Kick-Off for the General Renovation of the High-Performance Corridor Hagen – Wuppertal – Cologne

The official kick-off last weekend marked the start of one of the most important rail infrastructure projects in North Rhine-Westphalia: the general renovation of the high-performance corridor Hagen – Wuppertal – Cologne. On Friday, 6 February 2026, Dr. Philipp Nagel, CEO of DB InfraGo, Christian Hirte, parliamentary undersecretary at the Federal Ministry for Transport, as well as Oliver Krischer, minister for the environment, nature conservation and transport North-Rhine Westphalia, gave the official start signal.

With this central axis for regional, long-distance and freight traffic, DB InfraGo combines comprehensive measures in view of making the line more performant, robust and reliable in the long-term. In addition to the renewal of 81 kilometres of track, 50 switches and 29 kilometres of overhead cable, noise protection plays a central role within the general renovation project.

SSF Ingenieure AG is happy to be a part of this large-scale project and to significantly contribute to the sustainable development of rail infrastructure. In the framework of the project, around four kilometres of noise barriers will be newly built along the line for which we provide construction supervision.

The new noise barriers will noticeably reduce noise pollution for residents and reinforce the acceptance of railway infrastructure in this densely populated area. The general renovation thus not only essentially strengthens operational stability of the network but at the same time improves quality of life along the line between the Ruhr area, Bergisches Land and the Rhineland.