One of the busiest rail routes in Europe is the Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) route from Cologne (in German: Köln) north along the Rhine River to Duisburg, which covers about 50 miles (80 km) in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia state. Passenger and freight trains are in constant service along these busy rails, propelled by the powerful electric locomotives and electric trainsets of the Deutsche Bahn, Intercity, and Inter City Express (ICE) services.

The Cologne-Duisburg route runs through a major industrial and commercial corridor, passing through modern cities with ancient histories. It starts at the central railway station (Hauptbahnhof, or Hbf) in Cologne, the fourth-largest and one of the oldest cities in Germany, now a major rail transport hub. Every day crowds of commuters board local and regional trains here, and at another Cologne terminus, Köln Messe/Deutz, just a few hundred yards away. These yards and the entire route contain some of the densest and most complex rail infrastructure in Europe, and offer some of the biggest operational challenges for Train Simulator 2 users. The thicket of overhead catenary power lines in the yards adds to the sense of jumbled density, and the numerous switches, sidings, and signals require close attention.

The twin spires of Cologne’s famous Gothic cathedral loom over this packed urban setting, where the Roman antiquities of the past and the modern architecture and teeming railyards of the present blend and contrast.

North of Cologne, the route passes through three major manufacturing centers:

• Leverkusen, on the eastern bank of the Rhine, was founded in 1930 by combining several towns established 800 years earlier, and is now a center for pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, and electronics.
• Düsseldorf, capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, is a major transport and manufacturing hub in the Ruhr valley that began as a twelfth-century fishing village on the Rhine River.
• Duisburg, now the focal point of the German iron and steel industry, has been a trading center for more than 1,000 years.

Deutsche Bahn operates trains of every description and purpose on this busy route. Freight of all kinds, from cars and car parts to coal and steel products, wends its way through the complex railyards and past cities large and small, old and new, while tens of thousands of commuters travel along it every day on several types of trains. Every day powerful electric locomotives haul fast freight trains, commuter trainsets carry commuters on S-Bahn metropolitan railways, faster trains rush commuters along this busy route, and the sleek ICE3 commuter express trains shoot through high-speed intercity corridors at almost 200 mph (300 km/h).

Whether you’re running a freight train, an intercity long-distance train, or the prestigious high-speed Inter City Express, this busiest of European routes calls for strict attention to timing, signals, and smooth operation.