Bridge damage near Opladen halts Cologne–Wuppertal–Hagen line after renovation

As Deutsche Bahn announced, the damage to a load-bearing component of the bridge near Opladen was detected during a "routine inspection." As a result, the line could only be released for single-track operation, the company said. One of the two tracks on the bridge cannot be used by trains "for safety reasons." This restriction is expected to remain in place until Monday morning at 8:00 a.m.

Single-track operation for safety reasons

According to the railway, the affected bridge had not been replaced as part of the corridor renovation because earlier inspections – most recently at the end of 2025 – had shown no damage. The company initially declined to provide any information on the extent of the damage and the expected duration of repairs, referring to a statement "as soon as reliable information is possible."

Regardless of the bridge damage, a significant speed reduction continues to apply along the entire 65-kilometre line between Cologne and Hagen. As the railway explained, the "new ballast bed first has to be settled firmly by the weight of the trains" before higher speeds can be permitted. On the 25-kilometre section between Wuppertal and Hagen, a speed limit of 70 km/h applies, according to the report.

Speed limit on 65 kilometres

According to WDR information, the speed restriction on the Wuppertal–Hagen section could possibly have been lifted as early as midday on the day of the report. Initially, it had been assumed that the restriction would remain in place until Tuesday at 5:00 a.m. Train operations on the line were originally supposed to run smoothly again from Friday evening.

The entire long-distance and regional traffic is affected by the restrictions. On the first working day after the months-long renovation, many Deutsche Bahn trains are cancelled or running late. According to zuginfo.nrw, the single-track usability of the bridge section near Opladen is causing delays and partial cancellations.

Impact on regional and long-distance services

On the RE4 line, service is being diverted in both directions between Dortmund Hbf and Düsseldorf Hbf, according to zuginfo.nrw. Instead of running via Hagen and Wuppertal, the trains take the route via Bochum, Essen and Duisburg. RE7 trains toward Hagen Hbf run on their usual route; toward Krefeld Hbf they are diverted via Wuppertal Hbf, Düsseldorf Hbf and Neuss Hbf with an additional stop at Wuppertal-Vohwinkel; stops at Solingen Hbf, Opladen, Köln Messe/Deutz, Köln Hbf and Dormagen are dropped.

The RE13 from Venlo begins and ends at Düsseldorf Hbf, resulting in partial cancellations between Düsseldorf Hbf and Hamm (Westf) Hbf. On the RE13 line, all trains between Düsseldorf and Hamm are cancelled. On the RB48, trains from Cologne toward Wuppertal are running late; in the opposite direction, some are cancelled.

In long-distance traffic, some trains begin and end in Hamm – meaning stops at Cologne, Solingen, Wuppertal and Hagen are dropped. According to the report, nearly every second ICE train to and from Berlin via this line is being cancelled on Monday morning and will instead run from Hamm rather than from Cologne. All IC trains on the Dortmund–Cologne–Karlsruhe route are cancelled between Dortmund and Cologne.

The situation was further aggravated by damage to an overhead line on Saturday midday on the section between Wuppertal-Oberbarmen and Wuppertal Hbf, which had to be completely closed for a time. By around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday the damage had been repaired and traffic on this section resumed.

S-Bahn line closed until September

In parallel, the partially parallel S-Bahn tracks from Düsseldorf via Wuppertal to Hagen are closed. On the S7, S8, S9, S28, S68 and RE49 lines, only replacement buses are running between Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Hagen instead of trains. With a brief interruption, no trains will run there until early September. The S5 is operating between Dortmund Hbf and Hagen Hbf, and a replacement bus service SEV S9 connects Hagen Hbf with Wuppertal-Vohwinkel. The railway attributes this to "follow-up work for the general renovation," during which tracks, switches and bridges are being renewed, noise barriers erected and stations modernised.

WDR rail expert Niklas Hoth drew a clear conclusion. After five long months of the general renovation of this important Hagen–Wuppertal–Cologne line, the resumption of operations was turning into "a complete fiasco," he stated. The railway invested almost 800 million euros in the general renovation. During the months-long construction phase, long-distance trains had been diverted over wide detours, and commuters on regional services had to switch to replacement buses that took significantly longer than the trains normally would.

Reactions and expert assessment

Already on the previous weekend, two arson attacks on the line between Düsseldorf and Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia had additionally strained operations. The railway attributes the irregularities to the ongoing construction process of the general renovation.

Travellers reacted angrily. Nils from Wuppertal, whose train to Düsseldorf was already 30 minutes late, said the chaos was "not really surprising" – he had "honestly already expected it." Asked about alternatives, the visibly annoyed young man said: "Maybe I'll just take the car."

The article was published on 12 July 2026 at 4:56 p.m. under the title "Das müssen Bahnreisende zum Bahnchaos rund um Wuppertal jetzt wissen" and is based, according to the editorial team, on a press release from Deutsche Bahn, information from zuginfo.nrw, WDR rail expert Niklas Hoth and an interview with rail passengers. The report was broadcast on 13 July 2026 on Deutschlandfunk.