Cologne operates an urban
light rail network made of lines running both underground
(U-Bahn) and on the surface (S-Bahn).
What's more many lines that are notionally U-lines also run above ground, and
many that are notionally S-lines also run underground. So think of it as
just one network! The photo on the right, for instance, is the
U1 leaving the stadium after a game - above ground. By
the time it gets into town, however, it's below ground.
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| Boarding the U-Bahn after the game |
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The most
important line in terms of getting to the stadium is the
U1 in the direction of 'Weiden
Schulstrasse'. It runs west-to-east across the greater Cologne
area, from 'Weiden Schulstrasse' at the end of the line in the west, to
'Bensberg' at the other end of the line in the east.
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| Colgone station next to the cathedral |
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From the station or
Neumarkt
The central point in Cologne for all visitors is the area
around the main railway station and the cathedral, which are right next to each
other on the side of the Rhine. However, the U1 does
NOT run from here. You have two options: you can either
wander down the pedestrianised Hohe Strasse and round into Neumarkt (about a 20
minute walk), where you can get the U1, or you can get any
number of underground trains at the station (left) and change 2 stops down
the line at Neumarkt. |
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Trains you can get from the main station (Hauptbahnhof) to Neumarkt are:
nos. 16, 17, 18 or
19 (total journey time from the station to the ground is 25
minutes; from Neumarkt it is 16 minutes). Stadium gallery 2 includes photos showing
the stadium station's location in relation to the ground.
From Deutz
If you're starting out from the right bank of
the Rhine, you can pick up the U1 at 'Deutz / Messe' or any
other stations out to 'Bensberg' (journey time from 'Deutz / Messe' is 21
minutes).
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From the airport
If
you're travelling straight from Cologne-Bonn airport to the ground, you can also
make that trip on public transport.
Take the
S13 S-Bahn from the railway station at the airport (heading for
the 'Hansaring') and change at 'Deutz / Messe', continuing on the
U1 (as above). Takes 45 minutes. |
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| Arriving at the stadium's own station |
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Planned
alternative
An alternative option, taking the
S12 all the way to 'Bonnstrasse' and then getting the eastward
U1 back a few stops to the stadium is also due to be
available by the time of the World Cup.
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| Local transport online timetable info |
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Journey
planner
You can plan your journey online at Cologne
public transport's website. As you can see from the snippet of a
screenshot on the left, the headings on this site are in English - however it
requires input in German (i.e. it won't recognise 'Cologne', for example).
We've therefore included below a few of the words you need to enter to get
journey times for some popular trips. (NB: extra trains run on
match days). |
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Destination
As shown above, for 'City' enter
Muengersdorf and in the 'To' field enter
Rheinenergie-stadion (include the hyphen!).
Departure
points
For
the following departure points fill in the 'City' and 'From' fields as
shown.
Main railway station /
cathedral
City: Koeln
From:
Dom
Neumarkt
City:
Koeln
From: Neumarkt
Deutz /
Messe
City: Koeln-Deutz
From:
Deutz-Messe
Cologne-Bonn
airport
City: Koeln-Grengel
From: Flughafen
terminal 1
In every case, if after you press 'Search now' the
system then offers you a selection of possible stops, accept the first default
one shown.
Your match ticket is also valid on match
days for local public transport (see ticket for precise times - it's
normally from around 4 hours before kick-off until the trams, trains and buses
stop running). |
