European Railroad Discussion > Some Trains at Central Station in Cologne, Germany

Three weeks ago my wife and I were on a Viking Rhine River cruise from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands. On April 25th, our longboat docked in Cologne, Germany for the day. My wife went on a couple of tours with a group from the ship, while I walked the mile-and-a-quarter to the DB's Central Station, beside St. Peter's Cathedral. An arrival or departure at a minimum of one train every two minutes, the action was fast an furious! The following are a few samples of what I saw. The railroad crosses the Rhine just east of the station on huge three-span, 6-track bridge. The first photo shows the bridge in the distance, with St. Peter's Cathedral on the right, as seen from the sundeck of our boat, the Viking Embla. The second photo shows a Regio double-decker meeting an EMU commute consist on the bridge. The third photo shows a locomotive-hauled Inter City crossing the bridge.

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Photo 1 National Express EMU regional departing the south end of the Central Station, with St. Peter's Cathedral behind.
Photo 2 Mittelrhein Bahn EMU regional departing the south end of the station.
Photo 3 shows the overall scene at the south end of Central Station in Cologne.

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Photo 1 a locomotive hauled IC (Inter City) train.
Photo 2 an ICE (Inter City Express) train departing the station.
Photo 3 a locomotive pushed IC train's cab car, departing the station.

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Photo 1 the cab car on one of the early ICE trains, entering the station.
Photo 2 the locomotive (pushing) the early ICE train, arriving at the station.
Photo 3 commute trains coming and going between the station and the bridge (about 150-yd distance).

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Photo 1 a National Express regional and an ICE await departure from Cologne Central Station.
Photo 2 a 146-Class leading a Regio train from the station.
Photo 3 the cab car on the Regio train.

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Photo 1 a Thalys TVG train arriving at Cologne Central Station.
Photo 2 a DMU regional train departing the station.
Photo 3 shows three ICE trains lined up for departure from Central Station. All three arrive within minutes of each other, allowing quick cross-platform transfers between the trains.

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Photo 1 an ICE train departing Cologne Central Station.
Photo 2 the cab car on an arriving Regio regional train.
Photo 3 the locomotive pushing the Regio train arriving at Central Station.

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Photo 1 shows a DMU Varco-Regio train arriving at Central Station.
Photo 2 an IC train arriving at Central Station powered by a white locomotive.
Photo 3 the cab car on the IC train arriving at Central Station.
These are just some of the 60 to 80 trains that I saw in two hours. I didn't photograph all of them, as many got blocked by other trains, and.....they started looking alike (lots and lots of them with red as the primary color). There was only one freight train (a diesel powered local) during the time that I was there, and I missed getting a photo of it. Freight traffic crosses the river on another multi-tracked bridge about a mile-and-a-half south of Central Station. I hope you enjoy my photos.

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Sure did enjoy.

Neat series, and one of my favorite stations. I was wondering, however, who's stock was in your 7th picture? "Photo 1 a locomotive hauled IC (Inter City) train." That blue and white isn't familiar.

Waybiller Wrote:
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> Neat series, and one of my favorite stations. I
> was wondering, however, who's stock was in your
> 7th picture? "Photo 1 a locomotive hauled IC
> (Inter City) train." That blue and white isn't
> familiar.

Looks like Hamburg-Köln-Express stock.

Nope, that's actually a National Express regional train (Regionalbahn) operating with replacement stock and a leased class 111, which has been operating since two of their EMUs were damaged in an accident back in December.

SOO6617 Wrote:
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> Waybiller Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Neat series, and one of my favorite stations.
> I
> > was wondering, however, who's stock was in your
> > 7th picture? "Photo 1 a locomotive hauled IC
> > (Inter City) train." That blue and white isn't
> > familiar.
>
> Looks like Hamburg-Köln-Express stock.

Thanks for sharing your photos. There's always lots going on in the major stations of Europe.

Jim Barton

Excellent shots. Great background scenery also. Thanks for sharing.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

Beautiful pictures.  Brought back many memories!

THANKS for possting.