The construction work began with a symbolic ramming on 22 October 1997.
Among the guests of this event for the construction of section 1 (triangular junction near Cologne station) were Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann and state minister of transport Clement.

According to the then planning two new tracks would first be built between Cologne and Düren for the high-speed and the existing line would be upgraded for the S-Bahn line at a cost of DM 1.1 billion.
More than 80 percent of the costs would be covered by the federal government and the rest by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Completion was expected in May 2002.

By the end of 2002, the existing line between Cologne and Düren had gained one or two more tracks and been upgraded to a high-speed line.
Since 14 December 2003, the mainline tracks on this 42 kilometre-long section can be operated at up to 250 km/h.
All stations on this section of the line have been rebuilt and some of them have been converted into S-Bahn only stations.

The S-Bahn started operating at the timetable change in December 2002 on the S-Bahn tracks, which are now operationally separated from the main line.
The tracks on the high-speed line are used by regional and international express train services.
Until the opening of the Cologne/Bonn Airport station in mid-2004, line S 13 of the Cologne S-Bahn (the southern part of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn) operated to Düren, but since then line S 12 has run from  Au (Sieg) via Hennef, Troisdorf and Cologne to Düren.
Köln-Weiden West station, which serves as a link to Cologne Stadtbahn line 1, was opened on 28 May 2006.
In particular, it is intended to facilitate arrivals and departures at events in the RheinEnergieStadion.
The single-track S-Bahn line was duplicated over a length of 1.6 km between Buir and Sindorf to allow the equalisation of S-Bahn frequencies between Düren and Cologne.
At night, the S13 runs beyond Horrem to Aachen and back.
This gives the region a better connection to Cologne/Bonn Airport.

Around 2002 the line was used by around 150 passenger and 70 freight trains per day.

In mid-2003, the ICE S reached a speed of 275 km/h on the newly built high-speed section as part of approval and acceptance tests.
The construction work began with a symbolic ramming on 22 October 1997. Among the guests of this event for the construction of section 1 (triangular junction near Cologne station) were Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann and state minister of transport Clement.
According to the then planning two new tracks would first be built between Cologne and Düren for the high-speed and the existing line would be upgraded for the S-Bahn line at a cost of DM 1.1 billion. More than 80 percent of the costs would be covered by the federal government and the rest by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Completion was expected in May 2002.
By the end of 2002, the existing line between Cologne and Düren had gained one or two more tracks and been upgraded to a high-speed line. Since 14 December 2003, the mainline tracks on this 42 kilometre-long section can be operated at up to 250 km/h. All stations on this section of the line have been rebuilt and some of them have been converted into S-Bahn only stations.
The S-Bahn started operating at the timetable change in December 2002 on the S-Bahn tracks, which are now operationally separated from the main line. The tracks on the high-speed line are used by regional and international express train services. Until the opening of the Cologne/Bonn Airport station in mid-2004, line S 13 of the Cologne S-Bahn (the southern part of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn) operated to Düren, but since then line S 12 has run from  Au (Sieg) via Hennef, Troisdorf and Cologne to Düren. Köln-Weiden West station, which serves as a link to Cologne Stadtbahn line 1, was opened on 28 May 2006. In particular, it is intended to facilitate arrivals and departures at events in the RheinEnergieStadion. The single-track S-Bahn line was duplicated over a length of 1.6 km between Buir and Sindorf to allow the equalisation of S-Bahn frequencies between Düren and Cologne. At night, the S13 runs beyond Horrem to Aachen and back. This gives the region a better connection to Cologne/Bonn Airport.
Around 2002 the line was used by around 150 passenger and 70 freight trains per day.
In mid-2003, the ICE S reached a speed of 275 km/h on the newly built high-speed section as part of approval and acceptance tests.
Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway