Christian Lorenz
Press Officer
Telephone 0221 / 390 11 90
E-mail lorenzc(at)hgk.de
Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG
Press Office
Am Niehler Hafen 2
50735 Cologne
RWE and railway network operators are working together on the future use of the RWE works railway network
- RWE Power, Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK), Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen (NDH), RATH Group and DB InfraGO want to work together
- Up to 300 kilometres of rail network could be opened up for public rail transport
- First possible concepts planned from 2026
Cologne / Bergheim. RWE Power, Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK), Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen (NDH), the R.A.T.H. Group and DB InfraGO have started to jointly examine the future use of the RWE works railway network. The approximately 300 kilometre long rail network is located in one of Germany's most important transport regions - between Cologne, Aachen and Düsseldorf - and directly on central European rail corridors. Following the coal phase-out in the Rhenish mining area, the works railway will only be used to transport materials for recultivation for a few more years until around the end of 2035.
The aim of the cooperation is to align RWE Power's works railway network for possible subsequent use after the end of operations and to examine and open up opportunities for public rail transport. The partners want to make a significant contribution to structural change in the Rhenish mining area.
By maintaining and further developing the existing infrastructure, sustainable mobility solutions are to be created and new impetus provided for the economic development of the region. The cooperation is based on preliminary investigations and studies by the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which were presented to representatives of local authorities and railway companies in June.
The joint preparation is intended to set the course for the subsequent utilisation of the network from around 2036 - in some cases even earlier in selected areas. In the coming years, the partners want to develop an integrated concept that addresses all legal, technical and financial issues. One focus will be on possible transition scenarios for the grid to future operators and the realisation of viable financing models. The plan is to develop initial concepts for future utilisation as early as the second half of 2026. The partners are thus laying the foundations for establishing the potential of the RWE works railway network for an efficient and sustainable rail infrastructure in the Rhenish mining area for the future.