It is numbered as line RE 8 and connects the cities of Mönchengladbach, Cologne, Bonn and Koblenz with each other and their surroundings, running hourly.

From Neuwied, the line RB 27 runs via Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein and cross the Horchheim Railway Bridge over the Rhine to Koblenz Hauptbahnhof.

Between Unkel and Koblenz the fares of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel (Rhine-Moselle transport association, VRM) apply.

With the introduction of the second stage of the North Rhine-Westphalia integrated timetable in 2002, the VRR sought a transfer-free connection from Düsseldorf to Venlo, which meant that the Rhein-Erft-Express was cut back to Mönchengladbach and renumbered as RE 8.

From December 2002, RE 8 ran largely to today's route with push–pull trains consisting of class 143 locomotives and five Silberling carriages.