Rhein-Wupper-Bahn
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...
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The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn is a 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...
service 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...
. It connects the cities of 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...
, Solingen
Solingen
Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2009 population of 161,366 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land...
, Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
, 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 Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and it is operated by DB Regio
DB Regio
DB 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:...
NRW.
Route
The line runs mainly over the tracks of three railway lines:- from Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof to Gruiten stationGruiten stationGruiten station is one of the two stations of the Bergian city of Haan in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is described in German as a Berührungsbahnhof , as the Düsseldorf–Elberfeld and the Gruiten–Köln-Deutz lines both pass through the station, but their operations are separate...
over the Düsseldorf–Elberfeld railwayDüsseldorf–Elberfeld railwayThe 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...
, built from 1838 to 1841 by the Düsseldorf-Elberfeld Railway CompanyDüsseldorf-Elberfeld Railway CompanyThe Düsseldorf-Elberfeld Railway Company was founded in October 1835 and officially recognised by a Prussian government statute on 23 September 1837. This gave the company a concession for the construction and operation of the 26 kilometre long Düsseldorf–Elberfeld line via Erkrath, Hochdahl and...
, - from Gruiten to Köln-Mülheim stationKöln-Mülheim stationKöln-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 :...
over the Gruiten–Köln-Deutz railwayGruiten–Köln-Deutz railwayThe Gruiten–Cologne-Deutz railway is a major German railway. 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 and regionalbahn trains....
, opened on 25 September 1867 and 8 April 1868 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and - from Cologne HauptbahnhofKöln HauptbahnhofKöln 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...
to Bonn-MehlemBonn-Mehlem stationBonn-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...
over the West Rhine Railway, opened on 15 February 1844 by the Bonn–Cologne Railway CompanyBonn–Cologne Railway CompanyThe Bonn–Cologne Railway Company is a former German Railway company, founded in July 1837 in Bonn and granted a concession on 6 July 1840 to build and operate a railway line between Bonn and Cologne.-History:...
and extended to KoblenzKoblenz Hauptbahnhofis the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Koblenz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is the focal point of rail transport in the Rhine-Moselle-Lahn area. It is a through station in southern Koblenz built below Fort Großfürst Konstantin and opened in 1902 in the Neustadt , which was built...
on 11 November 1858 by the Rhenish Railway CompanyRhenish Railway CompanyThe 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...
.
The trains of the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn (RB 48) stop at all stations on the line, with the exception of some S-Bahn stations and Hürth-Kalscheuren
Hürth-Kalscheuren station
Hurth-Kalscheuren station is in the town of Hürth in the Rhein-Erft district in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is at the junction of the Eifel Railway with the West Rhine Railway...
. They run daily from 5 am to 20 pm at hourly intervals between Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof and Bonn-Mehlem. Additional services run from Wuppertal to Cologne every hour, so on this section there is a service approximately 30-minutes.
Until December 2007, the service ran to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen
Wuppertal-Oberbarmen station
Wuppertal-Oberbarmen station is a station in the city of Wuppertal in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was long an important railway junction, connecting to four railway lines...
, but was shortened due to a reduction in federal funding and now operates only in the off-peak. The section of the line in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
that was formerly served regularly, has been served since 2003 by only one service operated to Remagen
Remagen station
Remagen station is on the Left Rhine line in the city of Remagen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 4 station. The station is served by regular regional services as well as Intercity and EuroCity services...
in the evening and returning next morning.
Rolling stock
Until the timetable change in December 2007, the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn was operated mostly using locomotive-hauled push–pull trains. This were usually made up of five “n-carriages” (SilberlingSilberling
Silberling is the colloquial name for the n-coaches of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, a type of regional passenger coach of which more than 7,000 units were built from 1958 to 1981...
), hauled by class 111
DB Class 111
The Baureihe 111 is a class of electric locomotives built for the Deutsche Bundesbahn, and now owned by Deutsche Bahn AG.- History :Class 111 is the successor of the Class 110 express Einheitslokomotive...
electric locomotives. Trains were often hauled by class 110
DB Class E 10
The class E 10 is an electric locomotive of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, introduced in 1952. It belongs to the Einheits-Elektrolokomotiven program and was built for express passenger service. In 1968 the series was redesignated as class 110 and class 112...
locomotives and occasionally class 425
DBAG Class 425
The Classes 425 and 426 EMUs are a class of electric multiple units built by a consortium of Siemens, Bombardier and DWA and operated by DB Regio in Germany...
electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s in coupled sets were operated. After December 2007, RB 48 were at first operated only with class 425 in coupled sets. The ET 425 sets became available when Abellio Rail NRW won some tenders for operating services in North Rhine-Westphalia. Between the minor change of timetable in June 2009 and the regular timetable change in December 2009, some services were again operated with class 110 locomotives with five to six n-carriages, as not enough carriages were available due to the need for software modifications to the ET 425 vehicles.
History
In December 2002, the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn replaced the North Rhine-Westphalian section of the former Rhein-Wupper-Express (RE 6), which ran between KoblenzKoblenz Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Koblenz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is the focal point of rail transport in the Rhine-Moselle-Lahn area. It is a through station in southern Koblenz built below Fort Großfürst Konstantin and opened in 1902 in the Neustadt , which was built...
and Wuppertal. The current RB 48 serves all stations served by Rhein-Wupper-Bahn on this section, with the exception of Hurth-Kalscheuren. The Rhein-Wupper-Express originally consisted of six n-carriages without a control car
Control car (rail)
A control car is a generic term for a non-powered railroad vehicle that can control operation of a train from the end opposite to the position of the locomotive...
, pulled by class 110 locomotives. From 2001, following a three-part electric multiple units, consisting of two class 425 sets and one class 426
DBAG Class 425
The Classes 425 and 426 EMUs are a class of electric multiple units built by a consortium of Siemens, Bombardier and DWA and operated by DB Regio in Germany...
set.
The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn originally ran between Remagen and Wuppertal-Oberbarmen and was operated using coupled class 425 sets. In December 2003 it was shortened to terminate at 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...
because Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
would not provide sufficient funds for operations in its section.
After the motor coaches of the class 425 sets suffered massive brake problems in the autumn of 2003, in early September 2004 operations of the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn were changed as a precaution under the H'04 program to push-pull trains of five n-carriages hauled by class 110 locomotives. Modifications to the class 425 sets were completed three years later, in late 2007. Since then class 425 EMUs have run in double sets.
In December 2007, the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn was cut back from Wuppertal-Oberbarmen to Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof. This enabled the service to be run as Bonn–Wuppertal and Köln–Wuppertal cycles, saving a train set. One train runs late in the evening to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen, where it is parked overnight before returning early in the morning to Bonn.
Prospects
There are plans to convert the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn service into an S-Bahn service. This would run at 20-minute intervals. This might run on a modified route between OpladenOpladen 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 Köln-Mülheim
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 :...
on the current freight line through Leverkusen-Morsbroich. This would provide better services to the suburbs of Dünnwald und Höhenhaus. It would be possible to run the service as line S 16 to Bonn, however, parts of the Left Rhine line would have to be increased to four tracks (the Cologne S-Bahn western ring). It is also possible that the new line S 16 would end in Cologne and line S 6 from Essen would be extended to Bonn.
See also
- List of regional rail lines in North Rhine-Westphalia
- List of scheduled railway routes in Germany