The ensemble of Cologne Cathedral, the main railway station and Hohenzollern Bridge as well as the Rhine and its banks form an iconographic urban landscape that symbolises Germany like few others. Cologne's main railway station near the cathedral has been growing over the years and no longer meets the demands placed on such an important transport hub today. Within German and European rail transport, the existing station is regarded as a so-called "bottleneck". In line with the expansion targets for increased rail traffic and the need to optimally link different modes of transport such as buses, suburban trains and a future autonomous shuttle service, the modernisation of Cologne Central Station is at the top of Deutsche Bahn's agenda.
As part of the interdisciplinary course offered by IBK 2 and the DLR Institute of Vehicle Concepts, students are given the task of resolving the so-called "bottleneck". A new central station for Cologne is to be designed, taking into account the requirements of monument protection, which fulfils both the urban planning and the functional and structural requirements. DLR will provide the data for the new NGT (Next Generation Train) high-speed train, including the necessary two-storey platforms, for the design process. Deutsche Bahn will provide data for Cologne Central Station.