Cologne–Nijmegen railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line number | 2610 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route number | 495, 450.11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 120 km (75 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Left Lower Rhine line (German : Linksniederrheinische Strecke) is a main line on the left (western) bank of the Rhine in the lower Rhine region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, running from Cologne to Cleves (Kleve) and formerly via Kranenburg to Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The Cologne–Krefeld section of the line was opened by the Cöln-Crefeld Railway Company in 1855 and is one of the oldest lines in Germany.
The 55 km-long section from Cologne via Neuss to Krefeld is electrified and continuously multi-track. The subsequent 65 km-long Krefeld–Kleve section is non-electrified and single-track north of Geldern. The section from Kleve to Nijmegen has been closed since 1991.
Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn line S 11 trains run on the line from Cologne to Neuss, partly on separate S-Bahn track, including a separate loop, partly underground, through the Cologne district of Chorweiler.
The Left Lower Rhine line was opened between Cologne and Neuss by the Cologne-Crefeld Railway Company (originally spelt in German as the Cöln-Crefelder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CCE) on 15 November 1855 and extended to Krefeld—on the original direct route via Fischeln—on 26 January 1856. The current route via Krefeld-Oppum was opened on 23 August 1866. The Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE) entered into a contract with the Cologne-Crefelder Railway Company on 11 November 1859 to take over its route from Cologne to Krefeld on 1 July 1860, making it possible to extend the Left Lower Rhine line to the north with a connection to the Dutch rail network and the Dutch ports. The section to Kleve opened on 1 March 1863.
A ten-kilometre continuation of the line over the Griethausen railway bridge and the Spyck–Welle train ferry to the Dutch border was opened on 19 April 1865 for freight and on 21 April 1865 for passengers. At the same time the RhE encouraged the Dutch Rhine Railway Company (Dutch : Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij, NRS) to extend its railway, which already ran from Rotterdam and Amsterdam to Utrecht and Arnhem, to the Dutch–German border. In 1856 the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME) had opened its line to Emmerich via Oberhausen (the Holland route), but it lacked rail connections to southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
This prompted the NRS to discuss a rail link via Cleves with the Rhenish railway, which had extended its West Rhine line to Bingen in 1859 to create a connection with the southern German rail network. Both companies attempted to persuade the Dutch government to grant a concession to the Rhenish railway for the construction of a route from Kleve to Nijmegen and Arnhem but failed to change the Dutch government's policy. Even an offer by the Rhenish railway to build at its own expense the big bridges that would have been required over the Waal and the Rhine had no effect. Probably the major concern for the Dutch government was the protection of navigation on the Rhine in the Netherlands and the fact that the majority of the capital of the NRS was controlled by English investors.
Until the nationalisation of the company in 1880, all RhE freight and passenger trains ran to the Dutch North Sea ports via the Kleve–Zevenaar route. In 1912, the tracks to the ramps on both sides of the train ferry were closed. Passengers were instead transferred by steamboat. During World War I the line was reduced to two pairs of trains per day. After the war, the Dutch railways (later formally amalgamated as Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) and the German State Railways signed an agreement in relation to the operation of rail and ferry services up to 31 August 1926. Around 1930 the tracks between Welle and Elten on the right (northern) bank were dismantled. In contrast, on the left bank passenger services continued until 1960 and freight ran directly to a vegetable oil mill on the Rhine in Spyck until 1987. At that time, the line from Kleve was closed.
On 9 September 1865 a further link from Cleves to Nijmegen was put into operation. In 1879 this line was connected to the Dutch rail network in Arnhem. From 18 September 1965 the section between Kleve and the border was reduced from double track to single track. No passenger trains have run on the line to Nijmegen since 1991 and the line has been out of service since 1999. Freight operations have been closed between Kleve and Kranenburg since 31 December 1991.
Since 27 April 2008, the section from Kleve via Kranenburg to Groesbeek has been used for the operation of draisines for entertainment.
Line S 11 of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn was put into operation from Cologne Hbf to Köln-Chorweiler on 1 June 1975 as the first S-Bahn line in Cologne. On 22 May 1977, a new section was opened to Köln-Chorweiler Nord, running underground through Chorweiler. In June 1985 this was extended to Köln-Worringen, where the S-Bahn line has a grade-separated connection with the main line, and line S 11 continues to Neuss. This was the beginning of the integration of the Rhine-Ruhr and the Rhine-Sieg S-Bahn networks.
From west to east, the Left Lower Rhine line was crossed by now disused railways in Goch, Geldern and Kempen. The North Brabant-German Railway Company (Dutch: Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij, NBDS) built a line for long-distance trains running from London to Berlin and London to Hamburg from Boxtel in the Netherlands via Gennep and Goch to Wesel (the Boxtel Railway). The Haltern–Venlo section of the Paris-Hamburg Railway, which ran from Venlo via Wesel to Hamburg, crossed in Geldern; this was opened by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company in 1874. The Rhenish Railway Company opened a line from Kempen to Venlo via Kaldenkirchen in 1867. The narrow gauge Geldern District Railway (Geldernsche Kreisbahn) was opened in 1901 and 1902 from Kempen via Straelen to Kevelaer to improve access to the agricultural land west of the Left Lower Rhine line; it was closed in 1934.
The Meerbusch-Osterath–Cleves section of the Left Lower Rhine line is served by a Regional-Express service, the Niers-Express (RE 10) on the Kleve–Krefeld–Düsseldorf route every 30 minutes during the day and evening from Monday to Friday and hourly on weekends and public holidays. It connects hourly in Krefeld with the Rhein-Münsterland-Express (RE 7) on the Krefeld–Neuss–Cologne–Wuppertal–Hagen–Hamm–Münster–Rheine route. Since the Kleve–Geldern section has only one track, services of the Niers-Express running towards Krefeld have to stop for four minutes at the crossing stations of Bedburg-Hau and Weeze. The total time taken by trains running in the opposite direction is eight minutes less. Despite the service's classification as a Regional-Express, the Niers-Express serves all stations between Meerbusch-Osterath and Kleve. The average speed is only 66 km/h. All stations on the line have at least two tracks and can serve as crossing stations.
The Rhein-Münsterland-Express was formerly operated by DB Regio NRW, using push-pull trains that are composed of four double-deck coaches hauled by class 112 electric locomotives. Since December 2015, it has been operated by National Express using Bombardier Talent 2 electric multiple units.
The Niers-Express services were taken over by NordWestBahn in December 2009, and are operated using one to three part LINT 41 diesel multiple units with a top speed of 120 km / h. NordWestBahn was taken over by Transdev and is now called the RheinRuhrBahn.
Geldern is a city in the federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf administrative region. The nearby Dutch province of Gelderland is named after this city.
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, abbreviated VRR, is a public transport association (Verkehrsverbund) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It covers most of the Ruhr area, as well as neighbouring parts of the Lower Rhine region, including Düsseldorf and thus large parts of the Rhine-Ruhr conurbation. It was founded on 1 January 1980, and is Europe’s largest body of such kind, covering an area of some 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi) with more than 7.8 million inhabitants, spanning as far as Dorsten in the north, Dortmund in the east, Langenfeld in the south, and Mönchengladbach and the Dutch border in the west.
Duisburg Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the city of Duisburg in western Germany. It is situated at the meeting point of many important national and international railway lines in the Northwestern Ruhr valley.
Line S 11 is a S-Bahn line operated by DB Regio on the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn network. It connects Düsseldorf Airport Terminal with Bergisch Gladbach, running via Düsseldorf Neuss, Dormagen and Cologne. Before 13 December 2009, the service operated from Wuppertal-Vohwinkel in peak time, sharing the Wuppertal-Düsseldorf run with the S8 trains. Normal operation, though, started at Düsseldorf-Wehrhahn. Since the introduction of the new 2010 Schedule the service starts at Düsseldorf Airport Terminal replacing the line S 7 to Düsseldorf Hbf. The former run to Wuppertal-Vohwinkel is now conducted by the S 68.
Neuss Central Station is the railway station for the city of Neuss in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The main station building is built on a platform between the tracks and it is located at the junction of the Lower Left Rhine Railway and the Mönchengladbach–Düsseldorf railway. These lines also connect with the Düren–Neuss railway and the Neuss–Viersen railway; the latter has ended since 1984 at Kaarster See station and is operated by the private Regiobahn company.
Krefeld Hauptbahnhof is the largest station of the city of Krefeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The double-track and electrified Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway and the Lower Left Rhine Railway cross at the station.
The 64 km long Cologne–Duisburg railway is one of the most important lines in Germany. It is the main axis for long distance and urban passenger rail services between Cologne and the Ruhr, served by Intercity Express, Intercity, Regional Express, regionalbahn and S-Bahn trains. It was the first section built of the Cologne-Minden trunk line and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. It was opened in 1845/46 and has been repeatedly modernized and expanded. Today the route comprises two or three double lines and is electrified throughout.
The Elberfeld–Dortmund railway is a major railway in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of a major axis for long distance and regional rail services between Wuppertal and Cologne, and is served by Intercity Express, InterCity, Regional Express, Regionalbahn and S-Bahn trains.
Köln-Mülheim is a railway station situated at Mülheim, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by several regional trains, the S6 and S11 lines of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the 13 and 18 lines of Cologne Stadtbahn.
The Rhenish Railway Company was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway is a historically significant, but now partly abandoned line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The line was built by the Ruhrort-Crefeld District Gladbach Railway Company, founded in 1847, and is one of the oldest lines in Germany, opened in 1849 and 1851.
The Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway is a main line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an important link between the Ruhr and Belgium for freight trains and is served by regional passenger trains. The line was built by the Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway Company and is one of the oldest lines in Germany, which was opened between 1852 and 1854.
The Spyck–Welle train ferry was a train ferry on the Rhine between Spyck on the left (southern) bank and Welle on the right bank in the lower Rhine region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was established in 1865 by the Rhenish Railway Company on the Lower Left Rhine line from Cologne to Neuss, Krefeld, Cleves, Elten, Zevenaar and the Dutch North Sea ports.
The Rhein Weser Express is a Regional-Express service route in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, connecting some of the most important cities in Westphalia with the Ruhr. Cologne, Neuss, Düsseldorf and Duisburg lie on the Rhine while Minden lies on the Weser.
The Neuss–Viersen railway is a mostly disused railway line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It formerly ran from Neuss via Kaarst and Neersen to Viersen, but now ends in Kaarst.
The Rhein-Münsterland-Express is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The hourly service initially runs to the south east from Krefeld via Neuss to Cologne and then turns to run to the northeast via Solingen, Wuppertal, Hagen to Münster. Every two hours it continues to Rheine.
The Rhein-Haard-Express is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from Osnabrück via Münster, Recklinghausen, Gelsenkirchen, Essen and Duisburg to Düsseldorf.
The Osterath–Dortmund-Süd railway is a historically significant line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Parts of it are closed, much of it is now used for freight only, but several sections are still used for Regional-Express, Regionalbahn or Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn services.
The Rheinhausen–Kleve railway, also known in German as the Niederrheinstrecke, is a formerly continuous railway on the Lower Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Kleve is a railway station in the town of Kleve, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The station opened on 5 March 1863 on the Lower Left Rhine Railway. The train services are operated by NordWestBahn.