Train traffic on the Rhine Valley Railway is rolling again By dpa-AFX

RASTATT (dpa-AFX) – After three weeks of closure between Rastatt and Baden-Baden, trains are now running again on one of the most important north-south connections, the Rhine Valley Railway. Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced this on Saturday. The extensive construction work must be completed on time. The railway thanked all customers in long-distance and regional traffic for their patience during the construction work. There had been problems with the replacement service, especially at the beginning of the closure.

Important step for rail tunnel

During the work, around two kilometers of track between Rastatt and Baden-Baden were rebuilt so that the tracks coming out of the Rastatt tunnel could be connected to the Rhine Valley Railway. Among other things, tracks were renewed and new switches installed. This is another important step on the way to putting the railway tunnel into operation, i.e. the railway.

Further restrictions in regional transport

However, passengers on regional services must still expect restrictions in September. Until September 9, 5 a.m., the railway will be working on structures in Dürmersheim and Rastatt as well as signal boxes and switches in Rastatt and Baden-Baden. On the RE 2 and RE 7 lines, passengers between Karlsruhe and Offenburg must expect timetable changes such as stops and train cancellations and temporary replacement services, i.e. the railway.

The trains on lines RE 40, RB 41 and RB 44 will be replaced by buses from Karlsruhe main station to at least Rastatt. On Sunday, September 8, all regional trains between Rastatt and Baden-Baden were cancelled for the whole day, according to a spokeswoman. Buses will be running. Information about this can be found in the travel information on the railway website and in the app. The railway recommends allowing more time for the journey and, if necessary, choosing an earlier connection.

Construction work will continue for years

The railway will continue to work on the section of track between the new tunnel and the connection to the Rhine Valley Railway until next year. The tunnel is scheduled to be put into operation at the end of 2026. No further closures are required for this.

There was a lot of discontent at the beginning of the closure: There were not enough buses, and passengers complained, among other things, about inadequate signage for the routes to the rail replacement service. The freight railways also voiced criticism that the planned diversion via France was not working as planned. According to the railway, however, congestion on the route for freight traffic was quickly cleared.

The more than 170-year-old route is used to transport goods between the North Sea ports, important western German industrial regions, Switzerland and northern Italy. The four continuous tracks are scheduled to be completed in 2035, but the billion-euro expansion of the Rhine Valley Railway as a whole will not be completed until 2041.