Background:
Düsseldorf has 570,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the German Bundesland North-Rhine Westphalia. Extending on both sides of the river Rhine, Düsseldorf was included in the general 1970 Stadtbahn network designed for the Rhine-Ruhr area. For the city of Düsseldorf this project included mainly one 4-track east-west tunnel through the city centre which would split into two branches east of the central station (Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof). One branch continues east towards Düsseldorf-Eller and the second (2 km) runs southeast to Düsseldorf-Oberbilk and further south along the existing route to Holthausen. North of Heinrich-Heine-Allee the central trunk route also splits into two branches, one crosses the river Rhine on the Oberkassel Bridge towards Neuss and Krefeld, and the other one continues underground to Victoriaplatz/Klever Straße and then on the surface along the upgraded route of interurban tram line D towards Duisburg. Now there are 11 underground stations in Düsseldorf.
Apart from the Stadtbahn, Düsseldorf maintains a large network of tram lines. Along some sections on outer branches, trams and Stadtbahn trains share tracks.
New Underground "Wehrhahn" Line.
The so-called "Wehrhahn"-Line will be the second cross-city tunnel, probably for the existing low floor tram lines 703, 712, 713, between the S-Bahn or Suburban rail stations Wehrhahn and Bilk (3.9 km with 8 underground stations). At Heinrich-Heine-Allee a 300 m stretch was already built together with the first city tunnel in the 1980's.
(above) Map of new underground line, (below) New 2007-2010 trams
This 3.9km underground project is expected to cost 350 million euros (around $588million Australian) and with construction already underway its completion is expected around 2012-2013. The old tram route above running through the shopping areas of Schadowstrasse and the Old City will be removed and hopefully be remade into a mall-like area similar to Rundle Mall in Adelaide. The new underground will also improve access to the new Düsseldorf Shopping Complex which is currently under construction in the City area of Bilk located next to the S-bahn station.