Introduction As a new route to the Train Sim World series, I would love to see the route Köln Hbf to Duisburg Hbf. The route mostly consists of a double track layout with a separate S-Bahn line alongside it. The route begins in the big city center of Köln (otherwise known as Cologne) namely Köln Hbf; a major hub for regional, long-distance and international traffic from/to Hamburg, Munich, Amsterdam, Liège, Brussels, Paris, etc. You start by crossing the famous Hohenzollern bridge over the Rhine river, driving towards Köln Messe/Deutz, before taking a left turn towards Köln-Mülheim. After the station of Köln-Mülheim, you are allowed to drive 200km/h all the way until just before Düsseldorf-Oberbilk. Here you must slow down for the upcoming station of Düsseldorf Hbf. Düsseldorf Hbf is again a big hub for regional and long-distance traffic entering and leaving the busy Rhein-Ruhr area. Just after leaving Düsseldorf Hbf, you drive through Düsseldorf-Zoo, after which you are again allowed to speed up to 200km/h. At the station of Düsseldorf-Derendorf, you pass a big marshaling yard, connected to the Mercedes-Benz factory. You then come across the Airport of Düsseldorf; Düsseldorf Flughafen. After the airport, it’s a little while of driving straight before having to slow down again just after passing Duisburg-Schlenk. You then enter the final station of the route; Duisburg Hbf. Duisburg Hbf is also a big hub for the always busy Rhein-Ruhr area. A lot of regional and long-distance traffic passes through here every day, from/to Hamburg, Dortmund, Köln, Frankfurt (M), etc. Route info The route has a length of 64km. There are 5 long-distance, 3 “normal” (RE/RB) and 22 S-Bahn stations along this route. This makes up for a total of 30 stations. The safety systems along this route are PZB and LZB (for sections up to 200km/h). Traveling times can vary from ~25 min (ICE) to 45-50 min or longer (RE/S-Bahn). Services Regional RB38 (Bedburg -) Köln Hbf <-> Köln Messe/Deutz operated by DB Regio NRW (every hour) RB48 (Bonn-Mehlem -) Köln Hbf <-> Köln-Mülheim (- Wuppertal-Oberbarmen) operated by National Express (every hour) RE1 (RRX) (Aachen Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Hamm (Westf) Hbf) operated by National Express (every hour) RE5 (RRX) (Koblenz Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Friedrichsfeld) operated by National Express (every hour) RE6 (RRX) (Köln/Bonn Flughafen -) Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Minden (Westf)) operated by National Express (every hour) RE11 (RRX) Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe) operated by National Express (every hour) RE19 Düsseldorf Hbf - Duisburg Hbf (- Arnhem Centraal/Bocholt) operated by VIAS West (every hour) S11 (Bergisch Gladbach -) Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal -> This branch will have to be built in order to run the S11 on this section! Operated by DB Regio NRW (every 20 min) S6 (Essen Hbf -) Düsseldorf-Derendorf <-> Köln Hbf (- Köln-Nippes) operated by DB Regio NRW (every 20-30 min) S1 Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Dortmund Hbf) operated by DB Regio NRW (every 20-30 min) Services Long-Distance ICE 1 (Passau -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Hamburg-Altona) ICE 10 Köln Hbf <-> Düsseldorf Flughafen <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Berlin Ostbahnhof) ICE 14 (Aachen Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Berlin Ostbahnhof) ICE 41 (Dortmund Hbf -) Duisburg Hbf <-> Köln Messe/Deutz (- München Hbf) ICE 42 (Hamburg-Altona -) Duisburg Hbf <-> Köln Hbf (- München Hbf) ICE 43 (Hamburg-Altona -) Duisburg Köln Hbf <-> (- Basel SBB) ICE 78 (Amsterdam CS -) Duisburg Hbf <-> Köln Hbf (- Frankfurt (M) Hbf) One train per day on ICE line 78 drives onwards to München Hbf via Köln Messe/Deutz and Frankfurt (M) Flughafen Fernbahnhof, skipping Köln Hbf and Frankfurt (M) Hbf and one train per day drives this route vice versa. IC 32 (Dortmund Hbf -) Duisburg Hbf <-> Köln Hbf (- Oberstdorf) IC Allgäu will be discontinued in the end of summer 2026. IC 35 (Norddeich Mole -) Duisburg Hbf <-> Köln Hbf IC 37 Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Köln Hbf (- Luxembourg) IC Luxembourg operated by CFL will be discontinued in the second quarter of 2026. IC 39 (Westerland (Sylt) - Duisburg Hbf <-> Köln Hbf The new ICE L will be in service on this line in summer 2026. IC 51 (Gera -) Duisburg Hbf <-> Düsseldorf Flughafen <-> Köln Hbf All trains stop at Düsseldorf Hbf and ICE 10 & IC 51 make an extra stop at Düsseldorf Flughafen. Trains New trains: BR412 (Various ICE services, vital) Siemens Desiro HC BR462 Rhein-Ruhr Express (Various RE services, vital) BR408 (ICE Amsterdam CS - Frankfurt (M) Hbf, optional) Stadler FLIRT3 (RE19 Düsseldorf Hbf - Arnhem CS) BR422 & BR423 (Modernized ‘S-Bahn Rheinland’ version, optional) Reusable trains: BR403/406 ICE 3/ICE3M BR401 ICE 1 BR411 ICE-T BR101 IC1 BR146.2 + Dostos (RE9, AI) BR442 Talent 2 (RE9, AI) BR423 (S-Bahn Köln S11, S12, S19, AI) BR422 (S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr S1, S6) BR425 (RE8, RB27, AI) BR193, BR185, BR187, BR182 (Freight) Deutsche Bahn is working on forging the S-Bahn Rhein Ruhr and S-Bahn Köln (Cologne) together, called ‘S-Bahn Rheinland’. DB is also modernizing all BR422 and BR423 sets as well as refurbishing some BR425 sets, which run as BR424 sets on the S12 and S19. DTG could make the S-Bahn Rheinland a thing in TSW, but this depends on what year the route is set in. Licenses needed: Rhein-Ruhr Express (by National-Express, license owned by the state of NordRhein-Westfalen) DB Regio NRW DB Fernverkehr NS International (ICE 78 Amsterdam <-> Frankfurt/ICE 78 Amsterdam - München) NMBS/SNCB (ICE 13 Antwerp - Frankfurt/ICE 79 Brussels <-> Frankfurt/) CFL (IC 37 Düsseldorf - Luxembourg) VIAS West (RE19 Düsseldorf Hbf - Arnhem CS) Why this route? Now, why should DTG build this route? Well, first of all, this route is complex: Major hubs such as Köln Hbf, Düsseldorf Hbf and Duisburg Hbf, big freight marshaling yards, sections from three up to eight (!) tracks simultaneously and interesting cityscapes entering the big cities (especially Cologne). There’s also lots of variety, with three S-Bahn lines, multiple Regional Express lines and a big variation of long distance traffic such as ICE’s and IC’s to choose from. Another key factor is crossing the famous Hohenzollern bridge over the river Rhine, which would (in my opinion) be one of the most beautiful places in TSW. Overall, if DTG makes this route with as much quality as e.g. S-Bahn Frankfurt, I think it’ll turn out beautiful and one of the best routes so far. Any comments, recommendations for services or trains, please comment below. Greetings!
Actually, RRX is not a license held by NX, but rather by the state of NRW. Apart from that, i'd love to see that route in TSW!
S6 normally not runs to Düsseldorf Airport Terminal, that's just at the moment due to construction works. Regularly S6 takes a branch after Düsseldorf-Derendorf and heads to Essen via Ratingen Ost. That branch as far as Ratingen Ost would be a nice addition as there is another small freight yard at Düsseldorf Rath.
I have updated the suggestion with a more accurate and up-to-date timetable; I have changed some things such as the trains needed and I’ve reworked the ICE and regional lines section (ICE lines instead of particular journeys). Let me know if anything does not fit in or isn’t accurate/correct. Greetings!
