One of the aspects of my #CrossChannelRail report that drew the most reaction was my conclusion that serving Köln Hbf with trains to London was too complicated, and it would better to serve Köln/Bonn Flughafen or Horrem instead – as it would be easier to secure a platform and build a terminal at either of those alternative stops.
The issue at Köln Hbf is not so much securing a platform, but getting a train in and out of it.
You could envisage a Rotterdam Centraal style solution for Gleis 1 at Köln Hbf – that is the single platform on the building side. And find space within the building (where the DB lounge is, or perhaps even when the DB staff canteen is located currently) for check in procedures. 10 minutes prior to the train arriving, the platform would be secured, passengers then board, and off goes the train.
However the problem with Gleis 1 is that is faces the wrong way – trains exit from it eastbound.
Were you to want to exit from it westbound towards Ehrenfeld and onwards towards Aachen and Bruxelles you have to cross all the congested tracks at the western end of Köln Hbf, and that is a recipe for delays and an unreliable service. So I ruled that out.
However yesterday I was approached by someone who listened to a presentation of mine in Paris with an alternative suggestion. How about routing like this (Zoomable version here):
A train from Frankfurt to London would first cross the Südbrücke (south bridge), enter Hbf from the west, out eastwards as is normal from Gleis 1, and then go via Deutzerfeld and Kalk and around to the Südbrücke once more, before then heading towards Ehrenfeld and Aachen. Yes, this would add 15 minutes to the trip time, but – so the proponent of the idea argued – better that than wasting time changing some stop at the edge of the city.
While the solution is most definitely creative and would provide some nice views of Köln, it brings its own problems. Martin Hoffmann pointed out the headaches around Deutzerfeld, Alexander Krumeich sensibly argued that as so much rail infrastructure around Köln is already over capacity crossing the Rhein three times makes no sense, and NymeHess, Bela and Mac the squirrel worried about the likelihood of delays.
So yes, I will add a reference to this idea in a future update of the #CrossChannelRail report, but for now I am sticking to the alternative stations as the way to serve Köln!