high standard. In addition to the Green Party, the Cologne Transport Initiative Forum, in which u. a. the economic and ecological transport clubs VCD , ADFC , Pro Bahn and the working group rail transport in the Rhineland are organized, an underground tour on the left bank of the Rhine east-west axis for urban planning and financial reasons. According to the critics, a route in the tunnel would hardly have any advantages for the passenger in practice. From the point of view of many traffic experts, this project pursues the obsolete goal of a city that is more car-friendly. Rather, it is required to leave the light rail routes on the surface and, at the same time, to use the funds released for the expansion of other public transport projects (see below) in Cologne, while at the same time massively reducing the traffic area of ​​today's motor vehicle traffic. As an economical and ecological alternative to the east-west tunnel, priority circuits are required for the light rail system, which make it possible to stop in the stations parallel to vehicle traffic when cross traffic passes the intersections, as well as the expansion of the Neumarkt stop on the surface a double stop with longer and wider platforms, where two trains can be dispatched at the same time to save time. In addition, further measures to optimize the timetable with reduced journey times for passengers. It is also criticized that an east-west tunnel could not resolve the capacity bottlenecks on the route.

On December 18, 2018, a majority in the Cologne city council, consisting of the Greens, CDU representatives and the Gut electoral group, voted for a compromise that provides for a tunnel (estimated cost of 750 € for the KVB route between the Deutz bridge and the Aachener Weiher) Million euros) as well as an above-ground expansion. When the results of both plans are available, the decision for or against a tunnel should be made. For the transition phase, the platforms of the entire Line 1, as already planned in the public transport roadmap of February 2018 , are to be converted for longer trains. The Cologne city council also decided on July 10, 2019, to relieve the light of the tram during rush hour, the bus route 171 from Mülheim via Kalk and Deutzer Brücke to Breslauer Platz (at Cologne main station), the bus route 172 from Widdersdorf via Lövenich, Müngersdorf and Braunsfeld to the main station and the bus route 173 from Widdersdorf via Weiden, Junkersdorf and Braunsfeld to the main station; On Aachener Strasse, the section between the military ring and Universitätsstrasse runs on its own bus lane.

In the election campaign for the local elections in September 2020, the council parties promise to press ahead with the following solutions:

• SPD: Line 7 still above ground; Lines 1 and 9 underground from Deutzer Freiheit under the Rhine to the city center.
• CDU: U-Bahn tunnel between Heumarkt and Aachener Weiher with a branch for line 9 to Sülz.
• Greens: Above-ground solution with a reduction in car traffic on the east-west axis.
• FDP: tunnel solution between Heumarkt and Aachener Weiher; Continuation of line 7 under Dürener Straße to the Gürtel and from there to Frechen as before.
• Left: Above-ground solution.
• AfD: tunnel solution.

Further planning

All plans for further network expansions and the expansion of existing routes have been postponed to a more distant future due to the enormous financial requirements of the north-south light rail and the financial subsidies from the federal and state governments that are not available for Cologne in the medium term. A list of some projects that are repeatedly put up for discussion:

• Merging of the Gürtelbahn stops (lines 5 and 13) at Nussbaumerstraße and Subbelrather Straße and restoration of the Ehrenfeld station
• Extension of line 1 from Bergisch Gladbach-Bensberg to the east via Bergisch Gladbach-Moitzfeld to Bergisch Gladbach-Herkenrath / Kürten-Spitze
• Extension of line 5 beyond the Am Butzweilerhof industrial park to Longerich , where it is connected to the S-Bahn and / or the 15 tram
• Connection of the Widdersdorf district either from Bocklemünd (line 4) or from Cologne-Weiden-West (line 1), whereby the city of Cologne chose the variant via line 1 when registering the project for the 2017 public transport requirement plan because of the lower costs and greater development effect described as the preferred variant
• Extension of the Gürtelbahn (line 13) on the right bank of the Rhine from Mülheim to Ostheim and later to the S-Bahn station Frankfurter Straße
• Extension of the tunnel on Neusser Straße (Mollwitzstraße to Wilhelm-Sollmann-Straße)
• Extension of line 7 via Lülsdorf / Niederkassel to Bonn
• Extension of line 7 to the new development area Grube Carl in Frechen and on to Frechen-Habbelrath
• Branch line from Hürth-Hermülheim to Hürth -Zentrum.

Shutdowns

The Cologne tram was not spared from the great waves of decommissioning of the 1950s and 1960s. However, this was preceded by the Second World War , in which a large part of the city of Cologne - and with it of course the tram network - was destroyed. Some of the routes that were destroyed at the time, especially in the inner city area, were not rebuilt, but replaced by bus routes or alternative routes. The inner city of Cologne within the Ringstrasse was only made attractive again with the construction of the underground tram and the tram in the tunnel. The closures from 1955 mainly affected the suburban railways. How short-sighted these closures were can be seen from the fact that in the past thirty years some of these routes have been given parallel S-Bahn lines. Another disused route was rebuilt.

In the 1960s there were also some extensions to the tram network. In the north, for example, the Ford plants in Niehl and the Longerich district were connected to the network.

Disused route sections

• The line from Mannsfeld to Arnoldshöhe (closed on September 10, 1951) is to be rebuilt as the third construction phase of the north-south railway
• The route from Bonntor via Brühler Straße to Raderthal, Annastraße (closed on October 24, 1955)
• The line from Cologne-Junkersdorf to Lövenich (closed on October 22, 1956), rebuilt since 2002 and continued to Weiden
• The junction from Buchheim to the Mülheim station (closed on November 22, 1956)
• The line from Thielenbruch to Bergisch Gladbach (closed on May 6, 1957 and November 16, 1958), since 1975 S-Bahn line S 11 (Cologne - Bergisch Gladbach)
• The route from Nittumer Weg (city limits) to Leverkusen- Schlebusch (cemetery, on what was then the southern edge of the village) (closed on May 1, 1958)
• The route over Niehler Straße to Niehl (closed on October 26, 1958). As alternatives, the junction from Neusser Straße via Niehl to Merkenich and the subway from Reichenspergerplatz via Amsterdamer Straße to Niehl / Sebastianstraße were built.
• The line from Cologne-Mülheim via Stammheim, Flittard, Bayerwerk and Wiesdorf to Opladen (closed on October 26, 1958), since 1991 partially replaced by the S-Bahn line S 6 (Cologne - Leverkusen - Düsseldorf). Opladen can be reached with the regional train of the DB.
• The route from Deutz / Messe via Deutz-Mülheimer Straße. This line was replaced by the new line over the Palatinate Ring, remained on the remaining stretch of the southern part as work traffic to KHD on the southern part, was then shortened to two sidings under the Zoobrücke. This remained until the last renovation of the Deutz / Messe station (shut down between December 16, 1962 and August 27, 1976).
• The line from Porz-Zündorf via Niederkassel to Troisdorf and Siegburg (closed on September 6, 1964), belonging to the Kleinbahn Siegburg – Zündorf . A reconstruction of the section from Zündorf to Langel and later possibly via Niederkassel to Bonn has been under discussion for a long time.
• The street-flush route from Höhenberg, Bennoplatz via Olpener Straße to the Höhenberg junction, Frankfurter Straße. Re-routing on its own track parallel to Olpener Strasse; later lowered into a tunnel (closed on November 17, 1964)
• The route from Dom / Hbf. Via Christophstraße (later replaced by the subway route Dom / Hbf. - Appellhofplatz - Friesenplatz) and further on Gladbacher Straße with a branch to Escherstraße (closed on October 11, 1968)
• The Friesenplatz line via Brabanter Strasse to Rudolfplatz (closed on October 18, 1970), still used as an operating line until 1981
• There has been no passenger traffic on the Querbahn (then line 19) since 1981. The trains ran from Brühl Mitte via Brühl Nord, Brühl Bridge, Brühl Ost, Berzdorf Nord, Berzdorf, Wesseling Nord to Wesseling. Since there is extensive HGK freight traffic there, the route was not dismantled. The route is also used by light rail vehicles for entry and exit trips to the Wesseling depot .
• The loop Weidenpescher Park from Neusser Straße via Rennbahnstraße, Weidenpescher Park and Scheibenstraße in the course of the tunnel construction in Neusser Straße (closed on August 25, 1974)
• The route to Bickendorf Loop, Akazienweg from Venloer Strasse to Grüner Brunnenweg (closed on January 7, 1975)
• The branch from the Rheinuferbahn route to Siegfriedstrasse in the center of Rodenkirchen was given up on August 12, 1978 when the Rheinuferbahn was switched to light rail operation. Before that, tram line 16 drove him.
• The route from Friesenplatz via Venloer Strasse to Hans-Böckler-Platz (closed on May 31, 1981) was replaced by the diversion route via Gladbacher Strasse and later by the tunnel route due to the tunnel construction (section West I).
• The route Mülheim, Wiener Platz via Bergisch Gladbacher Strasse to Holweide, Vischeringstrasse; Closure with the opening of the Mülheim subway on May 31, 1997
• The line to the Merkenich loop, Ölhafen (closed on December 30, 2000)
• The route from Chlodwigplatz via Bonner Strasse , Koblenzer Strasse and Goltsteinstrasse to Cologne-Marienburg (line 6) was replaced by bus line 106 on August 30, 2002 as part of the preparations for the construction of the north-south light rail

Disused or renamed stops since 1980

Disused stops

• Bayenthalgürtel (Marienburg) (later: Goltsteinstraße / Gürtel)
• Betzdorfer Strasse (Deutz)
• Bickendorf
• Bonntor (Bayenthal)
• Fixheider Weg (Höhenhaus), replaced by Im Weidenbruch
• Fordwerke, Ölhafen (Niehl)
• Frankstrasse (Rodenkirchen)
• Gotenring (Deutz) (later: Deutz-Kalker Straße)
• Goltsteinstrasse / Belt
• Gumprechtstrasse (Ehrenfeld)
• Herler Ring (Buchheim)
• Homarstrasse (Vingst)
• Inner Canal Street (Ehrenfeld)
• Kalk, Markt (additional stop during the construction of the underground)
• Kalscheurer way (folding rule)
• Keupstraße (on Bergisch Gladbacher Straße) (later: Montanusstraße (Mülheim))
• Krückelstrasse (Poll)
• Marienburg, Südpark (Marienburg)
• Marienburger Strasse (Marienburg)
• Mülheimer Ring (Buchheim)
• Neuenhöfer Allee (Sülz)
• Neurather Ring (Höhenhaus) (later: Höhenhaus, Neurather Weg)
• Ossendorf, closed in the course of the extension of line 5
• Poll, Autobahn (Poll), replaced by Baumschulenweg
• Rolandstrasse (Neustadt-Süd)
• Rochusstrasse (Bickendorf)
• Schönhauser Straße (Bayenthal) (later: Koblenzer Straße) , formerly line 6
• South Bridge (Poll)
• Tacitusstrasse (Bayenthal)
• Takuplatz (Neuehrenfeld)
• Tulpenweg (Zündorf)
• Venloer Wall (Neustadt-Nord)
• Ziehglaswerke (Zündorf) (later: Porz Glaswerke)

Renamed stops

• Äussere Kanalstraße (Neuehrenfeld) (today: Iltisstraße)
• Deutz train station, Justinianstrasse and Constantinstrasse (underground today: Deutz / Messe station; later above ground: Deutz / KölnArena station; today: Deutz / LANXESS arena station)
• Bensberg (old) (renamed: Im Hoppenkamp)
• Deutz-Kalker Bad (later: Deutz University of Applied Sciences, today: Deutz Technical University)
• Klettenberg (Klettenberg), today Klettenbergpark
• Marienburg (today: Heinrich-Lübke-Ufer)
• Trade fair / sports hall (later: KölnMesse / Osthallen; today: KölnMesse)
• Müngersdorf (today: Old Military Ring)
• Oskar-Jäger-Straße / Gürtel (today: Melatengürtel)
• Rixdorfer Strasse (today: Mülheim, Berliner Strasse)
• Rochusstraße (Bickendorf), (later: Äußere Kanalstraße, today: Rochusplatz)
• Stadium (today: Rheinenergie-Stadion)
• Weiden Schulstrasse (today: Weiden Roman grave)

Disused station Fixheider way

Vehicle fleet

The Cologne tram has always had a diverse fleet of vehicles. In the 125-year history since the introduction of the horse-drawn tram, almost all technical developments in the tram and light rail sector are reflected. In the tram museum Thielenbruch are some to visit them, some in working order.

Pre-war period

With the electrification of the horse-drawn tram from 1901–1907 and the approximately simultaneous expansion of the route network to the suburbs, over 300 railcars were purchased within 15 years. Because of the very narrow and numerous curves in downtown Cologne, these vehicles were designed as two-axle vehicles.

The main suppliers were the two Cologne manufacturers van der Zypen & Charlier , later Westwaggon and the Herbrand wagon factory, which was taken over by Linke-Hofmann in 1917 . The trains mostly ran with one or two sidecars , for which the old horse-drawn tram cars were initially converted.

Four-axle wagons have been used on some lines of the suburban railways since 1906. Sidecar operation was also common here.

Towards the end of the 1920s, Westwaggon supplied longer wagons for the city lines, still as two-axle vehicles, but with the possibility of passenger flow: the conductor did not have to go to the passengers, but the passengers passed him on boarding. In 1939, Westwaggon first supplied vehicles for the heavily frequented circular line 18, which were equipped with newly developed three-axle steering racks. The stop display using light bulbs in these vehicles was also sensational for the time.

post war period

The Second World War also had devastating consequences for the fleet of vehicles: At the end of the war, 37 of the previously almost 1,000 vehicles were still operational. Until the mid-1950s, there were hardly any funds for new purchases, so there was a considerable shortage of vehicles. In addition to the reconditioning of damaged vehicles, Westwaggon delivered body wagons with new bodies on the chassis of destroyed pre-war vehicles.

When money was finally available for a larger procurement program, vehicles were initially ordered for the suburban routes, as the proportion of traffic on these routes had meanwhile doubled. 1955–1957 Westwaggon delivered railcars and sidecars that had two central entrances. The vernacular called them samba wagons because of their slightly rocking driving style . After the suburban railways were integrated into the tram network, some of these railcars were sold to the Linz Local Railway and rented to the Siegburger- und Siebengebirgsbahn . Further suburban railway vehicles were procured in 1958 by the Berlin Deutsche Waggon- und Maschinenfabriken (DWM), which were able to deliver very cheaply because of the Berlin subsidies and the use of old parts. These cars only had one central entry. Some of these cars were sold to the Badner Bahn in Vienna at the end of the 1960s , where they drove until the 1990s.

For inner-city traffic, Westwaggon delivered 80 four-axle large-capacity railcars (300–379, later 1301–1380), which were designed with a width of 2.5 meters. After the fire in a tram in 1957 left several people dead, the use of wagons with wooden bodies in passenger traffic was banned from 1960. Since a large part of the vehicle fleet had to be modernized within a few years, there was no follow-up order for the Westwaggon large-capacity railcars for cost reasons. Instead, an extensive renovation program was launched. The first articulated wagons were also created by extending two-axle vehicles with a two-axle trailer. In addition, the Berlin DWM supplied 40 six-axle articulated vehicles that were equipped with the engines of pre-war vehicles for cost reasons. Of the 40 six-axle vehicles, 30 were later extended to eight-axle vehicles. The weak engine meant that these vehicles were not suitable for tunnel operation. The vehicles in the conversion program were retired after 10 to 15 years. The eight-axle vehicles in Berlin reached an age of 20 years.

In the early 1960s, increasing staff shortages introduced a second wave of modernization, with the focus on the largest possible vehicles and sidecars for use without conductors. In 1963, the procurement of two series began with a total of 112 six-axle Duewag standard cars and 60 matching sidecars. Compared to the Duewag standard wagons, these vehicles were 2.5 meters wider and longer. In 1964/65 32 eight-axle Duewag standard cars with two joints were also delivered (38xx series). Since the sidecar operation in the new tunnels was not approved by the supervisory authority, a large conversion program began in 1968: All sidecars were used to build the rear sections of eight-axle articulated railcars of the type GT 8 (series 30xx and 31xx); the six-axle vehicles were extended to eight-axle vehicles of the 37 series with new middle parts. With new GT-8 deliveries, there were last 199 articulated vehicles. In 1983, 39 Düwag wagons were converted for operation in double traction to accommodate the increased number of passengers. In this way the capacity of the tunnels could be increased despite the constant number of trains. The last vehicles in this series and thus the last classic tram vehicles in Cologne were decommissioned in 2006.

Painting

Until the 1980s, trams in Cologne, like almost all of Germany, were painted beige. The western wagon types had a narrow pale green stripe, the Düwag wagons had their typical green decorative stripe below the window with the "Düwag-Spitz" on the front and in the area of ​​the aprons a narrow green line.

Around 1980, the Düwag wagons were painted like the type B light rail vehicles delivered from 1973 with red ribbon windows and white ribbons and red apron, whereby the "Düwag-Spitz" was retained.

present

Light rail car K4500 at Neumarkt

In 1973 the first two prototypes of the type B light rail vehicle were finally delivered. It was originally developed specifically for Cologne's needs and for a long time was the most common vehicle on the Cologne Stadtbahn. The high-floor light rail car B, of which 172 units were purchased in four generations between 1973 and 1996, now runs on all high-floor lines. The first generation (2000s) was phased out so that only four cars of this generation are still in use today. All 28 vehicles of the second generation (2100 series) were extensively modernized between 2010 and 2016. The first of the vehicles operated as 2400 series went into regular service in June 2014; the rest are to follow gradually.

Vehicles of the Flexity Swift family from the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation now make up the majority of the fleet. A total of 124 K4000 low-floor trams have been running on the low-floor network since 1995 , to which 69 vehicles from a K4500 series were added between 2005 and 2007 to meet the increased demand for vehicles due to the newly created low-floor lines. The B-wagons were supplemented by 59 high-floor K5000s in 2002/2003; Another 15 vehicles followed in 2011.

Numbers	Type	Construction year	Remarks
2012 (museum car, no longer in regular service), 2031, 2032, 2035, 2049	B100S	1973-1978	split windscreen, single doors next to the driver's cab; the last vehicles in this series, after the general inspection in 2010 they will be retired from 2020
2101-2122 2192-2199	B100S	1984/1985	second generation B-cars, newer doors installed 2192–2199: Cologne-Bonn Railways until 1992. The series is currently being rebuilt and renamed the 2400 series
2401-2428	B100S	Renovation since 2010	Conversion from the B100S built in 1984/1985 (series 2100), driver's cab only at one end
2201-2240	B80D	1987-1992	Driver's cab at one end only
2251-2260	B80D	1988/1989	The driver's cab at only one end, built by Waggon Union , 2251 and 2252 had differently shaped handrails and different steps from the start
2301-2333	B80D	1995/1996
4001-4124	K4000	1995-1998, 2002	Low floor
4501-4569	K4500	2004-2007	Low floor
5101-5159	K5000	2002/2003
5201-5215	K5200	2010/2011	minor changes compared to type K5000

On all lines with the exception of line 17, the vehicles drive in double traction ; single wagons are only used when there is a lack of vehicles. Technically, up to four vehicles could run together. Platform constructions are designed for double units. All underground stops with the exception of the oldest tunnel stations have 90 m long platforms and can also be served by triple traction. Individual stations in the 1970s were given 120 m long platforms and were prepared for a quadruple traction operation originally planned for Cologne. Since the 1980s, however, more and more platforms have been built on the surface where only double units can be processed. The use of longer trains therefore usually requires extensive modifications and is therefore only considered, not specifically planned.

Conversion car 2400

Renewed car 2422

After the 2100 series cars from 1984/1985 were getting on in years, they were extensively refurbished in the main workshop in the 2010s. In addition to the braking system, which was extensively renewed, the car body was also completely overhauled and given a new design. In the interior, the seats have been completely renewed, which gives more freedom of movement. The second driver's cab was also removed. The converted cars were given a 2400 number instead of the 2100 car number. The cost was estimated at 1.6 million euros per vehicle. In addition to the modernization in Cologne, Stadtwerke Bonn is also repositioning its cars from 1974 to 1977.

The wagons have had EBO approval since June 20, 2016. This means that the vehicles can now also be used on the railway lines of the Cologne Ports and Freight Transport (HGK).

Depots

As with all larger tram and light rail companies, there was also a tendency in Cologne to operate a few large depots instead of many small depots. In order not to let the necessary entry and exit journeys become too long, there are also some parking stations where several cars can be parked outside of the peak demand. There are also some connecting routes to make it easier to reach the depots and parking yards. In addition, on most entry and exit journeys, passengers are usually taken to a stop in front of the depot. However, these trips are not always published in the timetables.

Current depots

Depots and parking facilities

Wesseling

The Wesseling depot has been in operation as a depot of the Rheinuferbahn of the Cologne-Bonn Railways (KBE) since 1906. When the KBE lines were discontinued in 1986, the facilities were taken over by KVB and expanded. Today, vehicles for use on high-floor lines 16 and 18 are based here. Wesseling is the smallest of the Cologne depots and is repeatedly mentioned as a candidate for closure in connection with the merger considerations of the transport companies from Cologne and Bonn.

west

West depot

The depot West in Cologne-Braunsfeld is considered to be the heart of the KVB. The central control center, administration and building yard are also located on the premises of the depot. The depot was opened in 1924 and has been expanded several times since then. The problem is that the site cannot be expanded because residential and office buildings completely surround the site. Therefore, in the 1980s there were plans to build a new depot between Ossendorf and Longerich . However, these were canceled for financial reasons.

Merheim

The most modern depot of the KVB is the facility in Merheim . It was put into operation in 1994 on the site of a former garbage dump. The depot offers storage areas and halls for maintenance and cleaning for up to 150 vehicles. A possible expansion of the system for a further 50 vehicles was already provided for in the construction planning.

So far the depot has only been connected to the route from Deutz via Kalk to Bensberg . Another connection to the north to the Mülheim –Thielenbruch line has been planned since the start of construction planning, but has not yet been built.

Parking facility stadium

When the sports facilities in Müngersdorf were built in 1923, a larger parking facility was built on Aachener Strasse and modernized again and again in the decades that followed. This is mainly used to provide trains for spectators after a sporting event.

Since the tram line 1 operated on Aachener Straße is now the line with the most passengers in Cologne, the frequency is increased during rush hour. Some of the railcars required for this are parked outside of rush hour on the eight-track parking facility at the Rheinenergiestadion .

Parking facility Porz

Shortly after the Porz Markt stop, there is a double-track parking facility where the morning amplifier trains to the university are parked.

Parking facility Zündorf

At the southern end of line 7 in Porz-Zündorf there is another, single-track parking facility that was built in 2000. It became necessary because the exit routes from the Merheim and West depots to the distant Zündorf are too long and cumbersome, but the more conveniently located Porz and Deutz depots no longer existed and the nearby Porz storage facility became too small.

Deutz parking facility

The underground parking facility in Deutz is located east of the Deutz / Messe station . It was created during the construction of the Deutz underground tunnel in 1983. The plans for the new construction of the Merheim depot and the associated closure of the Deutz depot were already so specific at that time that the construction of this four-track storage facility was considered operationally necessary.

Parking facility Merkenich

It was not until 2005 that another parking facility was built behind the terminus of line 12 in Merkenich . Some vehicles from lines 12 and 15 spend the night here, which because of the long distance to the depots would otherwise have to travel too long to start the morning. It has two tracks, with each track being sufficient for six light rail cars. In October 2013, a third track was added to the facility. Now the bidirectional vehicles turn on a stump track (old track 1 shortened by a buffer stop and Sh 2). Three trains each are parked on the former track 2 (left) and the new track 3. The carriages on line 15 also pause here at 5-minute intervals during rush hour and then thread their way from Wilhelm-Sollmann-Straße to the normal Stretch a. These trains can also be viewed as additional trains on line 12, as they also take passengers here, but operate as line 15. Individual trains also run as line 15 to Longerich Friedhof and also take passengers. Both variants are not clearly marked in the timetable.

Disused depots

Entrance area of ​​the Thielenbruch stop in the hall of the former depot

When the horse-drawn tram was switched to electrical operation, several so-called depots were shut down. In the course of the expansion of the route network to the suburbs, there were further changes. In the following list, the closed systems are listed in descending order according to the closing date:

Thielenbruch

The Thielenbruch depot, located in the Dellbrück district , was opened in 1906 to accommodate the suburban trains of the two lines to Bergisch Gladbach . After the end of traffic on the Thielenbruch - Bergisch Gladbach section in 1958, the depot was at the terminus.

The opening of the Merheim depot made Thielenbruch dispensable and closed in 1994. In addition, it would have been difficult to expand or modernize the listed buildings. The KVB museum vehicles moved into one of the halls, and the terminus of today's lines 3 and 18 was relocated to the other hall.

east

With the opening of the Merheim depot in 1994, the East depot on the right bank of the Rhine in Deutz on Gummersbacher Strasse was also closed. This depot was opened in 1902 with the start of electrical operations on the right bank of the Rhine and was expanded and modernized several times in the following years. It served trams and suburban railways as an operational site.

The building was demolished after it was closed. In its place there are now residential buildings along Deutz-Kalker Strasse, a park and the Cologne Haie training center .

Sülz

The depot in Sülz , located at the terminus Hermeskeiler Platz (today's line 9), was opened in 1927. A lack of expansion options and the location in the middle of a residential area led to the closure in 1986. As a replacement, the former KBE depot in Wesseling was prepared for the tram. Today the area in Sülz is built on with multi-storey houses. The few trolleybuses in Cologne were also based in Sülz from 1950 to 1959 .

Porz

The small depot in Porz was responsible for the suburban trains on the line to Porz. It was opened with this route in 1909. After the suburban lines were integrated into the tram network, it became superfluous and closed in 1973. For some time it served as a bus depot.

Weidenpesch

The plant in Weidenpesch , which opened in 1902, was also one of the smaller depots , just a few meters south of the main workshop. The depot was closed in 1969 when major changes were imminent in the route network in the north of Cologne due to the construction of the subway under Neusser Straße. A new depot is currently planned in Weidenpesch, which will connect to the main workshop to the north.

south

The southern depot in Bayenthal was built for the horse-drawn tram in 1877 and later rebuilt and enlarged several times.

From 1955 it was increasingly used as a bus depot, while two of the three tram lines passing the depot were shut down in the 1950s. After the expansion and modernization of the Ost and Braunsfeld depots, it was closed to the tram sector in 1967. For a long time, however, a small part of the track system served as a parking facility for some of the overnight trains on the lines to Marienburg, Zollstock and Rodenkirchen. Since an increasing part of KVB's bus traffic was transferred to private companies from the 1990s, the company's bus fleet declined. The southern depot was closed completely in 1996 and then demolished.

Mülheim

Line O, terminus 1955 in Opladen

The depot in Mülheim was built in 1913 as a depot for the then still independent Mülheimer Kleinbahnen. After this company was taken over by the municipal railways in 1933, it was primarily used for the vehicles on the suburban railway to Opladen via Leverkusen . This route with line O was discontinued in autumn 1958, which also resulted in the closure of the depot.

Ehrenfeld

The depot in Ehrenfeld was also opened for the horse-drawn tram in 1877 . It was on Gutenbergstrasse between Venloer Strasse and Subbelrather Strasse. After a heavy air raid in July 1941, it was no longer used and the remains cleared away in the post-war period.

Main workshop

The main workshop of the Cologne Stadtbahn is in Weidenpesch . It has been in operation since 1923. There are no vehicles here, but all general inspections and major repairs are carried out here. The new vehicles are also put into operation here and obsolete old vehicles are taken out of service. The main workshop is connected to the HGK (freight transport) rail network for transporting these vehicles to and from the site.

In the post-war years and at the beginning of the 1960s, extensive vehicle conversions were carried out, some of which almost resembled a new building. The main workshop is also responsible for converting retired vehicles into company vehicles. In addition, dual-system light rail vehicles from other transport companies are serviced here.

technology

Signal with signal aspect Hp 3, secured by a magnetic travel lock between the rails

As in most German light rail networks , the vehicles run on standard-gauge tracks and are supplied via overhead lines. Direct current with a voltage of 800  V is fed into the contact wire , the vehicles are designed for a mains voltage of 750 V. Due to the development of the light rail from the tram network, there are relatively narrow curve radii of up to 25 meters in older systems such as the inner city tunnel and at road crossings . For comparison: the Stuttgart Stadtbahn routes were laid out with a minimum curve radius of 50 meters.

The vehicles use the maximum vehicle width of 2.65 meters permitted on the road. In the vehicles, four seats are arranged next to each other in seating groups, with the newer series K5000 and K4500 sometimes also in row seating. The platform height in the high-floor network is 90, that in the low-floor network 35 centimeters above the top of the rail . The platforms are all designed for at least 54 meters long double traction . The shortest platforms of the above-ground stops are 50 meters long and therefore require precise stopping, the longest platforms are 110 meters long in the Fuldaer Straße tunnel stop .

Signal boxes

The KVB rail network is (as of 2015) controlled by 16 signal boxes, all of which are remote-controlled from the central control center in the West depot. Most of the interlockings work with relay technology , the three interlockings at the Dom, Appellhofplatz and Neumarkt train stations in the inner city tunnel were replaced by electronic interlockings in 2006/2007 .

The route sections that are in the HGK rail network are controlled by the network control center in Kendenich ; remote-controlled signal boxes are also located in Brühl-Vochem, Merten, Roisdorf, Hersel, Sürth and Wesseling as well as Frechen and Bickendorf, Niehl (both only freight traffic). The centralization of the control technology in Kendenich was completed in 2008 with the switchover of the Rheinuferbahn signal boxes from the central signal box in Wesseling to Kendenich. The signal boxes on the Rheinuferbahn (line 16) are remote-controlled relay signal boxes. The signal boxes of the Vorgebirgsbahn (line 18) and Frechen are ESTW (SIMIS-B and SICAS). Niehl and Bickendorf are remote-controlled relay interlockings of the SpDrL 30 type.

Signal system

Most of the routes on the surface are operated with driving signals on sight. In the space distance with full signaling on the belt web is high in all tunnels, the route Reichenspergerplatz - Mülheim bridge - Wiener course and the right bank lines of the lines 1, 3 (partial), 9 and 18 driven. The KVB signaling system only knows main signals , with an additional signal in addition to the usual signals Hp 0 (red light, “stop”), Hp 1 (green light, “drive”) and Hp 2 (green over yellow light, “slow drive”) Hp 3 (yellow light, "Drive! Wait stop") has been inserted as a replacement for the distant signal . A special feature is the Hp 3 signal with an additional speed signal “2”: This signal aspect signals the entry into a partially occupied track section with a maximum of 20 km / h and is used in the inner city tunnel to enable a closer train sequence.

On the lines of the HGK the signals correspond to the railway signal order .

Train protection

The magnetic travel lock is used as a train safety system in the entire signalized area of ​​the light rail network, including the EBO urban railway lines and the Bonn light rail system. In addition, there is a large number of speed test sections that are armed continuously or depending on the signal. The KVB routes are also driven with train protection at a maximum of 70 km / h, on the HGK routes 100 km / h are sometimes permitted.

Passenger information

Large display at the exit to the Breslauer Platz stop

There have been tape announcement devices in the light rail vehicles since the commissioning, which were also retrofitted into the tram vehicles from the late 1970s. At the beginning of the 1990s, at least two displays for the next stop were retrofitted in all light rail vehicles. Since the previous announcements in the event of network changes were sometimes pieced together in a clearly audible manner and were dialect-colored, from 2003 Petra Glunz-Grosch used completely new announcements. The last stop that still had a dialect-tinged announcement was the Chlodwigplatz underground station .

With the timetable change on December 12, 2010, the east-west lines (1, 7, 9) were equipped with new announcements, which - based on the results of line 13, where they were previously tested - have increased information content and thus all possible Announce changes (tram, bus, regional, long-distance traffic). For the first time in Cologne, important stations such as For example , English announcements were also used at the Deutz / Messe / LANXESS arena tram stop , but these only announced important changes for tourists and are no longer used (2019). Since December 1, 2012, announcements with transfer options have been used on all light rail lines, which are no longer announced by a human voice, but by a computer voice ( speech synthesis ).

Due to the large number of side platforms, the exit side is only announced if the platform is on the left in the direction of travel.

Over time , the stops in the inner city tunnel have been equipped with train destination indicators that show the line and destination of the next train when it approaches. The remaining routes were gradually equipped with dynamic passenger information displays , known as MOFIS in Cologne , which show the expected departure time of the next two trains, and in some cases a third line for current operating information. For some years now, both systems have been partially replaced by new, larger displays that show more trains and also announce arriving trains with additional information about the route.

In addition to the displays on the platform, large area displays are increasingly being installed at transfer stops that show trains (and sometimes buses) in all directions.

Questions of definition

The question of whether the Cologne Stadtbahn is completely a light rail network or in parts still a tram cannot be answered clearly and ultimately depends on the definition of the two terms used.

The distinction between light rail and tram is made even more difficult by the fact that high-floor and low-floor lines sometimes travel on the same routes and stop at the same platforms, so only low-floor vehicles offer stepless entry there. The designation of the low-floor networks as light rail lines speaks for the fact that these lines in particular have been extensively converted for the use of the K4000 cars.

In addition to being consistently equipped with low platforms, these lines have their own tracks over long stretches with priority switching at the crossings. The clearest deviation from this standard can be found on the south branch of line 12, which was completed in autumn 2007. Although the cars do not run on their own track, they have priority switching at the crossings and the central platforms allow stepless entry. In addition, the low-floor vehicle K4000 - apart from its floor height - is more like a light rail vehicle than a classic tram. In particular, it places requirements on the minimum curve radius that are considered atypical for a tram, which is why numerous narrow turning loops had to be replaced by reversing tracks. In summary, it can be said that the low-floor lines - assuming the appropriate use of vehicles - meet the light rail quality criteria separation from road traffic and stepless entry just as well as the high-floor lines at the current stage of development .

However, where the lane still has to be shared with automobile traffic, there will be an increased susceptibility to traffic jams and driving on sight (§ 49 BOStrab ) will continue to be the rule.

statistics

year	1883	1901	1914	1928	1939	1948	1960	1980	1999	2009	2010	2012	2013	2016	2017
Railcar	-	110	510	611	569	280	374	306	348	367	372	382	382	382	382
sidecar	106	339	594	752	607	301	254	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Route length (km)	35	55.9	134.3	156.0	174.4	148.3	130.0	157.5	190.3	192.2	193.8	194.4	194.8	198.0	198.0
Operating performance (million wagon kilometers)	1.7	6.7	26.2	55.5	49.3	20.6	26.8	17.0	17.0	17.1	17.2	17.2	17.3	17.7	17.5
passengers carried (millions)	~ 7	31.0	124.9	202.8	172.2	147.1	131.3	129.2	172.5	201.0	206.7	208.9	209.8	210.8	213.0

literature

• Dieter Höltge, Axel Reuther: Trams and light rail vehicles in Germany. Volume 7: Cologne, Düren, Aachen . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-338-3 .
• Christoph Groneck: Cologne / Bonn Stadtbahn Album . Robert Schwandl Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-936573-07-7 .
• Doris Lindemann / Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (Ed.): Cologne Mobility - 125 Years of Railways and Buses . Du-Mont-Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-8321-7177-0 .
• Axel Reuther: Vehicle fleet of Cologne trams and suburban railways 1901–1990 . Working group Blickpunkt Straßenbahn, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-926524-10-3 .

Web links

Commons : Stadtbahn Köln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the Cologne transport company
• Information on the construction of the north-south light rail
• Historic tram Cologne e. V.
• Picture gallery on the European Railway Server
• Overview of the Cologne light rail
• Line map of the Cologne light rail network
• Track plan Cologne from Gleisplanweb
• All geo-coordinates of the stations of the Cologne Stadtbahn
• Rail network of the Cologne Stadtbahn as KML

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} 2017 performance data based on the 2016 annual report. In: Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe. June 2017, accessed January 21, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Alexander Hess: Cologne and the subway in the moat . In: Fortis - The Magazine 2018 . Pp. 86–89, published by Fortis Colonia Cologne, 2018.
3. ↑ Film about the subway construction in Cologne 1963/64 (accessed: April 28, 2020)
4. ↑ Matthias Pesch: "What you did not know about the KVB" (KVB blog). Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe, July 5, 2016, accessed on August 21, 2016 . 
5. ^ Thielenbruch - Bonn main station
6. ^ Bonn main station - Thielenbruch
7. ↑ Buchheim, Herler Str. - Bonn main station
8. ^ Bonn main station - Buchheim, Herler Str.
9. ↑ Thielenbruch - Klettenbergpark
10. ↑ Klettenbergpark - Thielenbruch
11. ↑ K5000 No. 5116 in use on the low-floor line 1
12. ^ First day of operation of the new Severinstrasse stop on January 23, 2014 DSO Forum January 23, 2014.
13. ↑ Tobias Christ: Atomic Bunker in Cologne-Kalk: Survival in the Kalker Underground . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , January 27, 2013.
14. ^ Marion Eickler: Traffic in Cologne: Crossing at the military ring gets a KVB tunnel . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , January 27, 2016.
15. ↑ cf. u. a. Next stop bunker Rudolfplatz. In: Express . November 2, 2011, accessed October 16, 2013 . 
16. ↑ Dieter Hirsch, Stadtbahn Bensberg-Mitte [http://koeln.zueblin.de/www/obj.nsf/0/5B54D37FB0B83E24C1256FB900582896/$FILE/25097010-RS.pdf PDF] (link not available)
17. ↑ Maria Machnik: More parking spaces in Weiden-West? In: Website of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . December 9, 2013, accessed November 30, 2015 . 
18. ↑ Heribert Rösgen: Construction project: Line 5 runs to Butzweilerhof , Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger from September 19, 2008.
19. ↑ Council resolution 3058/2008 - the extension of the tram line 5 in Ossendorf dated September 25, 2008 at the level of the former Ossendorf terminus .
20. ↑ message to the Transport Committee 0351/2010 replacement services during the construction phase as part of the line 5 from 1 February, 2010.
21. ↑ Project dossier Cologne, Ollenhauerring - Cologne, Görlinger Zentrum [http://www.lvp.nrw.de/igvp/download/dossier/14198_Dossier.pdf PDF; 710 kB] (link not available)
22. ^ Information from the Office for Bridges and Light Rail Construction of the City of Cologne from May 7, 2008.
23. ^ Jürgen Müllenberg: Extension of tram line 3. City of Cologne - Office for Press and Public Relations, February 6, 2018, accessed on February 7, 2018 . 
24. ↑ New terminus of line 3 "Görlinger-Zentrum" opened. Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG, August 28, 2018, accessed on August 29, 2018 . 
25. ↑ Two-track expansion of line 18 in Brühl. KVB, February 25, 2015, archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; accessed on February 28, 2015 (press release). 
26. ↑ Two-track expansion of line 18. City of Brühl, accessed on January 8, 2016 . 
27. ↑ Track expansion in Brühl is not due to go into operation until 2018 . , Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , July 31, 2017
28. ↑ Sabrina Bauer: Extension of line 18 necessary to increase the clock rate? In: General-Anzeiger . January 11, 2019, accessed August 7, 2019 . 
29. ^ Sabrina Bauer: Replacement traffic on line 18 in Bornheim. In: General-Anzeiger . April 2, 2019, accessed April 2, 2020 . 
30. ↑ Expansion of the Cologne light rail network. In: stadt-koeln.de , February 26, 2018, accessed on December 14, 2018.
31. ↑ Tim Attenberger, Helmut Frangenberg: Cologne survey: There is still a lot to do with local public transport . Kölner Stadtanzeiger, November 22, 2018, p. 26.
32. ↑ Little hope for the missing. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . March 3, 2009, accessed on November 30, 2015 (Cologne city archive collapses). 
33. ↑ Second body recovered from the rubble. ( Memento from March 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) In: Westdeutscher Rundfunk . March 16, 2009
34. ↑ North-South subway only finished in 2017? In: koeln.de. NetCologne , June 27, 2010, accessed October 16, 2013 . 
35. ↑ Tim Attenberger: Five stations, 84 million euros. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . June 8, 2015, accessed December 13, 2015 . 
36. ↑ Oliver Görtz: North-South light rail does not run before 2025. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . December 11, 2017, accessed December 16, 2017 . 
37. ↑ Report from the newspaper Kölnische Rundschau from May 23, 2018: City archive, tram can be renovated - expert wants to leave Waidmarkt
38. ↑ Ten years after the collapse of the Historical Archives , City of Cologne, February 22, 2019, accessed on September 12, 2019
39. ↑ ^{a b} line 17 is coming. The new stops in the southern area of ​​the north-south light rail will open on December 13th. Press release. Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe , November 27, 2015, archived from the original on December 8, 2015 ; accessed on November 27, 2015 . 
40. ↑ Partial commissioning of the south should take place as early as the timetable change in December. Press release. Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe , February 27, 2015, archived from the original on July 6, 2015 ; Retrieved July 5, 2015 . 
41. ↑ From December all-day service between Severinstrasse and Rodenkirchen. Press release. Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe , July 3, 2015, archived from the original on July 5, 2015 ; Retrieved July 5, 2015 . 
42. ↑ Thorsten Moeck: Under protest: The tree felling has begun on Bonner Strasse. In: Kölnische Rundschau . October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017 . 
43. ↑ 3rd construction stage north-south light rail. City of Cologne, accessed on November 17, 2019 . 
44. ↑ Kölner Stadtanzeiger July 11, 2019, p. 24
45. ↑ Bergische Landeszeitung August 19, 2020, p. 25.
46. ↑ Claus Boelen-Theile: The train has not yet left. In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger. August 14, 2015, accessed December 25, 2015 . 
47. ↑ Requirement plan registrations by the city of Cologne for the 2017 public transport requirement plan of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
48. ^ Andreas Damm: Local transport plans: Which routes are to be expanded in Cologne. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. October 22, 2015, accessed October 25, 2015 . 
49. ↑ Local traffic - extension of KVB line 7 required. In: Kölnische Rundschau . July 10, 2019, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
50. ↑ For old lines and routes see photo no. 431271 from 1952 on http://www.bilderbuch-koeln.de/
51. ^ Decommissioning dates for German tram routes / Cologne. Tram and subway friends Cologne e. V., accessed on May 23, 2017 . 
52. ↑ KVB modernizes complete series of light rail vehicles. KVB, November 25, 2008, archived from the original on December 25, 2015 ; Retrieved December 25, 2015 (press release). 
53. ↑ First series 2400 trams go into regular service ( Memento from May 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) KVB press release from June 13, 2014.
54. ↑ Wolfgang Wentsch: 285 million euros and two sweets. In: General-Anzeiger . March 28, 2007, accessed October 16, 2013 . 
55. ↑ KVB website Die Leitstelle ( Memento from November 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on January 21, 2006 .