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The Gruiten–Cologne-Deutz railway is a major German railway

Rail transport in Germany

, Germany had a railway network of 41,315 km. 19,857 km are electrified. The total track length was 76,473 km. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Germany is 80.-Overview:...

. It is part of a major axis for long distance and regional rail services between Wuppertal

Wuppertal

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

 and Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, and is served by Intercity Express, InterCity

Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)

Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...

, Regional-Express and regionalbahn

RegionalBahn

The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...

  trains.

The route is fully electrified. The last piece of single-track, the section between Köln-Mülheim station

Köln-Mülheim station

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.-History :...

 and Köln Messe/Deutz station (low level) is currently being duplicated.

History

The route was built as a branch of the Dusseldorf–Elberfeld line

Düsseldorf–Elberfeld railway

The Düsseldorf–Elberfeld railway is a 27 km long main line railway in Germany, originally built by the Düsseldorf-Elberfeld Railway Company, connecting Düsseldorf and Elberfeld via Erkrath, Hochdahl and Vohwinkel...

 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) after its acquisition of the Dusseldorf-Elberfeld Railway Company. It would connect the BME’s core network in the southern and central Ruhr

Ruhr

The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...

 with the railway node of Cologne, which was already served by the Rhenish Railway Company

Rhenish Railway Company

The Rhenish Railway Company was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company 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.-Foundation :The...

 (RhE) and the Cologne-Minden Railway Company

Cologne-Minden Railway Company

The Cologne-Minden Railway Company was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company 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.-Founding :The founding of the...

 (CME).

The BME began construction of its new line from the site of the current Gruiten

Gruiten

Gruiten is a historical, North-Rhine-Westphalian village incorporated by Haan. The village is located near Wuppertal and Düsseldorf....

 station. Today the route separates from the line from Wuppertal nearly two kilometres earlier at Linden junction. The first section then ran due south through Ohligs forest (now Ohligs and Solingen-Ohlings, the site of Solingen Hauptbahnhof

Solingen Hauptbahnhof

Solingen Hauptbahnhof is the only train station in Solingen, Germany offering ICE and IC long distance trains....

) to Opladen

Opladen station

Opladen station is in the suburb of Opladen of the city of Leverkusen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is on the Gruiten–Köln-Deutz railway, which was opened on 25 September 1867 from Ohligs by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company . It was extended to Mülheim BME station on 8...

 and was opened on 25 September 1867.
On 8 April 1868 the line was opened to Mülheim (Rhein) BME station just to the east of the existing Mülheim (Rhein) CME station in Wiener Platz. The line formerly ran straight through the centre of Mülheim on a route almost identical with the current course of line 4 of the Cologne Stadtbahn

Cologne Stadtbahn

The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities...

.

The BME subsequently extended its track across the CME track and ran down the bank of the Rhine to a new terminus at Deutz BME station, north of Deutz CME station opened for passenger traffic on 1 February 1872.
In 1909 the line in the Mülheim area was moved east because of the risk of flooding and lack of space in central Mülheim to a route running through the new Köln-Mülheim station, built on the site of the RHE's Mülheim (Rhein) station

Köln-Mülheim station

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.-History :...

.

Services

The line is served hourly by Regional-Express line RE 7 Rhein-Münsterland-Express between Krefeld

Krefeld Hauptbahnhof

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. A line to Rheydt formerly began at the station, but...

 and Münster via Cologne

Köln Hauptbahnhof

Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains...

 and Hamm, stopping at Köln Messe/Deutz, Opladen and Solingen. It is also served hourly between 5am to 8pm by Regionalbahn

RegionalBahn

The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...

  RB 48 Rhein-Wupper-Bahn, stopping at all stations between Wuppertal and Bonn-Mehlem

Bonn-Mehlem station

Bonn-Mehlem station is a through station in the Bonn district of Lannesdorf in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has three platform tracks and is located on the Left Rhine line south of Bonn Hauptbahnhof. The station also is served by buses and has parking spaces...

.

The line is served every hour by Intercity Express line 10, connecting Cologne and Berlin

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily...

 via Hamm, Hanover

Hannover Hauptbahnhof

is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:The first station on the current site, a temporary building serving the line to Lehrte, was erected in 1843...

, stopping at Solingen and Wuppertal. Additional InterCity

Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)

Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...

trains also operate between Cologne and Hamm on IC lines 31 and 55 every 2 hours.