Köln-Deutzerfeld Station
Deutsche Bahn depot station in Köln-Kalk: every regional train terminating at Köln Messe/Deutz is stored here and made ready for its next run.
The name recalls Deutzer Feld station, which the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft built in 1859 on the line from Deutz to Gießen.
Source: Wikipedia
At a glance
- Type
- major depot station of Deutsche Bahn AG
- Location
- district and borough of Kalk, Cologne
- Origin
- Deutzer Feld station of the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (1859)
- Tracks
- around 70 in operation (as of 2007)
- Connections
- two single-track, electrified main lines to Köln Messe/Deutz station
- Function
- stabling and preparing trains
Originally, Köln-Deutzerfeld was planned in 1859 as an ordinary interchange station with an island platform, but a huge shunting and storage yard was built instead, which still had about 70 tracks in operation in 2007.
Name and location
According to reliable map data, the site lies in the district of Kalk. Other sources place the station in Deutz, on the right bank of the Rhine. The name “Deutzerfeld” derives from the historic Deutzer Feld station. The facility also remains closely tied to Deutz operationally: it is connected to Köln Messe/Deutz station.
From interchange station to workshop complex
The original plan called for a simple interchange station with an island platform, accessible via the Deutz–Mülheim road. This design was never carried out. Instead, the company built a shunting and stabling yard that kept the lines to Minden and Gießen running. At its heart stood an “extensive carriage repair workshop,” complemented by a paint shop, a forge and a workshop for wheels and tyres. Locomotives were housed in a shed for twelve engines and shunted via a 37-foot turntable. Staff were provided for as well, with service housing and a dining hall for the workers.
Operations today
Regional trains that terminate at Köln Messe/Deutz are stabled and prepared here, including services on the Eifel line, the Oberbergische Bahn, the left Rhine line and the Erft line. At the start and end of the day, trains from further lines join them. Some ICE and Thalys trains are also stabled here, even though they terminate at Köln Hauptbahnhof, where the ICE depot is located.
A changing site
A small part of the area has since been given up and partly redeveloped or built on. Plans by the City of Cologne to use some of the land for Messe Köln logistics failed in 2009, because Deutsche Bahn needs its land for rail operations in the long term. In 2010, an urban development concept with a fire service centre, offices and services emerged for a sub-area on the former CFK site; the new fire station opened in 2019. The large locomotive shed was demolished at the end of 2020.
Timeline
- 1859Deutzer Feld station built by the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft
- bis etwa 2005Deutsche Bahn considers extensive repurposing of parts of the depot
- 2007Around 70 tracks in operation
- 2009Trade-fair logistics plan abandoned as DB needs the land long-term
- 2010Urban planning concept drawn up for part of Deutzer Feld on former CFK site
- 2019New fire station opened
- Ende 2020Large locomotive shed demolished
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-11-04
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