The time has finally come: since 2pm today, Düsseldorf Airport has had a direct connection to Rheinbahn’s light rail network, allowing passengers to make use of the new service. The centrepiece of the first construction phase of the new light rail route is the 1.9-kilometre link between Freiligrathplatz and the airport terminal.
Operationally, the new infrastructure will initially be used by two lines. The U80 provides a direct connection between the airport terminal and Düsseldorf Central Station. It generally runs every 20 minutes, with services every 30 minutes during off-peak periods and on Sundays. The first light rail service reaches the airport shortly after 4am each day, while the last service departs at around 1am. The U81, meanwhile, is intended as a trade fair shuttle, providing a direct connection between the airport terminal and the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA/Messe Nord stop on selected event days. On trade fair days, services are scheduled to run every 20 minutes.
Complex engineering structures
Technically, the first construction phase represents a demanding combination of an elevated light rail route, a bridge structure and a tunnel section. From Freiligrathplatz, the new route runs on dedicated tracks between the existing U79 tracks before climbing via a ramp onto the Nordstern Bridge. The 438-metre-long structure spans the Nordstern transport interchange, carrying the light rail over Danziger Straße (B8) and the A44.
The route then runs along an embankment towards the airport grounds.
In the Airport City area, the route transitions from the surface into a tunnel approximately 400 metres long. This contains the new underground U-Bahn station, “Flughafen Terminal”, located directly adjacent to the airport terminal and close to the existing hotel and congress centre. The journey between the airport terminal and Freiligrathplatz takes around 2.5 minutes. From there, passengers have direct onward connections towards the city centre, the trade fair grounds and the Merkur Spiel-Arena.
The Nordstern Bridge is a steel structure supported by five piers. The approximately 12-metre-wide, six-span bridge was assembled using incremental launching. The individual bridge sections, each around 50 metres long, were welded together on site and then pushed over the piers towards Freiligrathplatz.
Light rail directly to the terminal
The new U-Bahn station significantly changes the airport’s connection to Düsseldorf city centre. Until now, there was an S-Bahn connection between the airport and the central station, but passengers had to change trains to continue into the city centre. With the new light rail route, passengers will be able to travel directly from the airport terminal into the city centre without changing, including to Heinrich-Heine-Allee U-Bahn station.
The new route is served by Rheinbahn’s HF6 high-floor light rail vehicles. Where demand requires it, the vehicles can operate in formations of up to three cars on the new infrastructure. The side platforms at Freiligrathplatz have therefore been extended to accommodate longer trains.
Part of a larger light rail project
The first construction phase is only the beginning of a much more extensive expansion project. Further plans include a western section of the U81 with a Rhine crossing, which would run from the trade fair grounds and Merkur Spiel-Arena via Lörick into the area on the left bank of the Rhine, with longer-term connections towards Neuss and Krefeld.
To the east, an extension from the airport terminal to the airport railway station is planned. A further construction phase is intended to connect the airport railway station with Ratingen West.
In the long term, this could turn the U81 into an important orbital connection within Düsseldorf’s light rail network, improving links not only to the airport but also between the trade fair grounds, the arena and residential areas on both sides of the Rhine.
More Than 15 Years from Planning to Opening
The project officially opened today, 4 September 2026, after a long planning history. The project was launched as early as September 2011, while the planning approval process was carried out between September 2015 and June 2019. Construction itself began in October 2019.
Technical completion of the first construction phase was achieved on 30 June 2026, approximately two years later than expected, followed by testing, emergency evacuation exercises and driver training, among other preparations.
Following the second amendment decision, the total cost of the first construction phase is stated at approximately €336.2 million. The federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia are providing substantial funding towards the infrastructure project.
