September 3, 2025

Shortage of skilled labour leads to restrictions in local rail passenger transport

Due to staff shortages at the railroad companies and a lack of vehicle availability, there will also be restrictions in the timetable in the coming weeks. The aim is to reduce short-term staff-related train cancellations to a minimum and to create a limited but reliable service.

Good news for all commuters

The RE 6 (RRX)(except between Essen and Dortmund) and RE 3 lines will resume their regular timetable from 6 September.

There are currently timetable adjustments on the following lines:

Line S 2:

  • The line only runs every 30 minutes between Dortmund main station and Dortmund-Mengede. This means that there will no longer be a 15-minute interval at peak times on Mondays to Fridays. Scheduled operation is planned at weekends.

Line S 28:

  • The Mettmann Stadtwald - Wuppertal Hbf section will be served by buses Monday to Friday during the day until around 8.30 pm until further notice.

Line S 68:

  • This line will not be running until further notice. Please switch to lines S 6 and S 8.

RE 4 line:

  • The morning peak-period services from Aachen to Düsseldorf and in the afternoon from Düsseldorf to Aachen will not be running until further notice. The exception to this is one morning peak-period service from Aachen to Düsseldorf, which will be operated with a replacement train from TRI.
  • The night journeys at weekends between Düsseldorf and Hagen will not run until further notice.

RE 7 line:

  • The line will only run daily until around 10 p.m., also due to a large number of night-time construction sites scattered along the route.
  • Between Krefeld and Cologne, replacement trains from TRI will replace most journeys in the evening hours.
  • In addition, individual journeys are cancelled in the early morning hours.
  • Buses will run between Hagen and Hamm in the evening and at night; on the remaining sections of the line, please switch to other lines (especially RE 4, RB 48, S 8, S 11).

RE 11 line (RRX):

  • Only a limited service can be operated on the Düsseldorf - Hamm section. Some of the journeys in this section will be served by replacement trains operated by TRI. For the journeys served by TRI, a change of trains from/to Paderborn/Kassel is necessary in Hamm.
  • Scheduled operation is planned for the Hamm - Kassel section.

RE 13 line:

  • The line will operate according to the regular timetable on the Wuppertal Hbf - Venlo section. From 15 September 2025, the entire route will run according to the regular timetable again.
  • Some journeys will be operated with replacement trains by Train Charter Services (TCS), and some journeys will require a change between eurobahn and TCS trains in Mönchengladbach.
  • On the Hamm Hbf - Wuppertal Hbf section, the line will continue to run every 2 hours for the most part.

RE 19 line:

  • Continuous service to/from Arnhem is not possible until further notice. All journeys therefore require a change of trains in Emmerich. The timetable between Emmerich and Arnhem Centraal has been adjusted accordingly in both directions.
  • Replacement trains will be used on some journeys at peak times.

RE 44 line:

  • This line will not be running until further notice.
  • Buses will run on the Bottrop - Oberhausen section. The buses will run continuously between Bottrop and Duisburg-Ruhrort (lines RE 44/RB 36).
  • On the Oberhausen - Duisburg - Moers section, please switch to the other regional rail services.

RE 47 line:

  • This line will be served by buses until further notice.

Line RB 36:

  • The line will be served by buses until further notice. The buses will run continuously between Duisburg-Ruhrort and Bottrop (lines RE 44/RB 36).

 

Further up-to-date information on the lines can be found at zuginfo.nrw