Cologne - Interesting railway things to do?

[cactustwirly]

Just seen a good deal on BA holidays for flights+ hotel in Cologne

Any interesting Railway stuff? I know there is the elevated railway in Wuppertal

 

[tony6499]

Just seen a good deal on BA holidays for flights+ hotel in Cologne

Any interesting Railway stuff? I know there is the elevated railway in Wuppertal

Went to Wuppertal last week as I was staying in Dusseldorf and wanted to ride it. Very interesting but a bit disconcerting when it starts swaying at stations, I rode from one end to the other and if you go the best place to sit is at the back with the clear window so you can see everything

 

[Taunton]

The big Hohenzollern railway bridge over the Rhine immediately east of the station has a footpath on the south side from which there's a good view of the constant action.

There are various tramways in the area, Cologne itself has a large network, with a long riverside interurban line down to Bonn, which has its own urban system.

Dusseldorf is also close by, another major rail centre. You can make this a triangle trip with Wuppertal.

Beyond railways, the cathedral, next to the station, is one of the most spectacular in Europe. You can rent bicycles and ride beside the river, go into various cafes along there, watch the incessant commercial barge traffic on the Rhine - it's a pleasant city.

 

[SeanG]

The line tot he south of Cologne adjacent to the Rhine is scenic

Rails down the Rhine - the scenic route by train

How to take the slower scenic train route along the Rhine Valley, past the Lorelei Rock, instead of the modern high-speed line.

www.seat61.com

Unfortunately the SBB Panoramawagon is not running anymore

 

[duesselmartin]

Go to Cologne Südbrücke. Freight trains every few minutes.

 

[Halish Railway]

I’m heading to Cologne soon as well. Can I ask whether CFL still run their infrequent service to Düsseldorf?

 

[duesselmartin]

I’m heading to Cologne soon as well. Can I ask whether CFL still run their infrequent service to Düsseldorf?

Daily service still runs.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Kölsch! You can drink it while viewing the railway so I count it as a railway activity!

 

[route101]

I’m heading to Cologne soon as well. Can I ask whether CFL still run their infrequent service to Düsseldorf?

What is special about that service?

 

[Halish Railway]

What is special about that service?

The novelty of using a different operator and being able to ride a Stadler Kiss for the first time (if there are any other services around there worked by Kisses please let me know).

 

[stuu]

I know there is the elevated railway in Wuppertal

The Schwebebahn (Wuppertal) is absolutely worth doing. I went last year having wanted to go on it since I saw it in a book when I was about 7 (which was a while ago). You can do a whole circuit in an hour or so, and there is a shop by the Hbf which sells all sorts of souvenirs

Also decent hotels give out free transport tickets - the place we stayed gave us a day ticket valid throughout the Rhein-Ruhr tariff zone

 

[SN_OCC]

The big Hohenzollern railway bridge over the Rhine immediately east of the station has a footpath on the south side from which there's a good view of the constant action.

There are various tramways in the area, Cologne itself has a large network, with a long riverside interurban line down to Bonn, which has its own urban system.

Dusseldorf is also close by, another major rail centre. You can make this a triangle trip with Wuppertal.

Beyond railways, the cathedral, next to the station, is one of the most spectacular in Europe. You can rent bicycles and ride beside the river, go into various cafes along there, watch the incessant commercial barge traffic on the Rhine - it's a pleasant city.

Before I moved to Belgium, I used to live close to this bridge and walked my dogs across it all the time. Its the closest you should get to a departing ICE at the Dom end unless you travel on it!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Feb 2025 ==

Kölsch! You can drink it while viewing the railway so I count it as a railway activity!

Dom Kolsch haus has a roof bar. Maybe the weather now is not so good but in the summer an excellent view of the bridge

 

[eastwestdivide]

The railway museum at Bochum-Dahlhausen is worth a few hours, and not a million miles from Wuppertal. Also Germany’s highest rail bridge at Müngsten on the Wuppertal-Solingen line (Solingen-Schaberg station).

 

[coppercapped]

The big Hohenzollern railway bridge over the Rhine immediately east of the station has a footpath on the south side from which there's a good view of the constant action.

There are various tramways in the area, Cologne itself has a large network, with a long riverside interurban line down to Bonn, which has its own urban system.

Dusseldorf is also close by, another major rail centre. You can make this a triangle trip with Wuppertal.

Beyond railways, the cathedral, next to the station, is one of the most spectacular in Europe. You can rent bicycles and ride beside the river, go into various cafes along there, watch the incessant commercial barge traffic on the Rhine - it's a pleasant city.

Also ‚non-railway‘ but right beside the Dom is the Römisch-Germanisch museum. Like Lincoln, Cologne derives its name from the Latin "Colonia“ a retirement home for legionnaires. Absolutely fascinating displays including the aquaduct system for feeding the city. And in the row of shops just south was (is?) an excellent ice cream parlour…