Löhne–Rheine railway
Encyclopedia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
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The Löhne–Rheine railway is a two-track, continuously electrified railway main line from Löhne
Löhne
Löhne is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Löhne is situated on the river Werre, approx. 8 km north of Herford and 20 km south-west of Minden.-Neighbouring places:* Hüllhorst* Bad Oeynhausen...
in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
via Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
to Rheine
Rheine
Rheine is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.-Geography:Rheine is located on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx...
in North Rhine-Westphalia. It runs parallel to the Wiehen Hills to the north and to the Teutoburg Forest
Teutoburg Forest
The Teutoburg Forest is a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia which used to be believed to be the scene of a decisive battle in AD 9...
to the south. The line opened in 1855 and 1856 and was one of the oldest railways in Germany.
History
The Löhne–Rheine line is part of the Hanoverian Western RailwayHanoverian Western Railway
The Hanoverian Western Railway was a line from the Löhne to Emden, built by the Royal Hanoverian State Railways in the mid-19th century in the west of the Kingdom of Hanover in the modern German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia....
, which was built by the Royal Hanoverian State Railways
Royal Hanoverian State Railways
The Royal Hanoverian State Railways existed from 1843 until the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866...
in the 1850s to develop the western parts of the former Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
. The first section of this line, part of the Emsland Railway, was opened on 24 November 1854, between Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
and Papenburg
Papenburg
Papenburg is a city in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.-Districts:...
, but it had no connection with the existing rail network.
To avoid repeated crossing of the Wiehen Hills, rather than build its own line from the Hanover–Minden line in Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
, the southern section of the Western Railway branched off from the Hamm–Minden line of 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...
(Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) in Löhne.
On 21 November 1855 passenger operations started on the section between Löhne and Osnabrück. The former Hannöversche Bahnhof ("Hanoverian station") is now the lower part of the Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof or Osnabrück Hbf is a railway station located in Osnabrück, Germany. The station was opened in 1895 and is located on the Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg, Löhne–Rheine, Osnabrück–Bielefeld and the Oldenburg–Osnabrück lines. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, NordWestBahn...
, the upper part of which was built only fifteen years later during the construction of the Cologne-Minden Railway's Hamburg-Venlo railway (Hamburg-Venloer Bahn), which is now mostly incorporated in the Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway
Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway
The Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
.
Just six months later the next section was put into operation, closing the gap from Osnabrück to Papenburg
Papenburg
Papenburg is a city in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.-Districts:...
via Rheine and Salzbergen
Salzbergen
Salzbergen is a municipality in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Ems, approx. 25 km south of Lingen, and 10 km northwest of Rheine.It has the oldest oil refinery in the world, opened in 1860....
. On 23 June 1856 passenger trains ran for the first time between Minden and Emden.
Connecting lines
The importance of the line and its stations increased with the opening of a number of connecting lines, particularly to Rheine station; which connected with the line to Munster of the Royal Westphalian Railway CompanyRoyal Westphalian Railway Company
The Royal Westphalian Railway , was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussian government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways...
(Königlich-Westfälischen Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), opened in 1856, the Duisburg–Quakenbrück line of 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...
(Rheinischen Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), opened in 1879, and the former line to Ochtrup of the Prussian State Railways
Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
(Preußischen Staatseisenbahnen), opened in 1905.
Two lines connected at Eversburg station, the Tecklenburg Northern Railway to Altenrheine and the Oldenburg Southern Railway to Oldenburg Hbf
Oldenburg (Oldenburg) Hauptbahnhof
is the main passenger station in the city of Oldenburg in the German state of Lower Saxony. With gradual closure of other stations, including Ofenerdiek and Osternburg, it is currently the only passenger station in Oldenburg. It is a through station, with seven platform tracks...
.
In addition, there are other links, such as that of the Teutoburg Forest Railway to Gütersloh
Gütersloh
Gütersloh is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 96,320 people.- Geography :...
, connecting in Ibbenbüren station, and the Ravensberg Railway to Rahden
Rahden
Rahden is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Rahden is situated approx. 15 km north of Lübbecke and 25 km north-west of Minden...
, connecting at Bünde station, or in Kirchlengern to Herford station on the Hamm–Minden line.
Development of the line
The line was gradually duplicated between 1902 and 1916. On 29 September 1974, the first section of overhead wiring was erected between Osnabrück and Rheine and on 30 May 1976 this was followed by the electrification of the section between Osnabrück and Löhne.Rail services
A two-hour InterCityIntercity (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...
service operates on the line from 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...
(some to/from Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
) via Hanover, Minden and Rheine to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, and there are individual services from Osnabrück to Münster
Münster Hauptbahnhof
-History:The original Münster station was opened in 1848 by the Münster-Hamm Railway Company, when it opened by the Münster–Hamm railway to the then capital of the Prussian Province of Westphalia as a terminus of its branch line from Hamm, where it connected with Cologne-Minden trunk line. The...
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In addition, there are several regional transport services:
- on the whole line, Regional-Express services are operated by DB Regio NiedersachsenDB RegioDB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
every two hours on route RE 60 (Ems-Leine-Express) between Rheine and BrunswickBraunschweig Hauptbahnhofis the Hauptbahnhof of the German city Braunschweig. It is about 1.5 km to the southeast the city center and was opened on October 1, 1960, replacing the old passenger station on the southern edge of the old town.-History:...
, - on almost the while line, RegionalbahnRegionalBahnThe 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...
services are operated hourly by Westfalenbahn from Rheine to Kirchlengern on route RB 61 (Wiehengebirgs-Bahn), continuing to BielefeldBielefeld Hauptbahnhofis the central railway station of the city of Bielefeld in Germany. The station was opened in 1847 as part of the Cologne-Minden trunk line. The current building was built in 1910 in the Art Nouveau style.-Train services:... - on the section of Bünde–Kirchlengern, the hourly Ravensberger Bahn service is operated by EuroBahn (KeolisKeolisKeolis is the largest private sector French transport group. It runs passenger railways, tramways, bus networks, funiculars, trolley buses, and airport services. The company, based in Paris, is majority owned by SNCF, the French state rail operator. AXA Private Equity and Caisse de dépôt et...
) on the Ravensberg Railway from Bielefeld Hbf via Bünde to Rahden, - and on the short stretch between the Bünde and Löhne, a generally hourly Regionalbahn service is operated from Monday to Friday by EuroBahn on route RB 77 (Weser-Bahn), continuing to HildesheimHildesheim Hauptbahnhofis the Hauptbahnhof of the German city Hildesheim. It is used by trains of Deutsche Bahn and Euro Rail. Trains stopping in Hildesheim are Hanover S-Bahn services, regional services and the hourly Intercity-Express trains running between Frankfurt am Main and Berlin .-History:The first Hildesheim...
.
External links
NRW railway archive of André Joost:- [strecken/2992.htm Description of line 2992] (only part in North Rhine-Westphalia, German)
- Information on railways around Osnabrück (German)
- Homepage of the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Transport Association (German)