July 31, 2026

Cranger Kirmes clashes with roadworks: restrictions on the RE 2, RE 42 and S 2 services

Due to track renewal works, there will be disruption to rail services from Saturday 8 August to Sunday 23 August 2026. The services affected are the RE 2 (Rhein-Haard-Express), RE 42 (Niers-Haard-Express) and S 2 lines. Passengers should expect train cancellations and partial service disruptions, as well as rail replacement services, on various sections of the route.

Several sections of the route are affected

The construction work is affecting various sections of the line. As a result, RE 42 services between Münster and Essen Central Station are completely cancelled. There will be partial cancellations on the section between Recklinghausen Central Station and Gelsenkirchen Central Station. This affects services running to and from Mönchengladbach.

On the RE 2 line, there are partial cancellations between Haltern am See and Herne Wanne-Eickel Central Station, as well as intermittent cancellations between Haltern am See and Düsseldorf Central Station.

The S 2 service is also affected: services between Recklinghausen Central Station and Herne are cancelled. In addition, there are restrictions and shortened journeys on other sections of the line.

Deutsche Bahn is organising a rail replacement service (SEV) using buses for all sections affected by the construction work.

An additional challenge posed by the Cranger Kirmes

During the construction work, the Cranger Kirmes will take place in Herne from 6 to 16 August 2026. Due to the high number of visitors, heavy demand and possible delays are to be expected, particularly on the rail replacement services.

Visitors to the fair and commuters should therefore allow extra time for their journeys to and from the event and check their connections – for example, via the VRR app – and the aforementioned disruptions on zuginfo.nrw before setting off.

Did you know? Be careful at the funfair – pickpocketing on buses and trains