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 A few regional services running along the Köln - Duisburg route are; RB38 (Bedburg -) Köln Hbf <-> Köln Messe/Deutz operated by DB Regio (every hour) RB48 Köln Hbf <-> Köln-Mülheim (- Wuppertal-Oberbarmen) operated by National Express (every hour) RE1 (RRX) (Aachen Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf operated by National Express (every hour) RE5 (RRX) (Koblenz Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf operated by National Express (every hour) RE6 (RRX) (Köln/Bonn Flughafen -) Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf 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 (every 20 min) S6 Köln-Mülheim <-> Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal -> This branch will have to be built in order to run the S6 completely! Operated by DB Regio (every 20 min) S1 Düsseldorf Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Dortmund Hbf) operated by DB Regio (every 20-30 min) Services Long-Distance A few long-distance services running along the Köln - Duisburg route are; ICE 616 (München Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf ICE 545 Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Berlin Ostbahnhof) ICE 1022 (Nürnberg Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf ICE 824 (Sprinter) (Frankfurt (M) Hbf -) Köln Messe/Deutz <-> Duisburg Hbf IC 2310 Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf (- Westerland (Sylt)) IC 2441 (Frankfurt (M) Hbf -) Köln Hbf <-> Duisburg Hbf Trains New train(s): Siemens Desiro HC BR462 Rhein-Ruhr Express (Various RE services, vital) BR412 (Various ICE services, optional, but recommended) BR408 (ICE Amsterdam Centraal - Frankfurt (M) Hbf/München Hbf, optional) Stadler FLIRT 3 (RE19, optional) Reusable trains BR146.2 + Dostos BR101 (Expert) + IC Coaches BR401 ICE 1 BR403/BR406 ICE 3/ICE 3M BR411 ICE-T BR423 (S-Bahn Köln) BR422 (S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr) BR442 Talent 2 (DB Regio/National Express (RE7, AI?) BR425 (AI) BR193, BR185.5, BR187, BR182 (Freight) Licenses needed: Rhein-Ruhr Express (by National Express) DB Regio DB Fernverkehr NS International VIAS West (for the FLIRT 3/RE19) Probably a lot of small regional companies as well, if implemented as AI. 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, 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!
