Apologies if this has already been suggested previously, as this is my first post on the DTG Forums. However, if this isn’t the case, I would like to suggest that bridging the gap between the Aachen to Köln and Duisburg to Bochum route would be a perfect addition to flesh out the Ruhr industrial region that operates the Rhein-Ruhr Express / RRX DESIRO RE 1 (Aachen to Hamm) IC and ICE services. (Köln to Berlin) Another substantial part of this route is the S6 S-Bahn (Rhine-Ruhr) which follows Essen Hbf to Köln Hbf, however as this shortcuts Duisburg this line would follow from Dusseldorf to Köln which has 17 stops in-between. The route immediately crosses the Rhine over the famed Cologne Hohenzollern rail bridge and continues onwards to Düsseldorf Hbf and Dusseldorf Flughafen, completing the route add-on journey at Duisburg Hbf, forming a typical ICE service. Additionally and most prominently the connection of these routes forms a substantial part of the RRX or RE 1 train with a transition to Siemens Desiro trainsets from June 2019. One of the highest patronage services in Germany, this route fills the gap between Köln and Duisburg. The RE 1 (Aachen to Hamm route has been attached below: Perfect locomotive options come in the form of the traditional ICE 2 Trainset alongside the newly established Siemens Desiro RRX (Rhein-Ruhr express) as part of the RE 1 , RE 5 and RE 6 Services with the RE 1 stopping at the list of stations above. Additionally, ICE sets are regulars alongs this route, thus, with this mind ICE 2 or ICE 4 sets would form an excellent addition to TSW 2. Photographs for all of these EMUs have been attached below for this Koln - Leverkusen - Düsseldorf - Duisburg suggested line. Or conversely, a next gen BR 412 (ICE 4) on an example Dortmund - Munich route, ICE 611, pictured at Leverkusen Mitte, would be an excellent addition as the service begins at nearby Dortmund with stops at Bochum, Essen, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Cologne. Terminating at Munich with a stop at the route add-on Augsburg before, effectively almost completing a full length ICE service in TSW 2 at end to end, would be a nice touch. Disadvantages found along this route is the pure density of the area having to construct Leverkusen, Düsseldorf airport and Düsseldorf and their respective stations. Although the stations of Köln and Duisburg have been constructed already. Furthermore, the dart straight track between Düsseldorf Hbf and Duisburg might be uninspiring for some players. However, the importance of the route and services along the line whilst the connection of two routes (Aachen - Köln, Duisburg - Bochum) would be huge for the immersion and route continuity amongst sim players along the busiest of German routes. P.S. This route add-on idea has been inspired by route suggestions of connecting routes such as Cologne to Wuppertal so this would another perfect starting point as Wuppertal is some miles east of Leverkusen! This line does not expect a seamless transition between Schnellfahrstrecke Koln-Aachen or Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr, however as described above the services and immersion allowed would form a great addition to TSW 2. P.P.S. apologies once again for the size of the images
Here’s a Cab-ride of the route for anyone interested skipping to 1:42:11 Bochum Hbf for the beginning and ending at Köln Messe/Deutz. However, this ends at the underground level of the station as its destined for Köln/Bonn airport rather than Köln Hbf equally, there’s this video featuring a Köln Hbf on the same suggested line beginning at 34:00
