The long-distance pair of tracks is designed for shared use by long-distance passenger and freight traffic from Ehrenfeld freight yard (line-kilometre 6) towards Aachen. The S-Bahn section between Cologne and Sindorf also has two tracks. Continuing towards Düren, single-track sections alternate with double-track crossing sections. The entrance to Düren station (from Merzenich station) is single-track. The long-distance tracks are designed for operations at 250 km/h and the S-Bahn tracks for 120 km/h. From Merzenich station east of Düren (line-kilometre 34.480), the design speed of the long-distance tracks is 220 km/h, from line-kilometre 38.0 it is 200 km/h and from line-kilometre 39.6 it is 160 km/h. The S-Bahn was designed for a 20-minute cycle (during peak hour) with the possibility of shorter cycles. 53 S-Bahn trips per day and direction were planned. Regional trains running on the long-distance tracks between Cologne and Düren still stop in Horrem and Cologne-Ehrenfeld. No plans were made to run the S 6 to Horrem and thus create a ten-minute cycle between Horrem and Cologne.