Cologne–Mönchengladbach railway
{{Short description|Railway line in Germany}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name = Cologne–Mönchengladbach railway
| start = Rheydt Hbf
| end = Köln-Ehrenfeld
| routenumber = 465
| linenumber = * 2611 (Rheydt–Cologne-Ehrenfeld Gbf)
- 2612 (Cologne-Ehrenfeld Westkopf)
- 2613 (Cologne-Ehrenfeld Gbf–Pbf)
| gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}
| electrification = 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
| linelength_km = 49.4
| speed = {{cvt|120|km/h|mph|1}} (maximum)
| image = Spoorlijn DB 2611.png
| image_width = 300px
| locale = North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
|map=
{{Routemap|inline=1|title =no |footnote=Source: German railway atlas{{cite book|title=Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) |publisher= Schweers + Wall | year= 2009 |isbn= 978-3-89494-139-0}}
|map=
STR~~ ~~ ~~Line from Mönchengladbach
BHF~~49.4~~Rheydt Hbf
STR+r\ABZgl\STR+r~~ ~~ ~~freight bypass from Viersen
eABZg+l\eKRZu\eABZg+r~~ ~~ ~~Former line from Rheydt freight yard
STR\STR\eABZg+l~~ ~~ ~~Former line from Mönchengladbach
ABZg+l\STRr\BHF~~46.4~~Rheydt-Odenkirchen
DST\\STR~~Rheydt Gbf
ABZgr\STRc2\STR3~~ ~~ ~~Iron Rhine to Roermond
STRr\STR+1\STRc4~~ ~~ ~~Line to Aachen
BHF~~41.5~~Hochneukirch
eABZgr~~ ~~ ~~Former line to Stolberg
HST~~38.7~~Jüchen
eBHF~~35.0~~Gubberath
SBRÜCKE~~ ~~ ~~A 46
ABZg+l~~ ~~ ~~Erft Railway from Neuss
BHF~~31.3~~Grevenbroich
ABZgr~~ ~~ ~~Erft Railway to Bedburg
DST~~27.6~~Erftwerk
eBHF~~24.3~~Oekoven
BHF~~20.0~~Rommerskirchen
eABZgl~~ ~~ ~~Former line to Holzheim
ABZgr~~ ~~ ~~Freight line to Niederaußem
BHF~~15.5~~Stommeln
BHF~~11.5~~Pulheim
eBHF~~5.6~~Köln-Bocklemünd
BST~~3,5~~Köln-Ehrenfeld Gbf Westkopf~~Bft
STR+r\ABZgl+r\STR+r~~ ~~ ~~HSL from Aachen (grade separated)
SHST\STR\STR~~Köln-Müngersdorf Technologiepark
STR\DST\DST~~1.7~~Köln-Ehrenfeld freight yard
SBHF\BHF\DST~~0.0~~Köln-Ehrenfeld
STR\STR\STR~~ ~~ ~~HSL to Cologne Hbf
}}
}}
The Rheydt-Cologne railway is a mostly double-track electrified railway in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia between Rheydt and Cologne-Ehrenfeld. Only the section between Rheydt Hauptbahnhof and Rheydt-Odenkirchen is single track.
History
File:Odenkirchen bahnhof 1874.JPG
The first part of the line was built as part of the Mönchengladbach–Stolberg railway, which was built in stages between 1870 and 1875 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company ({{langx|de|Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft}}) from the current Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof (central station) via Geneicken, Mülfort, Odenkirchen and Hochneukirch and continuing to Jülich, Eschweiler and Stolberg. In 1889, a connection was built from Hochneukirch station, which was located on this line, to the Erft Railway near Grevenbroich station. The direct link from Grevenbroich to Köln-Ehrenfeld station was opened in 1899. The direct link between Odenkirchen and Rheydt Hauptbahnhof was finally opened in 1908. This meant that the 1870 line through Geneicken, which ran to Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof parallel with the line through Rheydt Hauptbahnhof and which had already been duplicated, was sidelined. This section of line, which was electrified in 1968, initially continued to be used for trains from Mönchengladbach to Cologne, but it was finally closed in May 1985 and dismantled between Odenkirchen and Geneicken.
Operations
The line is served by Regional-Express service RE 8 (Rhein-Erft-Express), operating with class 425 electric multiple units, and Regionalbahn service RB 27 (Rhein-Erft-Bahn) operating with a class 143 electric locomotive and three double-deck coaches. Each service operates hourly.
File:Bahnhof Pulheim2.JPG|Pulheim
File:Bf-stommeln.jpg|Stommeln
File:Bf-rommerskirchen.jpg|Rommerskirchen
{{Reflist}}
External links
NRW Railways archive of André Joost {{in lang|de}}:
- [{{NRWbahnarchivURL}}strecken/2611.htm Beschreibung der Strecke 2611] (Köln-Ehrenfeld Gbf ↔ Rheydt)
- [{{NRWbahnarchivURL}}strecken/2612.htm Beschreibung der Strecke 2612] (Köln-Ehrenfeld Gbf ↔ Köln-Ehrenfeld Westkopf)
- [{{NRWbahnarchivURL}}strecken/2613.htm Beschreibung der Strecke 2613] (Köln-Ehrenfeld Pbf ↔ Köln-Ehrenfeld Gbf)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cologne-Monchengladbach railway}}
Category:Railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia
Category:Railway lines opened in 1870
Category:1870 establishments in the North German Confederation