After almost 50 years, the tram is returning to Essen city centre with the CITYBAHN. It is being built as a modern, approximately five-kilometre-long tram line that connects the new ESSEN 51. district with the city centre – and also creates a continuous connection from west to east to Essen-Steele. A total of eleven stops are being built.
However, before the tram can start running, construction work must be completed. The third construction phase of the station tangent began in mid-July 2025. It is one of three central sections of the project, alongside Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard and the ESSEN 51. district. A modern east-west connection with eleven stops is being built over a total of 5.5 kilometres, linking the new ESSEN 51. district with the city centre in an emission-free manner. A clear goal is the timetable change next year, for which the consulting firm Drees & Sommer, which specialises in construction, real estate and infrastructure, is supporting the city of Essen and Ruhrbahn GmbH in project management.
Key element to urban development
With more than half a million inhabitants, Essen is one of the largest cities in the Ruhr area and is also an important transport hub. Commuters and inner-city delivery traffic often expose the city to high levels of traffic congestion. This is set to change with the new section of the CITYBAHN. In future, this will provide a direct, above-ground connection from ESSEN 51. to the city centre. Until 1977, trams had largely disappeared from the above-ground street space – important hubs and destinations had since been accessible via tunnel sections and stations.
‘The CITYBAHN is driving the mobility transition forward and promoting urban development by connecting to Essen’s main railway station,’ says Martin Harter, Director of Urban Planning and Construction for the City of Essen. ‘It also relieves the existing network – especially the tunnel systems. Each of the trams can carry around 200 people. We estimate that this will save up to 1,300 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually,’ adds Simone Raskob, Executive Director of Environment, Transport and Sport for the City of Essen.
The CITYBAHN is more than just a means of transport. It makes an important contribution to urban development. In front of the Amalie colliery, in the heart of the ESSEN 51 district, a shared space is being created that can be used by all road users – without separate lanes. However, the design of the route is not only aimed at enhancing the urban landscape – it is also intended to benefit the urban climate. This will result in grass tracks on Hollestraße, Haus-Berge-Straße and Hachestraße, as well as a green strip with 115 trees on Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard. “Green traffic areas not only enhance the cityscape visually. They bind pollutants, store rainwater and cool the air through evaporation processes,‘ reports Sebastian Brandenbusch, project manager at Ruhrbahn GmbH. ’We have also planned underground infiltration systems that can supply the trees with collected rainwater for longer periods during dry spells.”
Complex planning for a sustainable transport transition
The expansion of the CITYBAHN is currently the largest inner-city tram construction project in North Rhine-Westphalia. But it is not only the scope that makes the project so complex. ‘We are responsible for coordinating numerous stakeholders: planners, construction companies, authorities and the city administration must work together seamlessly,’ explains Markus Hauser, project manager at Drees & Sommer. ‘We coordinate the interfaces to avoid any duplication of work. Regular progress checks and status reports ensure that everyone is up to date. This allows us to make optimum use of human resources.’
Challenges such as the difficult subsoil in the third construction phase on Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard were also dealt with efficiently. ‘The area was previously used for underground mining, which resulted in abnormalities in the subsoil. Extensive stabilisation work is currently being carried out to stabilise the building ground for the future transport system,’ says Hauser.
The new line within the exusting network can be seen here: https://www.urbanrail.net/eu/de/e/essen.htm
Gradual commissioning – first new section to open in 2026
Work on the new CITYBAHN in Essen city centre is progressing well. The first newly built and modernised stops around Essen Central Station will be ready for use as early as summer 2026. The central element of the CITYBAHN, the so-called station tangent, will thus go into operation as planned with the stops ‘Betriebshof Stadtmitte’, “Hollestraße”, ‘Essen Hbf’ and ‘Hindenburgstraße’.
The section from Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard / Altendorfer Straße through the new ESSEN 51 urban area connects to the existing network at the ‘Bocholder Straße’ stop and will follow in phase 2 in 2027. Three new stops will be built on this section: ‘Krupp-Park’, ‘Zeche Amalie’ and and Zollstraße – the Bergmühle stop will also be rebuilt.
In phase 3, the section between Hans-Böckler-Straße will be connected to the Frohnhauser Straße/Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard intersection to complete the existing route on Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard. The two stops ‘Schwanenkampbrücke’ and “Westendhof” will be newly built and the ‘Frohnhauser Straße’ stop will be rebuilt.
According to the current schedule, the entire CITYBAHN route will be put into operation in 2028.
The service concept
Three tram lines will run on the new route in future, connecting the ESSEN 51. district directly to the main railway station. From there, passengers can continue without changing trains to the south-east district, Huttrop and Steele:
- Line 101: From Borbeck via ESSEN 51., Berliner Platz and the main railway station to Rellinghausen
- Line 105: From Frintrop via Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard and the main railway station towards Steele
- Line 108: From Bergeborbeck via ESSEN 51., Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard and the main railway station to the Stadtmitte depot – it uses the entire new above-ground route
The total cost of the project, approximately EUR 180 million, will be largely covered by federal and state government funds.
17.11.2025
