Tracks in North Rhine-Westphalia to stay shut until late afternoon on Friday
In the heart of western Germany, the railway line connecting Düsseldorf and Duisburg has been severely disrupted due to a fire in a cable duct on the North-South line of the railway, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the German Press Agency.
The fire, which occurred in July 2025, has caused significant interruptions to train services across the region. As of the latest update, the repair work is still ongoing, and the line remains closed until Friday afternoon.
The complexity of the repair has increased due to the discovery of two more damaged cables, making the process more intricate. The affected railway line, with approximately 700 to 800 connections daily, is one of the most important nationwide, and its disruption is likely to affect several tens of thousands of passengers.
Long-distance traffic is also affected by this disruption. The police are investigating the incident as a case of sabotage, suspecting that the disruption of the railway line might be deliberate.
Official information about the restoration timeline or the exact number of affected passengers has not yet been published. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, monitoring local German news sources or announcements from Deutsche Bahn, the national rail operator, would be advisable.
The spokesperson for the affected railway line stated that the disruption will have a significant impact on the regional train network, but further updates from local transport authorities or news outlets are needed to provide precise status on repairs or reopening.
In summary, the main railway line between Düsseldorf and Duisburg is currently out of service due to a fire and subsequent repairs. No confirmed timelines for repair completion or reopening are currently available, and passenger numbers affected have not been officially estimated or reported in the provided sources.
- The investigation into the rampant disruption of the Düsseldorf-Duisburg railway line, suspected to be a case of deliberate sabotage, starts to unfold in the realm of crime-and-justice, with authorities now seeking to identify the perpetrator.
- As the disruption in the German railway network shows no signs of abatement, the situation has become a major concern in the political sphere, with opposition parties calling for immediate action to restore the general-news-worthy service and minimize the impact on citizen's everyday lives.
