KVB changes timetable on Weiberfastnacht – overview
The KVB is also preparing at full speed for the Cologne Carnival. Among other things, stations will be fenced off, not approached and the timetable expanded.
Cologne – While Jecke is slowly but surely throwing into their costumes, the pubs are ordering beer barrels or the Rheinenergie Stadium is being prepared for the 2022 Shrove Monday procession, the KVB is already feverishly preparing for the Cologne Carnival. “Despite different recommendations, the city of Cologne assumes that there will probably be many people willing to party, especially on Weiberfastnacht. The KVB is therefore positioning itself accordingly,” the transport company explained in a statement. But what does that mean exactly? What are the rail transport requirements for revelers to be prepared for?
Carnival Cologne 2022: How the KVB lines drive on Weiberfastnacht
- KVB Line 1: Additional booster runs every 5 minutes in the afternoon. From 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. every 10 minutes and from 11 p.m. to 2.15 a.m. every 15 minutes to Bensberg. Then a night service every 30 minutes between Weiden-West and Bensberg. “Although there will be no event on the Heumarkt this year, in critical situations the police may block the “Heumarkt” stop, and the trains will then run through without stopping,” the KVB announced.
- KVB line 3: Every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., then night traffic every 30 minutes between the center of Görling and Thielenbruch.
- KVB line 4: Every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., then night traffic every 30 minutes between Bocklemünd and Schlebusch.
- KVB line 5: Every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., then night services every 30 minutes between the stops “Sparkasse am Butzweilerhof” and “Heumarkt”. The KVB also explains: “Events by the nine traditional corps will take place on the Alter Markt from Weiberfastnacht, February 24th, to Shrove Tuesday, March 1st, in fixed time slots between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. 732 visitors are permitted, who are placed on six grandstands in a closed event area.”
- KVB line 7: Every 10 minutes between Zündorf and Moltkestraße until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., from Moltkestraße to Frechen every 30 minutes, then night traffic every 30 minutes between Moltkestraße and Zündorf. “In critical situations, the “Heumarkt” stop may be blocked by the police, and the trains then run through without stopping,” explains the KVB.
- KVB line 9: Every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 3 a.m., then night traffic every 30 minutes. Since this line normally runs via Zülpicher Straße, there are also considerable restrictions here, according to the KVB. “From 8.30 a.m. Zülpicher Straße will be closed between Dasselstraße/Bahnhof Süd and Zülpicher Platz. Between 8.30 a.m. and 11 p.m., line 9 WILL be diverted from the “Neumarkt” stop via Aachener Straße/Gürtel to Hermeskeiler Platz and back. In the section between “Hermeskeiler Platz” and “Universitätsstraße” articulated buses of line 109 are used as replacement traffic. The bus departs from Mommsenstrasse. From 11 p.m. there will be reinforced trips between Aachener Straße/Gürtel and Ostheim.” The note also applies to these routes that the “Heumarkt” stop WILL be passed through by the trains without stopping in the event of a temporary police closure.
- KVB line 12: Every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., then night traffic every 30 minutes between Merkenich and Zollstock.
- KVB line 13: Every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., then night traffic every 30 minutes between Holweide and Sülzgurtel.
- KVB line 15: Every 5 minutes until 11 p.m., every 15 minutes until 2.15 a.m., night traffic every 30 minutes between Chorweiler and Ubierring, an overlay every 30 minutes between Wilhelm-Sollmann-Straße and Ubierring.
- KVB line 16: Compression to a 10-minute cycle until 11 p.m. between Niehl and Wesseling, 15-minute cycle until 3 a.m. From 10 a.m. to 4.30 a.m., trams on line 16 coming from Niehl turn around at the “Ubierring” stop and travel back to Niehl from there. In the southern route, line 16 commutes between the underground stop Severinstraße and Bonn or Wesseling. There are no opposite passenger movements on the platforms of the above-ground stop “Chlodwigplatz”. The changed route also means that every five minutes an almost empty tram of lines 15 and 16 from the Ubierring arrives at Chlodwigplatz in the direction of the city centre. Nobody has to get off, all waiting passengers can be picked up and the trains can continue their journey quickly.
- KVB line 17: Only runs until 10 a.m. and is then discontinued. Instead, line 16 is in use here.
- KVB line 18: Every 5 minutes until 11 p.m. to Klettenberg, every 10 minutes until 11 p.m. to Hürth-Hermülheim, from 11 p.m. to 2.15 a.m. every 15 minutes to Schwadorf and every 30 minutes to Bonn. Night traffic every 30 minutes between Thielenbruch and Schwadorf.
- KVB bus service: The bus service runs all day in regular operation. Depending on demand and availability, additional buses will be deployed between 9 a.m. and 1 a.m. Lines 132 and 136 continue to run every 15 minutes from 11 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. On the bus lines 123, 125, 126, 131, 132, 136, 143, 145, 149, 156, 157, 165, 166 and 167 there is a scheduled night service according to the Friday timetable. The buses of lines 132 and 133 drive to the Heumarkt bus loop and not further to Breslauer Platz until revoked by the operations supervisory authority or the KVB control center.
KVB prepares for the Cologne carnival – women’s carnival no stop at “Zülpicher Platz”
Especially on Weiberfastnacht 2022, there will be extensive changes for the carnivalists in Cologne. “As one of the most important measures, the Gleistraße between Zülpicher Platz and Barbarossaplatz will be fenced in to ensure unhindered passage of the tram lines 12 and 15,” says the KVB. The fact that the entire Zülpicher district will be fenced off during the carnival was announced weeks ago – now the KVB has declared that there will be no more trains from 9 a.m. on February 24th. This runs between the Rudolfplatz stop and Barbarossaplatz without a stop. The Zülpicher district can only be reached on foot via Roonstrasse.
Measures are also being taken at Barbarossaplatz. “At the “Barbarossaplatz” stop, an additional platform will be set up for the 16 and 18 trams, which travel out of town from Poststrasse. The passengers can get off here, the new passengers are only picked up at the next, regular platform,” explains the company. But there are also changes on all other lines in the KVB area.
Carnival Cologne 2022: VRS offers a carnival ticket – travel by train for six days for around 25 euros
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS) is once again offering tickets for the fun days this year. “With the VRS Carnival Ticket, passengers are mobile for a whole six days for 25.36 euros: from Weiberfastnacht, February 24, up to and including Violet Tuesday, March 1, 2022, 3 a.m.,” explains the VRS. The ticket is valid in the VRS network, i.e. also in the so-called local border traffic between the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg and the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRS/VRR). “As before, the carnival ticket is only available digitally. Passengers can choose whether they want to buy it by smartphone (HandyTicket) or as an online ticket in the ticket shop of the VRS transport company and then print it out. The ticket is valid for one person and any number of journeys in the specified period.
According to the VRS, the so-called “24-hour tickets” are worthwhile for certain people who are traveling alone or in a group for just one day. “These offer a five percent discount as a mobile phone or online ticket. Important to know for users of season tickets and subscriptions: Shrove Monday counts as a public holiday in the VRS. This means that the Formula 9 ticket is valid before 9 a.m. on Shrove Monday and the carriage regulations for subscription tickets apply without time restrictions.”
Carnival Cologne 2022: The KVB bike may not be parked at the following hotspots on Weiberfastnacht
- Old town and cathedral area
- “Kwartier Latäng” around the Zülpicher district
- Severin district
- Friesenstrasse and Friesenplatz
As the KVB Cologne explains, this year the well-known carnival hotspots were raised to a restricted area for parking rental bicycles. “In order to reduce the risk of accidents, the city of Cologne has separated these “hotspots” and their surroundings from the rental and return of rental vehicles, e.g. B. the KVB wheel excluded. This means that from Wednesday, February 23 to Monday, February 28, no rental bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, etc. may be borrowed or returned in the restricted zones. However, driving through on roads and cycle paths away from the pedestrian zones is permitted. If you park your bike in one of these restricted zones, you have to pay a fine of 20 euros, which the rental bike app automatically deducts from your account.
Carnival Cologne 2022: Regular operation on Friday and Saturday, night traffic on Shrove Monday
The above restrictions apply to Weiberfastnacht, i.e. February 24th. On Carnival Friday (February 25) and Saturday (February 26) the trains run according to the regular annual timetable of the KVB. This also applies to Carnival Sunday (February 27) and Shrove Monday (February 28), although night traffic is also used on these two days. (mo) More news on the 24RHEIN homepage. Tip: Informed daily about what’s happening in Cologne – simply subscribe to our free 24RHEIN newsletter.