North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a state (Land) in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states, it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 square kilometres (13,160 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest German state by size.
Duisburg is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 15th-largest city in Germany.
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers an area of 7,110 square kilometres (2,750 sq mi), entirely within the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region spreads from the Ruhr area (Dortmund-Bochum-Essen-Duisburg) in the north to the urban areas of the cities of Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Leverkusen, Cologne, and Bonn in the south. The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas such as the Randstad, the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.
Das Erste is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. Das Erste is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are members of the ARD.
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, shortened to WDR, is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD. As well as contributing to the output of the national television channel Das Erste, WDR produces the regional television service WDR Fernsehen and six regional radio networks.
Heinsberg is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Sittard and 30 km south-west of Mönchengladbach.
Köln Messe/Deutz station is an important railway junction for long-distance rail and local services in the Deutz neighborhood of Cologne in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated close to the eastern bank of the Rhine and connected via the Hohenzollern Bridge to Köln Hauptbahnhof, the city's main station, which is just a few hundred metres away. The Cologne Trade Fair grounds are directly north of the station, hence the Messe in the station's name. The Deutz/Messe station of the Cologne Stadtbahn is nearby and connected to this station by a pedestrian tunnel.
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.
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.
Viersen station is a station in the city of Viersen in the west of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
North Rhine-Westphalia is home to 14 universities and over 50 partly postgraduate colleges, with a total of over 500,000 students. Largest and oldest university is the University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln), founded in 1388 AD.
The NRW-Express is a Regional-Express rail service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from Aachen via Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund to Hamm as line RE 1. The line is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) network and is operated by National Express.
Petra Kammerevert is a German politician who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2009. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, part of the Party of European Socialists.
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 Rhein-Hellweg-Express is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from Kassel via Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, Duisburg and Düsseldorf Airport to Düsseldorf Hbf. It is named after the Rhine and the Westphalian Hellweg. The line is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) network and is operated by National Express.
The Düsseldorf tramway network is a network of tramways serving Düsseldorf, the capital city of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In combination with the Düsseldorf Stadtbahn and Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn, it forms the backbone of the public transport system in Düsseldorf.
Carmen Thomas is a German journalist, radio and television presenter, author and lecturer. On television, she was the first woman to present the ZDF's das aktuelle Sportstudio. She worked for public radio, running Hallo Ü-Wagen, a weekly travelling talk radio show for two decades. In 1990 Forbes named her one of the 100 most influential women in Germany.
The Rhine-Niers-Bahn is a Regionalbahn service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It connects Essen Hbf, Duisburg Hbf on the Rhine with Mönchengladbach on the Niers, Aachen and Heinsberg.
The Rhein-IJssel-Express is a Regional-Express service in German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Dutch province of Gelderland. It runs from Düsseldorf to Arnhem, with a section splitting at Wesel to serve Bocholt. VIAS operates the service on behalf of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR).
Hallo Ü-Wagen was a German travelling talk radio show of the WDR. It was presented and directed weekly by Carmen Thomas from 1974 to 1994. In 1990, Forbes named her one of the 100 most influential women in Germany for running it. The series continued until 2010.
