Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway
standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC catenary
Route map Legend km Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway to Köln Hauptbahnhof 1.8 Aachen Hauptbahnhof HSL 3 to Liège & Belgian railway line 37 (old line) 0.0 Aachen Marschierthor original start of line 3.0 Aachen Schanz Montzen Railway to Montzen Aachen Templerbend ( until 1910 ) 5.3 Aachen West 8.6 Richterich former station now crossover A 4 Aachen–Maastricht railway to Maastricht 11.5 Kohlscheid Stolberg–Kohlscheid railway to Würselen 16.1 Herzogenrath Stolberg–Herzogenrath railway to Alsdorf and Stolberg Sittard–Herzogenrath railway to Sittard 19.4 Nievelstein 22.7 Übach-Palenberg 27.4 Geilenkirchen Geilenkirchen District Railway Heinsberg–Lindern railway to Heinsberg 34.6 Lindern 36.7 Brachelen 38.8 Rur bridge Rur Jülich–Dalheim railway 40.8 Hückelhoven-Baal Jülich–Dalheim railway to Ratheim 41.6 Baal freight yard A 46 47.2 Erkelenz 51.8 Herrath 56.1 Wickrath A 61 Dalheim 57.9 Rheydt freight yard former Iron Rhine branch 58.8 Krefeld–Rheydt railway to Viersen-Helenabrunn Rheydt–Köln-Ehrenfeld railway to Köln Hauptbahnhof 60.0 Rheydt Hauptbahnhof Krefeld–Rheydt railway to Krefeld Mönchengladbach–Stolberg railway to Rheydt-Geneicken 63.9 Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway to Duisburg Mönchengladbach–Düsseldorf railway to Düsseldorf km Source: German railway atlas[1] This diagram: view talk edit

The Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway is a main line in the

, which was opened between 1852 and 1854.

Route

The line begins in Aachen Hauptbahnhof, where it connects with the line from Liège, Belgium and with the line to Cologne. Shortly later is the Aachen Schanz station, opened in 2004. On the approach to Aachen West station is the junction with the Montzen Railway, which is exclusively used for freight trains to and from Belgium.

The track runs on a high embankment through western Aachen and then through a deep cutting, which used to be the location of Richterich station, but is now a crossover only. In Richterich station there used to junction with the so-called Millions line (Millionen linie) to Simpelveld in the Netherlands. The line runs to Kohlscheid station, which is at the top of the Kohlscheid ramp. Bank engines were once needed to push heavy trains towards Aachen up the steep grade from Herzogenrath to Kohlscheid. It was also the starting point for the now almost completely dismantled Stolberg–Kohlscheid line to Würselen.

In Herzogenrath there are junctions with the Stolberg–Herzogenrath line and the line to Heerlen in the Netherlands, which is served by the cross-border operator, euregiobahn. There is also a connection in Herzogenrath to the Saint-Gobain glass factory.

Rur

bridge

The line runs through

river, which is crossed by a concrete bridge.

The next junction is at Baal, which between 1911 and 1980 was a “tower station” (Turmbahnhof), that is a two-level station, where the now largely closed Jülich–Dalheim line crossed on the lower level, while the platforms of the Aachen–Mönchengladbach line were on the upper level. After Baal station the line crosses the largely rural country known as the Erkelenzer Börde (Westphalian for "fertile lowlands").

In the former Rheydt freight yard, the now closed Krefeld–Rheydt line and the current Moenchengladbach freight bypass branch off. The latter allows freight trains to avoid the busy section between Rheydt Hauptbahnhof and Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof and run to Viersen-Helenabrunn station on the Mönchengladbach–Duisburg line. There is also a parking area for trains running to the Siemens test and validation centre at Wegberg-Wildenrath.

Between the freight yard and Rheydt Hauptbahnhof, the

and Wegberg end in Rheydt Hauptbahnhof.

The combination of these lines in Rheydt leads to dense traffic of the last section of the line to Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof. From there lines run to Duisburg and to Düsseldorf.

History

The planning for the construction of the route was initially carried out by the

(Königliche Direction der Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrorter Eisenbahn), although this was also a limited company.

The route was opened in the following sections:

Section	Distance	Opening
Mönchengladbach–Rheydt	3.8	12 August 1852
Rheydt–Herzogenrath	44.0	12 November 1852
Herzogenrath–Aachen	13.2	17 January 1853

The Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway Company was the operator of the line from 1854 until 31 December 1865. On 1 January 1866 the company’s assets were taken by the

(Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BME), which was mainly owned by the Prussian government.

New route in Aachen

Originally, the line began at Aachen Marschierthor station, near the Marschiertor gate. This is now the location of a rail depot established in 1905 when the Aachen Hauptbahnhof was built to replace the former Aachen Rhenish Station and the Marschierthor station. In 1910, Aachen Templerbend station was demolished and replaced by Aachen West station on a relocated section of track. The old line through Templerbend station ran through western Aachen from the current junction with the Montzen Railway to the northeast directly to the former Richterich station.

Modernisation in 2007

In 2007 the track between Übach-Palenberg and Rheydt Hauptbahnhof was connected to an electronic interlocking at Grevenbroich. In 2006 and 2007, new Ks signals replaced the last semaphore signals on the track in Lindern station and between Herrath and Rheydt Hauptbahnhof. The stations at Wickrath, Übach-Palenberg and Erkelenz were renovated. In 2007, a new electronic interlocking was installed in Aachen Hauptbahnhof and the old colour light signals were also replaced by Ks signals.

Current operations

Regional services on the line are operated by DB Regio NRW. The hourly Wupper-Express (RE 4) Regional-Express service and the hourly Rhein-Niers-Bahn (RB 33) Regionalbahn service run on the line. The Regionalbahn service stops at all stations, while the Regional-Express stops at all stops except Kohlscheid, Brachelen, Herrath and Wickrath. From Mönchengladbach these trains continue on two different routes (RB 33 via the Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach line to Duisburg and RE 4 via the Mönchengladbach–Düsseldorf line to Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Hagen and Dortmund).

It is served by Intercity services twice a week running between Aachen and Berlin, stopping at Mönchengladbach, Rheydt, Herzogenrath and Aachen.

In freight transport, the line is currently used as an alternative to the Iron Rhine. Trains running from Belgium via the Montzen Railway to the Ruhr run on the Aachen–Mönchengladbach line from Aachen West station at least as far as Rheydt freight yard. They continue either via the Mönchengladbach freight rail bypass or via Mönchengladbach Hbf to Duisburg.

References

External links

• Description of line 2550 in NRW railway archive of André Joost