Overview
- Deutsche Bahn will close the Duisburg–Essen/Oberhausen corridor from January 9 (21:00) to February 6 (21:00) 2026, disrupting long‑distance and regional services.
- Long‑distance trains will be diverted or truncated, with Berlin services ending in Essen, Hamburg routes sent via Wuppertal, and no Fernverkehr stops in Duisburg or Oberhausen.
- ICE stop patterns will thin in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Essen and Bochum during the works, requiring more transfers for many journeys.
- Regional lines including RE1, RE6, RE11, RE2, RE42, RB33 and S1 face diversions or cancellations, with frequent replacement buses running at roughly ten‑minute intervals on key corridors.
- The S6 is slated to resume on December 14 as a key Essen–Düsseldorf alternative, and DB urges travelers to use its online journey planner; a further three‑week closure has been requested for October 2026.