September and October 2026: Road closures and traffic restrictions
[As at 19 October 2026 | by Arne Rensing]
Not all trains are currently running in the greater Essen area. We are not yet able to estimate exactly when the disruption will end. This is due to damage caused by mining. As a result, there are delays and some services are cancelled.
Separately, there have been, and will continue to be, further extensive restrictions on rail and road traffic in the Ruhr region from September until the end of October 2026. In addition to closures lasting several weeks on key rail routes, sections of the A40 motorway are also affected. In some cases, the construction work and the associated closures are taking place simultaneously.
On this page, we summarise the currently known restrictions on local public transport and road traffic, as well as important information on travelling to the university campuses in Duisburg and Essen.
Mining shafts discovered: Many commuter and regional trains are canceled at Essen Central Station
Not all trains are currently running in the greater Essen area. We are not yet able to estimate exactly when the disruption will end. This is due to damage caused by mining. As a result, there are delays and some services have been cancelled.
S 1: Trains are cancelled between Essen Central Station and Duisburg Central Station. A replacement bus service has been put in place between Essen Central Station and Duisburg Central Station. Alternatively, between Essen Central Station and Mülheim (Ruhr)-Styrum, please use the RE 49 service (Monday to Friday only).
S 3: Trains run hourly to and from Oberhausen Central Station only outside the RE 49’s operating hours. All other trains are cancelled between Essen-Steele / Essen Central Station and Oberhausen Central Station.
RE 49: Trains also stop at Mülheim (Ruhr) West and Essen-Frohnhausen. In addition, to relieve pressure on existing services, an express bus (SEV RE 49X) has been introduced between Oberhausen Central Station and Essen Central Station, running every 30 minutes without any stops.
RE 1 (RRX): Arrangements up to and including 18 October 2026: Trains from Hamm (Westf) Central Station terminate and commence at Essen Central Station.
Arrangements from 19 October 2026: Trains from Hamm (Westf) Central Station will terminate and commence at Oberhausen Central Station. This will result in a change to the departure time at Oberhausen Central Station. The departure time will therefore be 9 minutes earlier. Please pay attention to the announcements on the platform.
RE 6 (RRX): Trains from Hamm (Westf) Central Station will terminate and commence at Bochum Central Station. This will result in some services being cancelled between Bochum Central Station and Oberhausen Central Station.
As an alternative (up to and including 18 October 2026) between Bochum Central Station and Oberhausen Central Station, please use lines RE 1 (RRX), RE 11 (RRX) or S 1 to Essen Central Station, changing to line RE 49 (Mondays to Fridays only) for the section Essen Central Station, Mülheim (Ruhr) Central Station and Oberhausen Central Station. From 19 October 2026, please take the S 1 service from Bochum Central Station to Essen Central Station, changing to the RE 49 service (Mondays to Fridays only) for the section between Essen Central Station, Mülheim (Ruhr) Central Station and Oberhausen Central Station.
RE 11 (RRX): Timetable up to and including 18 October 2026: Trains from the direction of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe terminate and start at Essen Central Station.
Timetable from 19 October 2026: Trains from the direction of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe terminate and start at Oberhausen Central Station.
This results in a change to the departure time at Oberhausen Central Station. The departure time is now 9 minutes earlier. Please listen to the announcements on the platform.
RE 14: Trains from Dorsten will terminate and start at Bottrop Central Station. This will result in partial cancellations between Bottrop Central Station and Essen Central Station.
A replacement bus service (SEV) operated by Vias Bus, comprising four buses, has been organised between Bottrop Central Station and Essen Central Station.
From 19 October 2026, RE 14 trains on the Dorsten–Essen Central Station route will resume their normal service. The replacement bus service (SEV) will continue to operate as a supplementary service in accordance with the timetable attached.
Two buses depart from Bottrop Central Station at XX:27 and XX:57. (The first buses depart from Bottrop Central Station at 05:27 and 05:57).
Two buses depart from Essen Central Station at XX:31 and XX:59. (The first buses depart from Essen Central Station at 05:31 and 05:59).
In addition, passengers travelling between Essen Central Station and Bottrop Central Station can use the SB 16 express bus as an alternative.
The SB 16 departs from Essen Central Station at XX:11, XX:31 and XX:51.
The SB 16 departs from Bottrop Central Station at XX:18, XX:38 and XX:58.
As an alternative travel option between Bottrop Central Station and Essen Central Station, you can also use the S 9; between Essen Central Station, Mülheim (Ruhr) Central Station and Oberhausen Central Station, please use the RE 49 service (Mondays to Fridays only). Between Essen-Steele Ost and Essen Central Station, please use trains on line S 1. Between Essen Central Station and Duisburg Central Station, with a stop at Mülheim Central Station, you can also use the rail replacement service (SEV) on line RE 1 (RRX) due to major engineering works on the Düsseldorf–Duisburg–Oberhausen/Essen line.
Construction Work: Rail Service Disruptions from October 9 to October 30, 2026
Affected Routes
- Route between Düsseldorf Central Station – Duisburg Central Station – Oberhausen / Essen West
Affected Lines
The following trains are affected: RE 1 (RRX), RE 2, RE 3, RE 5 (RRX), RE 6 (RRX), RE 11 (RRX), RE 19, RE 42, RE 44, RB 32, RB 33, RB 35, and the S-Bahn line S 1.
During this phase as well, some lines will be rerouted, resulting in skipped stops. Other connections will be suspended in certain sections.
Details
https://www.zuginfo.nrw/index.html?msg=138847
Rail Replacement Service (RRS)
For the RE 1 (RXX) line, express buses are operating between Duisburg Central Station and Essen Central Station, with a stop at Mülheim (Ruhr) Central Station.
A rail replacement service has been set up for the RE 19 line between Oberhausen-Sterkrade and Duisburg Central Station, and for the S 1 line between Mülheim (Ruhr)-Styrum and Duisburg Central Station.
Relocation of the SEV stops in Duisburg and Mülheim
Please note: During the construction work, from 4 September to 30 October 2026, the stops for the rail replacement service (SEV) will be relocated at the main stations in Duisburg and Mülheim.
Duisburg Central Station
- The SEV stop for services towards Essen/Oberhausen will be relocated to Neudorfer Straße, opposite number 62.
- For journeys towards Düsseldorf, services will continue to stop at the East Entrance on Kammerstraße.
Mülheim (Ruhr) Central Station
- When travelling towards Essen, the bus stop is on the Parallelstraße in front of the bridge.
- When travelling towards Duisburg, the SEV is served by the Parallelstraße above the Tourainer Ring.
Car traffic
Closure of the A40 at the Kaiserberg junction
From 24 September to 5 October 2026, the A40 will be closed in both directions between the Duisburg motorway junction and the Kaiserberg junction. Diversions are signposted, but significant delays are to be expected.
Detailed information:
https://www.autobahn.de/betrieb-verkehr/verkehrsmeldung/a40-sperrung-zwischen-dem-autobahnkreuz-duisburg-und-der-anschlussstelle-kaiserberg-in-beiden-richtungen
Closure of the A40 between Mülheim-Heißen and Mülheim-Winkhausen
Due to works on the Hardenberg Bridge, the A40 will be completely closed in both directions on three weekends in September and October between the Mülheim-Heißen and Mülheim-Winkhausen junctions:
- from 25 to 28 September
- from 9 to 12 October
- from 6 to 19 October
The closures will begin on each Friday evening at around 9 pm and last until Monday morning at around 5 am.
From 9 to 12 October 2026, the A40 will also be closed near Bochum in the direction of Essen.
Cycling
The Cycle Expressway 1 (RS1) between Mülheim and Essen will be closed from 31 August to 28 September. A diversion in Mülheim between Geitlingstraße and Leybankstraße is signposted.
2027: A look ahead to next year
Although some details are still unclear, one thing is already certain: from summer 2027 onwards, commuters in the Ruhr region will once again have to be very patient.
Then, from 9 July to 15 October 2027, there will be further extensive road closures affecting the entire Ruhr region.