S4 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn)
Encyclopedia
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Line S 4 is an S-Bahn
S-Bahn
S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn, running from to the Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
suburb of Dortmund-Lütgendortmund
Dortmund-Lütgendortmund station
Dortmund-Lütgendortmund station is a single-track, underground terminal station in the city of Dortmund in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The platform is accessible by stairs, escalator or lift. It was opened in 1993 at the end of an extension of Line S 4 trains of the Rhine-Ruhr...
. 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:...
on behalf of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr is the public transport association covering the area of the Rhine-Ruhr megalopolis in Germany...
. It is operated at 20 minute intervals using class 422
DBAG Class 422
The Class 422 is a series of four-car electric multiple units that are a derivative of the DBAG Class 423.- History :The units were commissioned by Deutsche Bahn in 2005...
four-car electrical multiple units.
Line S 4 runs over several lines:
- from Dortmund-Lütgendortmund to Dortmund-Germania over the new S-Bahn line (2213), opened by Deutsche BahnDeutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
on 2 May 1993, - from Dortmund-Germania to Dortmund StadthausDortmund Stadthaus stationDortmund Stadthaus is a railway station on the Welver–Sterkrade railway situated in Dortmund in western Germany. It is served by the S4 line of Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn. A Dortmund Stadtbahn underground station is located underneath the station....
over the Rhenish Ruhr line, opened 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...
on 19 November 1874, - the Welver–Sterkrade line opened by the Royal Westphalian Railway CompanyRoyal Westphalian Railway CompanyThe 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...
on 15 May 1876, - the Fröndenberg–Kamen line opened by the Prussian state railwaysPrussian state railwaysThe term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
between 2 January 1899 and 1 November 1900.
S-Bahn services commenced between old Lütgendortmund station and Unna station on 3 June 1984. The section from Germania to old Lütgendortmund station was closed on 31 August 1987 and operations on the new line to Lütgendortmund commenced on 23 May 1993.
Extension of the S 4 line from its current western end in the tunnel at Dortmund-Lütgendortmund was formerly planned to be implemented with a target of opening it in 2015. This would have included an extension of the single-track tunnel to the immediate south of Dortmund-Bövinghausen station. The S 4 would run from there to Herne
Herne station
Herne station was opened in the inner city of Herne in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1847 together with the Cologne-Minden trunk line. It was located between the village of Herne, which had about 1,000 inhabitants, and the moated castle of Schloss Strünkede and was south of the...
on the Duisburg-Ruhrort–Dortmund railway (the Emscher Valley Railway 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...
) and there take over the Herne–Essen
Essen Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Essen in western Germany. It is situated south of the old town centre, next to the A 40 motorway.It was opened in 1862 by the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn...
branch of the current S 2 line. The Emschertal-Bahn (RB 43) 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 would only operate between Herne and Dorsten
Dorsten
Dorsten is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of just below 80,000.Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln...
. The eastern section of the Emscher Valley Railway between Dortmund-Bövinghausen and Dortmund Hauptbahnhof
Dortmund Hauptbahnhof
is the central station for the city of Dortmund in Germany.The station's origins lie in a joint station of the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn and Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn which was built north of the city centre in 1847. That station was replaced by a new station, erected in 1910 at the current site....
would be used by a new line of the Dortmund Stadtbahn
Dortmund Stadtbahn
The Stadtbahn Dortmund is a light rail system in the German city of Dortmund and is integrated in the Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn network. Its network consists of eight lines which pass the city centre in underground tunnels and belongs to the VRR transport union. Opened 1984, it consecutively replaced...
. For a long time funds have been available for the construction of the line to Bövinghausen, however, the financing for the operation of the line is not guaranteed. The Emschertal-Bahn runs between Dortmund-Bövinghausen and Herne every hour, but the S2 would run between Herne and Essen every twenty minute as an S-Bahn service, so the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr is the public transport association covering the area of the Rhine-Ruhr megalopolis in Germany...
would have to fund the increased services through savings in other areas. Upon taking office, the transport minister Oliver Wittke
Oliver Wittke
Oliver Wittke is a German politician for the CDU.Oliver Wittke studied geosciences and economics at the Ruhr University Bochum. From 1999 to 2004 he was the direct elected mayor of Gelsenkirchen, this office was ever hold before by politicians of the SPD...
called for all such proposals to be re-evaluated. The line extension has been removed from the integrated transportation plan for North Rhine-Westphalia; a resubmission is possible from 2015.