High-speed line from Cologne to Aachen
The high-speed line Cologne – Aachen is the German part of the trans-European railway network PBKA for Thalys and Intercity Express trains.
In regional traffic, the RE 1 ( NRW-Express ) and RE 9 ( Rhein-Sieg-Express ) lines run every hour on the course book route 480 . This almost half-hourly offer is supplemented by the S-Bahn line S 13 Cologne – Düren and the Euregiobahn between Düren and Aachen .
In long-distance traffic, Thalys train pairs run from Paris via Cologne to Essen or Dortmund and Intercity Express train pairs from Frankfurt (Main) to Brussels . In addition, individual Intercity and Intercity Express trains, as well as goods traffic, run over the railway line.
history
Railway dispute and construction
The planning for the construction of a railway line between Cologne and the Belgian border began in December 1833 with the concession of the Cologne Railway Committee, which was to work out a route under the direction of the Cologne Mayor Johann Adolph Steinberger and the entrepreneur Ludolf Camphausen . The Cologne Railway Committee submitted a draft which, due to lower costs , provided for a route past Aachen : From Eschweiler , the railway line to Kornelimünster was to follow the Inde and from there to the Belgian border. Also Düren should not be linked to the railway. Resistance arose from the Aachen merchants, who in turn founded the Aachen Railway Committee under the leadership of David Hansemann and Philipp Heinrich Pastor . This was the beginning of the so-called railway dispute between Cologne and Aachen . In October, the Aachen Railway Committee presented an alternative proposal for the route, which led from Cologne via Düren and Aachen to the Belgian border.
On April 6, 1836, a conference in Jülich , which was chaired by the Upper President of the Rhine Province Ernst von Bodelschwingh and attended by representatives of the Aachen and Cologne businesses, could not bring about a solution to the railway dispute. Hansemann and the Aachen cloth manufacturer Joseph van Gülpen then traveled to Berlin and submitted a request for a route via Aachen. Lengthy negotiations between Aachen and Cologne representatives took place in Berlin until the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. on February 12, 1837, the route via Aachen decided and thus ended the railway dispute.
In June 1837, representatives from Aachen and Cologne decided to merge the two railway companies founded to represent the interests of their city to form the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , which received a concession to build the line from Cologne to the Belgian border in Herbesthal and on April 11, 1838 with the construction of the Route began.
Due to the geological conditions in the northern Eifel, the route proposal to develop the direct route from Düren to Aachen was rejected, and an arch in a northerly direction was decided between Düren and Aachen, which still represents the route today. The share capital of the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft for the construction of the line amounted to 9 million marks, which should be raised by issuing shares . But due to the demanding route, the construction costs rose to 21 million marks. The additional costs of 12 million marks were covered by the issuance of further shares to the value of 4.5 million marks and bonds to the value of 7.5 million marks. The Belgian government alone acquired bonds for 3 million marks.
The first section from Cologne to Müngersdorf opened on August 2, 1839, less than four years after the Nuremberg-Fürth railway , the first German railway, and was the seventh railway line ever on German territory. For this purpose, open and closed passenger and freight wagons were delivered by road from the Talbot wagon factory in Aachen at the beginning of the year . Another section from Müngersdorf to Lövenich was opened on July 2, 1840. The opening of the last section from Lövenich to Aachen took place on September 1, 1841 with an opening trip from Cologne to Aachen and back, during which a banquet for 360 invited guests took place. Regular passenger service on the entire route began on September 6, 1841. A plaque on the east side of the Düren train station still reminds of this event .
Due to the extension to Belgium, which was opened on October 15, 1843 with a special train from Antwerp to Cologne , the Cologne – Aachen line was part of the world's first cross-border railway line . In 1845 the Belgian railroad was connected to the French railroad network, which enabled the Cologne-Aachen railway to take up traffic to and from France .
Operation until the First World War
Initially, the line was expanded to a single track, the timetable was adjusted so that trains departing from Aachen and Cologne met at the Düren station, which had been expanded to multiple tracks . After the line had already been double-tracked on the Belgian side, the Rheinische-Eisenbahngesellschaft decided in 1844 to double-track the entire line. According to a report by Gustav von Mevissens , President of the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, on May 20, 1845, the volume of traffic on the route between Cologne and Aachen exceeded the planners' expectations in the first few years. The volume of passenger traffic is one of the largest in Prussia , the volume of goods traffic is "at the top of all continental railways". In 1847 the volume of goods traffic even exceeded the volume of passenger traffic. The beginning of the work on the Aachen – Eschweiler section is documented for 1848 . In 1852 the work was completed. The Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft covered the costs by issuing shares and taking out loans. During the German Revolution of 1848/1849 , the Cologne – Aachen railway line was used for occasional weapons transports.
Numerous industrial companies quickly settled along the railway line, and coal mining also played a major role from the start. Immediately after the opening of the line , the Eschweiler Bergwerks-Verein set up coal storage facilities at the Aachen, Düren and Cologne stations. Due to the railway line, the transport costs for the EBV fell to a third, and contracts were also concluded with the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft for coal deliveries for the needs of the steam locomotives. In 1847 every second freight train on the Cologne – Aachen route transported coal from the Aachen hard coal district . From the individual mines, the coal was initially brought to the railway line by horse-drawn trams on field railway tracks, which were increasingly replaced by standard-gauge steam trains. In 1865, the Eschweiler mine reserve was connected to the railway line between Eschweiler Hauptbahnhof and Nothberg, and in 1870 the Mariagrube-Stolberg railway line went into operation.
First World War and occupation
The Cologne – Aachen railway was increasingly of strategic importance for military traffic to Belgium and for the connection of the strategically important Vennbahn . In the years 1912 to 1914, numerous reconstruction measures were carried out in order to increase the efficiency of the line, including the expansion of railway systems along the line and the establishment of an overtaking station in Derichsweiler . In 1914, the four-track expansion between Langerwehe and Nothberg was to be implemented, but this was prevented by the outbreak of the First World War . During the war, the railway line was used to transport troops and supplies to the Western Front. After the German declaration of war on France on August 3, 1914, the line was closed to civilian traffic and only used for troop transports. Regular traffic began to resume in mid-September. In 1917, the forecourt in Düren was expanded for military reasons.
After the First World War, the Cologne – Aachen railway was on territory occupied by France . France intended to route raw material transports from the Ruhr area, which was also occupied, over this route, but in the wake of passive resistance the German railway workers refused to support them. During the occupation, the route was closed several times for regular traffic in order to transport coal trains from the Ruhr area with French crews to France without having to observe German signaling and service regulations . Occasional acts of sabotage to prevent these transports were mostly unsuccessful. With the end of the Rhineland occupation, the railway line was also returned to Germany.
On August 25, 1929, occurred between Düren and Horrem the railway accident of Buir , of 14 dead and 43 people injured had. Due to construction work, trains in the direction of Cologne had to be diverted to the opposite track on that day , whereby the switch responsible for this could be driven at 50 km / h. Due to a mistake by the dispatcher, the express train Paris - Warsaw passed this switch at full speed and derailed.
Second World War
For the campaign in the west , the Cologne – Aachen line was again used for military purposes. Troop transports and trains with military equipment were carried over the railway line. In the course of the Second World War , the railway line was a frequent target of air raids, which caused damage, especially in Aachen and Cologne. The last continuous train from Aachen to Cologne ran on September 12, 1944. On September 15, 1944, a refugee train from Eschweiler was attacked by low-flying aircraft shortly after its departure . First of all, the locomotive of the train, which was occupied by around 200 people, was shot at, so that it came to a stop near Hüelte before Langerwehe. Subsequently, the train, made up of freight cars locked from the outside, was fired at with bombs and on-board weapons . About 80 people died. On this day, rail traffic from Eschweiler was also stopped. Rail traffic from Düren was stopped after the air raid on Düren on November 16, 1944. When the German troops withdrew, bridges were blown up, such as parts of the Burtscheider viaduct or the three-arch bridge .
post war period
After the German withdrawal, allied troops gradually took the towns along the railway line and ensured that operations were restored - initially on a single track. On September 10, 1945, the first passenger trains ran from Aachen to Düren . In January 1946 a temporary bus service was set up between Düren and Cologne . On May 15, 1946, operations on the entire route were resumed. Immediately after the route was re-established, the volume of traffic was very high. On the one hand, there was a lack of alternative means of transport because trucks and private cars were not available, and on the other hand, the number of passengers rose due to the return of soldiers, displaced persons and hamster trips . On November 18, 1947 it was announced that train traffic had to be severely restricted due to a lack of coal.
The most important single structure on this route was the 1623 meter long Königsdorf tunnel , which was removed in 1954. A serious railway accident occurred in the resulting cut in the terrain on May 27, 1983 when, after heavy rain, an express train crashed into a landslide at a speed of 130 km / h. Seven people died and 23 were injured. The cut in the terrain at Königsdorf was widened to four tracks in 2000 for the extension of the line.
After the electrification of the federal German route network had reached Cologne from the south in the late 1950s, the Cologne – Aachen route was subsequently electrified. To this end, several tunnels were cut open and removed. Because of the different electricity systems of the Belgian State Railways , Aachen was expanded to become a system interchange station , the first and, for 42 years, the only place where German and Belgian traction currents meet directly. With the timetable change in May 1966, the electrical train service Cologne – Aachen – Liège began, from Aachen main station with the 3 kilovolt direct current system common in Belgium . (Liège had already been accessible from Brussels by electric locomotives since 1955.) At that time, Belgium already had a multi-system locomotive . In the autumn of 1966, the DB also received its first multi-system locomotives, which could run under both the German and Belgian power systems, but did not prove themselves, so that ultimately, until the 1990s, only some of the international express trains could be hauled by Belgian multi-system locomotives, and all of them other trains still had to change locomotives in Aachen.
From the introduced 1979 dual-class intercity system of DB the track benefited literally on the edge: A morning in Cologne incipient IC to Hamburg already started in Aachen , also held in Düren and threaded in Cologne in the IC clock one. It was given the name Karolinger , drove back from Hamburg to Aachen in the evening and remained a constant in the timetable for over two decades. Real regular traffic between Cologne and Aachen did not emerge until 1984, when the Belgian State Railways introduced its new nationwide timetable concept, which also included a two-hour line from Cologne via Aachen and Brussels to Ostend , which was operated with air-conditioned Eurofima cars. The rest of the train service, on the other hand, was not switched to regular timetable until the Federal Railroad-wide regional traffic was synchronized in 1991.
Route expansion
The line is to be expanded for a total of 952 million euros (as of 2013). The first and third of three sections created for this purpose have been completed; the plan approval procedure for the second section, which includes passing tracks and speed increases, was initiated at the Federal Railway Authority in August 2014. The construction work is divided into six construction phases up to commissioning in the 2nd quarter of 2020; preparatory work began in June 2018.
Planning
As early as the 1973 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan , the Cologne – Aachen line was listed as one of eight planned expansion lines in the area of railways. After the expansion project was not included in the coordinated investment program of 1977 , it was included in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 1980 as a project to be implemented by 1990 ( stage I ). The route was also included in the 1985 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan.
In 1988 the planning for the expansion between Cologne and Aachen started . In November 1989, the transport ministers of the countries involved in the PBKA project agreed on a schedule according to which the line should be completed in 1995. The project was also included in the 1992 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. In 1992 it was planned to complete the measures by 1997. Of the estimated costs of DM 1.1 billion, around 800 million should be attributable to the section between Cologne and Düren , half of which should be financed by the federal government and half by means of the Municipal Transport Financing Act. Around 150 million DM (as of 1990) should be allocated to the section west of Düren.
The project of the upgraded line as well as the construction of a new S-Bahn line Cologne – Horrem – Düren (S 12) and (S 13) on its own railway body were planned jointly.
PBKA is a European rail project that aims to connect the cities of Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam with high-speed lines. The project is funded by the EU as part of the TEN initiative under the abbreviation PBKAL (Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Amsterdam, London). This line mentioned here is to be upgraded for high-speed lines and expanded for around 950 million euros. The completion of this ongoing project is open.
Remodeling
The construction work began with a symbolic first ramming on October 22, 1997. The guests of this event in construction section 1 (Gleisdreieck near Cologne Central Station) included Federal Transport Minister Wissmann and State Transport Minister Clement .
According to the plans at the time , two new tracks were to be built between Cologne and Düren for high-speed traffic for 1.1 billion D-Marks and the existing line was to be expanded to become an S-Bahn line. More than 80 percent of the costs were covered by the federal government, the rest was covered by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Completion was expected in May 2002.
The existing line between Cologne and Düren was extended by one or two more tracks by the end of 2002 and converted into a high-speed line . Since December 14, 2003, this 42-kilometer section on the long-distance railway tracks can be traveled at speeds of up to 250 km / h. All train stations on the route section have been rebuilt and in some cases converted into pure S-Bahn stops or stations.
With the timetable change in December 2002, the S-Bahn began operating on the S-Bahn line that was separate from the rest of the service. The tracks of the high-speed line are used for regional and international express train traffic. Until the opening of the Cologne / Bonn Airport train station in mid-2004, the S 13 of the Cologne S-Bahn ran there , and since then the S 12 (from Au (Sieg) via Hennef , Troisdorf and Cologne to Düren ). On May 28, 2006, the Köln-Weiden West stop was opened, which was built as a connection point to the Cologne tram line 1 , which has been extended to this point . In particular, it is intended to facilitate travel to and from events in the RheinEnergieStadion . Between Buir and Sindorf , the single-track S-Bahn line was expanded to two tracks over a length of 1.6 kilometers in order to stabilize the S-Bahn cycle between Düren and Cologne. At night, the S13 runs beyond Horrem to Aachen Hauptbahnhof and back. This should give the region a better connection to Cologne / Bonn Airport.
Around 2002 the route was used by around 150 passenger and 70 freight trains per day.
In mid-2003 the ICE S reached a speed of 275 km / h in the course of approval and acceptance runs in the newly built high-speed section.
Development since 2003
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The long-distance section of the line is double-tracked throughout and, in the direction of Aachen, from the Ehrenfeld freight station (route kilometer 6) is designed for shared use by long-distance and freight traffic. The S-Bahn section also has two tracks between Cologne and Sindorf. In the further course to Düren, single-track sections alternate with double-track encounter sections. The introduction to the Düren train station (from Merzenich stop) is single-track. The long-distance train is designed for 250 km / h, the S-Bahn tracks for 120 km / h. From the Merzenich S-Bahn (route km 34.480) upstream of the Düren train station, the design speed of the long-distance line is 220 km / h, from route km 38.0 it is 200 km / h and from route km 39.6 it is 160 km / h. The S-Bahn was designed for a 20-minute cycle (during rush hour), with the possibility of additional cycle densities. 53 S-Bahn trips per day and direction were planned. Regional trains running on the long-distance railway tracks stop between Cologne and Düren in Horrem and Cologne-Ehrenfeld. Plans to let the S 6 run to Horrem and thus create a ten-minute cycle between Horrem and Cologne were not implemented.
In a second construction stage, the section between Düren and Langerwehe is to be upgraded for speeds of up to 200 km / h. The subsequent section via Eschweiler to Aachen is to be expanded for 140 km / h. At present, speeds of up to 120 km / h are only possible between Eschweiler and Stolberg, and sometimes even only up to 110 km / h. Top speeds of 140 and 160 km / h are permitted on the rest of the route. It should be possible to drive through Düren station at 200 km / h after the second construction phase has been completed. In the end, it should be able to drive through an almost 50 km long section between Cologne and Langerwehe at at least 200 km / h.
In the investment framework plan for the federal transport infrastructure up to 2010 , total costs totaling EUR 951.7 million (price as of 2006) for the new construction and expansion between Cologne and the German-Belgian border (including the Buschtunnel ) are specified. Up to 2005, 769.8 million euros of this had been spent. Federal funds of 88.9 million euros were invested between 2006 and 2010. Beyond this period there is a financing requirement of 93.0 million euros (federal funds from 2011, own funds Deutsche Bahn AG and contributions from third parties from 2006).
In November 2008, additional investments in the Aachen – Stolberg – Eschweiler section were decided as part of an economic stimulus package. It was planned that the section Aachen-Rothe Erde - Stolberg (Rhineland) Central Station should be partially expanded to three tracks from 2010. This project has not yet been implemented. Only the Aachen-Rothe Erde train station was modernized. Due to the construction delay, the European Commission cut the funding for the project by 2.9 million euros at the end of 2010. In June 2010 the EVS Euregio Verkehrsschienennetz (EVS) took over the Stolberg main station including the reception building. Only the dispatcher interlocking and the continuous main tracks remained the property of Deutsche Bahn. In 2012, EVS started renovation work at Stolberg's main station and the platform height of the main platform was increased to 760 millimeters.
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In 2017, Deutsche Bahn began construction work on the central platform on the continuous main tracks in Stolberg's main train station. The existing underpass is to be replaced by an overpass with elevators. The work is expected to drag on until mid-2019. In 2018, construction work began on the extension line 4 project , 2nd extension section, 1st construction stage at Eschweiler Central Station. At the main train station, the platforms will be increased to 76 cm, barrier-free access to the central platform will be created via elevators and the two passing tracks 1 and 4 will be extended to a usable length of 750 m. The relay interlocking will be replaced by the connection of the train station to an electronic interlocking and the last level crossing between Cologne and Aachen in Eschweiler ( Jägerspfad ) will be closed. Work in Aachen should also begin in 2019. In the district of Eilendorf, the third track is to be extended by approx. 1,700 meters between the Eilendorf stop and the former Aachen-Rothe Erde freight yard. Measures for noise and vibration protection are also planned.
On November 11, 2019, the route between Stolberg Hauptbahnhof and Aachen Hauptbahnhof was declared a congested rail route.
Route description
Cologne Central Station
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The original starting point of the Cologne – Aachen railway line was a terminal station of the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft . When the cathedral bridge made it possible to cross the Rhine in 1859 , the route led to the Central Station . This was a combined terminus and through station. The trains of the Rheinische Eisenbahn from Aachen ended at four head tracks. Two through tracks were mainly used by the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft . Today's Cologne Central Station was built between 1892 and 1894 because the capacity of the Central Station was no longer able to cope with the increased train traffic. The station was badly damaged in the Second World War, the station building had to be demolished and replaced by a new building. Around 1990 two tracks for the S-Bahn traffic were added on the north side, which are independent of the rest of the infrastructure. Today, Cologne's main train station is one of the busiest train stations in Germany, as all trains that use the high-speed route Cologne – Aachen stop here.
Stop at Cologne Hansaring
The Köln Hansaring stop, named after the Ringstrasse below, was opened at the same time as the construction of two additional S-Bahn tracks at Cologne Central Station and the Hohenzollern Bridge in 1990 at kilometer 0.8. It is connected to the Cologne Stadtbahn station of the same name, which has been in existence since 1974 , has a central platform and is served by all S-Bahn trains that cross the main train station, as well as the RB 25, which is in the S-Bahn advance service.
Immediately behind the stop is the Köln Bahnbetriebswerk , which is bypassed by trains heading for Aachen and the S-Bahn route to the north and trains heading for Cologne Hauptbahnhof to the south. Between Cologne Hansaring and Cologne-Ehrenfeld, the S-Bahn line, which runs in the vicinity of Cologne Central Station north of the tracks for other traffic, is routed south by means of a flyover structure , on which it remains until its end in Düren.
Cologne Ehrenfeld train station
In 1839, with the construction of the first section between Cologne and Müngersdorf, the Cologne-Ehrenfeld train station was built at km 3.7. Cologne-Ehrenfeld station has two platforms with four platform tracks, to the north of which there are two tracks without a platform for through trains and freight trains. Tracks 1 and 2 are used for S-Bahn traffic, tracks 3 and 4 for regional traffic. Cologne-Ehrenfeld is a scheduled stop for all regional traffic lines that cross through it. Not far from the train station is the underground station Venloer Straße / Gürtel of the Cologne Stadtbahn . At Köln-Ehrenfeld crosses Ehrenfeldgürtel the Cologne-Aachen high-speed railway.
The railway line runs on a viaduct in and around the Cologne-Ehrenfeld train station. Some of the arches of this viaduct were used as storage space, others were neglected. There were also problems with moisture penetration. In 2015 the arches are to be renovated and self-supporting inner shells will be given. Then a private investor will create a shopping mile with a restaurant. There is currently a discotheque in three of the arches.
Stop at Cologne-Müngersdorf Technologiepark
The stopping point Köln-Müngersdorf Technologiepark is in the east of the Cologne district Müngersdorf at the route kilometer 5.9. It was only added in 2002 with the construction of the S-Bahn to Düren. The station has a partially covered central platform that is connected by two flights of stairs and an elevator to the street below, where there is a bus stop for the Cologne public transport company .
Belvedere train station
The first section of the Cologne – Aachen railway, which was opened on August 2, 1839, led to Müngersdorf, where the Belvedere station was the end point (km 7.0) of the line until the Lövenich station opened. For excursion guests from downtown Cologne, a small station building, which housed a restaurant, was built on a hill to the north of the railway line running in the cut . With the extension of the line to Aachen, the Müngersdorfer train station and the Belvedere building became less and less important. The station was therefore never very important for operations and was closed before 1892. Today there are no longer any operating facilities at the station. The station building, which was used as a residential building in the meantime, still exists and is listed as "Germany's oldest station in its original form" in the list of monuments of the city of Cologne .
Lövenich stop
The Cologne-Lövenich station was opened on July 2, 1840 with the second construction phase of the railway line at line kilometer 9.0 and was the western end point of the line for around a year. In 2002, an S-Bahn stop was built west of the station at route kilometer 9.7. In return, the former Cologne-Lövenich train station was dismantled and is now a pure overtaking station without the possibility of changing passengers. The S-Bahn stop has a central platform that is located between the S-Bahn tracks.
Köln-Weiden West stop
The Köln-Weiden West stop was built in 2006 in the run-up to the 2006 soccer World Cup at kilometer 11.1. At the same time, line 1 of the Cologne light rail system was extended by around one kilometer in a westerly direction and a new terminus with 4 tracks was built. The high-speed route Cologne – Aachen is located in Weiden West on a railway embankment . The tram stop is at ground level immediately south of the route, so that a direct change is possible. The journey time with the tram from Weiden West to the stop at the RheinEnergieStadion is about ten minutes, so that the stop is used by many soccer fans for home games of 1. FC Köln . Also because of the nearby Frechen-Nord junction on federal motorway 4 , many commuters use the stop. A park-and-ride car park with 430 parking spaces was therefore expanded to 680 parking spaces in 2008. Since the parking lot is still very busy during the week, a further increase in the number of parking spaces is being discussed. According to the city of Cologne, this can only be done by setting up a parking pallet , as there are no more areas available for expansion. This in turn would require grants from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which requires long-term planning.
Frechen-Königsdorf stop
With the extension of the line to Aachen in 1841, the Großkönigsdorf station was built at kilometer 13.8 .
In 2000 the station was renamed Frechen-Königsdorf , and in 2002 it was converted into a S-Bahn stop as part of the route expansion. The stop has a central platform and is connected to a pedestrian bridge over the tracks. The station building to the north of the railway line still exists, but no longer has a platform and is currently used as a taxi control center.
Koenigsdorf tunnel
The Königsdorfer Tunnel was a 1623 meter long tunnel between Großkönigsdorf and Horrem at the route kilometer 15.0. Construction began in 1837 and was completed in 1841. Up to 2,000 workers were employed during construction. When it opened, the tunnel was the longest railway tunnel in Europe. The maximum cover was 35 meters. Chimneys were built at this height to remove the smoke caused by steam locomotives .
The masonry was continuously damaged by mountain water and exhaust gases from steam locomotives, so that the tunnel was in great need of renovation at the beginning of the 1930s. Since the tunnel was not built exactly straight, points were made over time to straighten it, which further reduced the stability. Refurbishment began in 1937, but was never finished due to World War II. After parts of the tunnel wall flaked off at the beginning of 1954 and protruded into the clearance profile, a third track was laid in the middle of the tunnel to make space for supporting scaffolding. In March 1954, a speed limit of 10 km / h applied in the tunnel. Because the electrification of the railway line was already being planned and would have made it necessary to widen the clearance profile of the tunnel for the overhead line , the decision was made to dismantle the tunnel and convert it into a cut in the terrain. By December 1955, bucket chain excavators had removed 4 million cubic meters of earth and transported them to a pit in a nearby briquette factory on a conveyor belt . At the same time, the Horrem bridge for the north-south railway from Rheinbraun (today RWE Power ) was built. The cut was widened in 2002 with the help of sheet pile walls and the route was raised to enable the laying of two additional tracks for the S-Bahn. Today nothing can be seen of the earlier tunnel. Parts of the east portal are a reminder.
Horrem train station
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The Horrem station went into operation in 1841 after its construction at route kilometer 18.7. In 2002 the extension to the S-Bahn station took place. At the station, the Erftbahn branches off the high-speed line Cologne – Aachen. The station has two platform tracks for operation on the Erftbahn and four platform and three through tracks for operation on the high-speed line. Until 2001, the Horrem station had a freight yard that connected to the passenger station to the north. Today there are commuter parking spaces at this point. From 2010 to 2014 the forecourt and reception building were fundamentally redesigned: A “green station” was created that works in a CO 2 -neutral manner . For this purpose, photovoltaic and geothermal systems were installed and ecological building materials were used. In the reception building there is now a waiting room, a kiosk and a station bookshop .
There is a tectonic fault in the area of the Horrem train station . The tracks of the long-distance railway cross this via a special underground structure that can hydraulically compensate for the shifts. The remaining tracks have special rail joints at this point .
Sindorf stop
In 1912, Sindorf station was put into operation between the existing Dorsfeld and Horrem overtaking stations at kilometer 22.4. The station had a platform north and south of the old railway line. At the same time, the previous Dorsfeld stop was abandoned. Dorsfeld was a junction for the nearby gravel pits. In 2002, the Dorsfeld station became an overtaking station for goods traffic with the opening of the parallel S-Bahn line. From 1952 to 1966, the Blatzheim block was located at kilometer 25.8. When the S-Bahn line went into operation, the Sindorf station was relocated to kilometer 21.4 and downgraded to a stopping point.
The Sindorf stop is located in the southeast of the Kerpen district of Sindorf and has a side platform connected to the south of the single-track S-Bahn line at this point . This is limited to the south by a soundproof wall, the entrances and exits are located at the ends of the platforms. In 2004, citizens complained about the width of the platform to the then State Transport Minister Axel Horstmann . The three-meter-wide platform is too narrow, which is particularly evident in rush hour traffic. As a result, the ticket machines were relocated. After renewed criticism, the local transport association Rhineland prepared an expert opinion in early 2010 in which the maximum capacity of the platform was specified as 190 people. In the case of passenger counts during the morning rush hour , however, a maximum of 164 people were recorded, which means that the requirements are formally fulfilled.
Buir stop
From its construction in 1841 at kilometer 30.3 until the line expansion in 2002, there were two main tracks and a passing track with a central platform in the Buir station. Since the line was expanded, the KBS 480 tracks and two S-Bahn tracks have been run through the station. The malt factory located directly at the train station had a siding.
While all other pure S-Bahn stops on the upgraded line have a central platform with the exception of the Sindorf stop (single side platform), the Buir stop has two side platforms north and south of the S-Bahn tracks. The northern side platform is separated from the long-distance train tracks by a noise barrier . Access to the northern platform is via an underpass. In the area of the Buir stop, the Cologne – Aachen high-speed line runs for around eight kilometers, bundling traffic routes, parallel to the Hambach Railway and the Federal Motorway 4 laid through the Hambach opencast mine .
Merzenich stop
There used to be a Merzenich stop on the Merzenich area for a short time from 1841 to 1880 at line kilometer 35.0 at the location of the former branch of the Neuss – Düren railway line , without ever connecting this line. This is exactly where the new Merzenich stop was built on April 29, 2003 and put into operation for the S-Bahn. It has a central platform, a large commuter parking lot, is served by the S 13 and S 19 lines and can be reached with the tariff of the Aachener Verkehrsverbund as well as the tariff of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg . In addition, another overtaking station was built at 36.7 km as part of the expansion work.
Dueren train station
The Düren train station was opened in 1841 at route kilometer 39.2 and soon developed into a hub for rail traffic: By 1900 the Düren – Heimbach , Jülich – Düren , Düren – Neuss and Düren – Euskirchen lines were built with Düren as the starting point. From 1933 to 1986 there was a depot in Düren . The station building was opened in 1874 and, unlike the city center of Düren, was not destroyed in the air raid on November 16, 1944 . As an island station, it is located between the tracks in the north for traffic to Jülich and the tracks in the south of the Cologne – Aachen railway line. Regional express trains in the direction of Aachen can be reached from the house platform. The platforms for regional express trains and S-Bahn trains in the direction of Cologne as well as Euregiobahn trains in the direction of Aachen can be reached through an underpass. Individual long-distance trains also stop in Düren. Although there are other train stations and stops in the area of the city of Düren, the Düren train station is not called the main station .
Three-chord bridge
On the three-chord bridge, the Cologne – Aachen line crosses the Rur river at kilometer 39.8. The bridge has a span of 78 meters and was built between 1928 and 1929 as a replacement for a brick bridge from the time the railway line was built. The building, which is now under monument protection, is currently in a dilapidated condition. The profitability of a renovation is questionable.
Hubertushof and Gürzenich
The Hubertushof connection point is located at kilometer 41.3. This connection was used by the Bundeswehr for its site in the Hürtgenwald (Gürzenicher Bruch). The Gürzenich block post was also there from 1925 to 1952. About a kilometer south of the village, belonging to Gürzenich yet, there is a of the German armed forces occupied depot where mainly weapons and material for about 15 kilometers away, Air Force airbase in Nörvenich were stored. The 150 hectare depot was closed in 2009.
In addition, Gürzenich had a freight yard. The branch line to the freight station branched off from the tram line to Gürzenich at what is now the paper mill road (formerly Mühlenweg ). At Breuer's house there was a connecting track to the ring railway . The Gürzenich freight station had a loading and reloading track, and there was a connection to the Düren - Aachen railway line. From 1944 until the restoration of the Rur Bridge of the Ringbahn, all freight traffic in the direction of Rölsdorf and Lendersdorf was handled via this track connection.
Derichsweiler and Merode
Until November 2002, the Derichsweiler overtaking station was located at route kilometers 44.3. From 1843 to 1928 it was a stopping point for passenger traffic. With the conversion of the route section to ESTW technology, the Derichsweiler train station was abandoned and the switches and the catenary on the passing tracks were dismantled. The western part of the former station now belongs to ESTW-A Langerwehe, the eastern part to Düren. The former signal box is still preserved, but is no longer used. The Merode block post was located at kilometer 46.5 in 1965/1966.
Langerwehe train station
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Langerwehe station (route km 48.9) has two platform tracks on the Cologne – Aachen railway line with side platforms north and south of the two continuous line tracks. The Eschweiler-Weisweiler – Langerwehe railway line, built in 2009, ends in Langerwehe . Trains of the Euregiobahn from the direction of Eschweiler-Weisweiler ending in Langerwehe arrive at a third platform built in 2009. The continuous platform tracks on the Cologne – Aachen railway line are used by stopping trains on the regional express lines and by trains on the Euregio railway that connect to Düren.
The two-storey station building dates from the time the line was built (1841) and was enlarged by two single-storey extensions at the beginning of the 20th century. Since the platform was relocated a few meters in a westerly direction as part of the route renovation around the year 2000, the station building now has no direct access to the platform.
Nothberg stop
The Nothberg stop was built in 1905 at the southern end of the Eschweiler district of Nothberg at kilometer 54.1. It had two side platforms and a small building that housed a ticket office until the 1970s. An underpass west of the stop had to be used to cross the platforms. Most recently, the Nothberg stop was only served every hour by the Rhein-Sieg-Express . When the new Eschweiler-Weisweiler-Langerwehe line went into operation in 2009 , the Nothberg stop on the Cologne-Aachen line was closed due to low passenger numbers and replaced by the Eschweiler-Nothberg Euregiobahn stop . The platforms and a small parking lot at the western end are still there. Signs forbid entering the disused stop.
From 1864 a siding to the Reserve Pit branched off between the Nothberg stop and Eschweiler Hauptbahnhof . The coal extracted there was loaded onto trains and transported away at a train station built on the site of the mine. After the end of coal production, the buildings of the mine and the connection were removed. However, its course can still be traced today using satellite images.
In 1965/1966, there was the Hüüllen block post at km 52.0.
Eschweiler Central Station
Eschweiler Hauptbahnhof has been located at the 56.9 km route in the Röthgen district of Eschweiler since 1841 and has four tracks, including three platform tracks with the house platform as a side platform and a central platform . The station is served by NRW-Express and Rhein-Sieg-Express . Instead, the Euregiobahn drives the at the Mönchengladbach-Stolberg railway located Eschweiler Talbahnhof on. The station building was built in 1860 and is now owned by the city of Eschweiler. The reception building houses a kiosk, a travel agency and a dental practice. In the meantime, the station could be reached by the Aachen tram and had a goods handling facility . The tram line was discontinued in 1954 and general cargo collection in 1984. The goods shed was demolished in 2008 in favor of a parking lot. Because the station is not barrier-free due to the 38 centimeter high platforms and missing elevators , it is currently being converted.
Ichenberg tunnel
The Ichenberger Tunnel is located at route kilometer 57.0 immediately west of the Eschweiler main station and is now 95 meters long. During the Second World War it was blown up by retreating Wehrmacht troops and rebuilt by American pioneers . Since the cross-section of the tunnel was too narrow for the upcoming electrification, the tunnel was slit to a length of 255 meters in 1962 and the current, shorter concrete tunnel was built .
Three arch bridge
The railway line crosses the River Inde and the Eschweiler Valley Railway via the three-arch bridge (route km 57.9) . The bridge is brick and has existed since the railway line opened in 1841. During the Second World War, an arch was blown up and initially restored by US pioneers using a temporary steel structure, then restored to its original construction in 1950.
Stolberg Central Station
The main station in Stolberg was not built in the center of the city of Stolberg in 1841 due to the changed route due to the railway dispute , but three kilometers north of Stolberg on what was then the city of Eschweiler. Due to the location at the route kilometer 60.3 outside the city center, there were larger open spaces that enabled the development of the Stolberg main station into a railway junction. By 1900, the Mönchengladbach – Stolberg , Stolberg – Walheim , Stolberg – Herzogenrath and the now disused Stolberg – Münsterbusch and Stolberg – Kohlscheid lines were built starting from the Stolberg main station . The station building was completed in 1888. Due to its location between the Cologne – Aachen railway line and the Stolberg – Walheim railway line, Stolberg Hbf is a wedge station . Freight tracks were built to the west, south and east of the station, which in the meantime were connected to each other by a connecting railway with a bridge structure. A depot with a roundhouse was built south of the station . Of these facilities, the freight tracks east of the passenger station are still in operation today.
On the Cologne – Aachen railway line, Stolberg Central Station has three platform tracks. The central platform is used for traffic with regional express trains and Euregiobahn trains to Aachen and the house platform for traffic on the Euregiobahn coming from Aachen. The station building was acquired in 2010 by EVS Euregio Verkehrsschienennetz (EVS), which renovated it for 3 million euros and converted it into a control center. Now there is a signal box for the railway lines maintained by the EVS and used by the Euregiobahn.
Eilendorfer Tunnel and Nirmer Tunnel
With the construction of the railway line up to 1841, a 727 meter long tunnel was built between Stolberg and today's Eilendorf and called the Nirmer Tunnel . He has the route kilometers 63.6. Both miners from Eschweiler and workers from the Leipzig – Dresden railway line were employed in the construction of the core structure . There were eight chimneys above the tunnel for the extraction of smoke from the steam locomotives. During the Second World War , a bunker was added over the west portal. In 1963 it became clear that the cross-section of the tunnel, like the Königsdorf tunnel and the Ichenberg tunnel, was too narrow for the overhead line to be laid. Therefore, the Nirmer tunnel was partially slit open and converted into two smaller tunnels made of concrete . The western tunnel is the Eilendorfer Tunnel (km 63.9) with a length of 357 meters, the eastern tunnel is the Nirmer Tunnel with a length of 125 meters. Although the two newly built tunnels were designed for speeds of up to 200 km / h and high-speed tests were carried out with the E 03 series , the maximum permissible speed is now 130 km / h.
From 1944 to 1986, the Nirm block point was at km 63.2.
Eilendorf stop
The Eilendorf stop was opened together with the line on September 1, 1841 at kilometer 64.9 as the Nirm stop, since it was closed and reopened in 1897. A station building was erected in 1920 and demolished in the 1980s. Until 1963 Nirm had a central platform and a bypass. In the course of the electrification of the railway line, the stop was renamed Eilendorf, the bypass was dismantled and two side platforms were built, which still exist today. Until 2018, the platforms had a height of 38 centimeters and were thus below the boarding height of the rail vehicles used, which prevented barrier-free boarding. In 2018, the platforms were increased to 76 cm to enable barrier-free access to the trains at ground level. The platforms that were previously over 200 meters long were shortened to 125 meters. There is no connection between the two platforms with a bridge or a tunnel; instead, a road bridge to the west or an underpass to the east must be used, for which in both cases several hundred meters of footpath must be covered. As a result, passengers often cross the tracks without authorization.
Aachen-Rothe Erde train station
Aachen-Rothe Erde station was built in 1875 as a transfer station for the Haaren – Aachen-Rothe Erde line at kilometer 68.2. From 1880 it was also used for passenger transport. In 1885, the Vennbahn branching off from the Cologne – Aachen line in Rothe Erde was opened. The station received a depot and the facilities of the freight yard were expanded. The current station building has existed since 1892 and is integrated into the railway embankment. After the Second World War, the connection to the Vennbahn and parts of the freight yard were shut down. Today there is a shopping center in the area. The passenger station has a platform with one direction track each in the direction of Aachen and in the direction of Cologne. To the east there is a parking station for railcars of the Euregiobahn and for regional express trains. A branch line to the Moltke station branched off from Rothe Erde station until the 1980s .
Moltke station
Aachen Güterbahnhof, also known as Moltkebahnhof due to its location on Moltkestrasse, was a freight depot in the south of the city of Aachen , which was connected to the Cologne-Aachen railway via a branch line. The station opened in 1895, and freight traffic fell from the mid-1960s, so that the freight station was closed in the mid-1990s. Today there is a park and a comprehensive school on the site.
Burtscheider Viaduct
The Burtscheider Viaduct was built from 1838 to 1840 according to plans by the engineers Wittfeld and Pickel. The originally 277 meter long viaduct was partially blown up during World War II, rebuilt and is now 251 meters long. In the 1960s, a reinforced concrete slab was installed, and renovation work was carried out between 2007 and 2009. The Burtscheider Viaduct has two main tracks. Aachen Central Station is immediately to the west.
Aachen Central Station
The Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft opened the Rheinische Bahnhof in 1841 as the end point (route km 70.2) of the Cologne – Aachen railway line. The present reception building and the station hall date from 1905, when the station was rebuilt in the course of merging with Aachen Marschierthor station , the end of the Aachen – Mönchengladbach railway line . In 1966, in advance of the electrification of the station, the tracks within the station hall were rearranged. Since then, Aachen Central Station has had nine platform tracks, four of which are designed as system separation points : The overhead lines are connected in such a way that they can provide both the alternating current used in Germany at 15 kilovolts 16.7 Hertz and the direct current used in Belgium with 3 kilovolts . A 3-S control center has been housed in the reception building since 2003 .
All local and long-distance trains stop at Aachen Central Station. With the exception of ICE International , Thalys and the Euregiobahn , all trains start and end here. To the west of the station there is a depot of DB Regio NRW , in which the vehicles of the NRW-Express , the Rhein-Sieg-Express and the Euregiobahn are maintained.
Vehicles and operation
Historical operation
Rhenish Railway Company
The Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft began operations on the section to Müngersdorf initially with four steam locomotives , three of which were manufactured in England. The Carolus Magnus came from the newly founded Aachen locomotive factory Dobbs & Poensgen. The Carolus Magnus , however, was prone to failure and had to be converted. After that it was only used in front of construction trains and was sold early. For the year 1841 the total operating performance of the 10 locomotives at that time was put at 5361 miles. After the entire line was opened, the number of locomotives used grew to a total of 21 machines by 1856.
The original timetable provided for three passenger trains (morning, noon and evening) between Cologne and Aachen per day and direction. Due to the initially still single-track route, a train crossing was planned in Düren. The two morning trains began or ended in Herbesthal . The passenger trains initially served all stops on the way until a pair of express trains was introduced between Cologne and Herbesthal in 1857. From May 1859 the first night train ran on the railway line. The train going from Cologne to Paris was initially unlit, and only after an accident at a level crossing were lights attached to the locomotives.
Prussian State Railways
With Otto von Bismarck's nationalization policy , the Cologne – Aachen line was transferred to the Prussian State Railways . This greatly expanded the train connections on the railway line. In 1913 there were direct connections also by means of through coaches from Aachen via the railway line to Cologne to Berlin , Bremen , Frankfurt am Main , Hamburg , Hanover , Kiel , Munich and Wiesbaden . From 1894 the Ostend-Wien-Express also operated, initially as a luxury train and later as an international express train. He carried through coaches for the Orient Express and represented one of the most important connections between Western Europe and the Balkans. The connection was only discontinued in 1993.
German Federal Railroad
After the Second World War, the Deutsche Bundesbahn took over the line that had been operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn from 1920 to 1945 . In the first few years, mainly steam locomotives from the Reichsbahn era were used: machines of the 01 and 03 series in front of express trains, locomotives of the 38.10 series in front of other passenger trains . Class 50 and class 55.25 locomotives in front of freight trains hauled most of the trains. Individual trains were driven with type VT 36.5 diesel multiple units. In addition, the route was used by international express trains such as the Vienna-Ostend Express , which only took 1:03 hours from Cologne to Aachen.
In the 1960s and 1970s, several Trans-Europ-Express pairs of trains ran on the Cologne – Aachen railway line. Diesel railcars of the class VT 11.5 (e.g. Hamburg – Paris) as well as car trains with French TEE cars were used. The VT 08 series was used for F trains. In addition, international express trains ran to Cologne with Belgian steam locomotives. Electrification was completed in 1966, and from then on, mostly electric locomotives were used in passenger transport. Mainly the class 110 and the Belgian multi-system locomotives of the class 16 and later also class 18 drove in long-distance transport , in local transport initially the class 141 . The new class 184 multi-system locomotives delivered in the autumn of 1966 , also marketed under the name Europalokomotiven , were extensively tested in Germany-Belgium, but were only rarely used regularly later because the machines often failed due to frequent strong voltage fluctuations in the Belgian overhead line from 1971 they were no longer used in passenger traffic to Belgium and were relocated to Saarland in 1979. International daytime passenger traffic was therefore largely handled with Belgian multi-system locomotives in the 1970s to 1990s. The locomotive was changed in Aachen-West for freight traffic and in Aachen Hbf for night express trains.
Current operation
passenger traffic
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In long-distance traffic, the high-speed route Cologne – Aachen is used by ICE International with trains of the 406 series and Thalys with vehicles of the PBKA type . This offer is supplemented by individual Intercity and Intercity Express trains, which each run once a week and thus create direct connections to / from other regions in Germany at the weekend.
The Regional Express lines RE 1 ( NRW Express ) and RE 9 ( Rhein-Sieg-Express ) serve the entire route every hour and complement each other at approximately 30-minute intervals. On the NRW-Express are double-deck coaches from Bombardier as a shuttle train with a locomotive of the series 146.0 used. On the Rhein-Sieg-Express both double-deck coaches used in combination with series locomotives 146.0 or 111 series , as well as multiple units of the type Talent 2 in double traction used. Class 120.2 locomotives were also used until 2018 .
Between Cologne central station and Köln-Ehrenfeld regional express line use RE 8 (Rhein-Erftstadt-Express) with multiple units of the series 425 and the regional train RB 27 (Rhein-Erftstadt train) with pull trains of three double-deck cars and locomotive of the series 143 , the Railway line. The regional train RB 38 ( Erft-Bahn ) with combustion railcars of the 644 series and the S-Bahn lines S 13 and S 19 with multiple units of the 423 series also run between Cologne Central Station and Horrem . The S 12 also runs between Cologne and Düren with vehicles from the 423 series.
On the section between Aachen Central Station and Stolberg Central Station, the Euregiobahn runs with Bombardier Talent internal combustion railcars in double traction on weekdays and in single traction every 30 minutes on Sundays. Between Stolberg and Langerwehe, the Euregiobahn leaves the Cologne – Aachen railway line and returns to it every hour between Langerwehe and Düren.
Freight transport
The high-speed line Cologne – Aachen is used by numerous freight trains due to its location between the freight stations Cologne-Eifeltor on the left Rhine line and Aachen West , the eastern end point of the Montzen route . A large part of the freight traffic is carried out by DB Schenker Rail and Cobra (Corridor Operations Belgium Rail), a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, and SNCB . Other regular services are a train of the combined traffic of SBB Cargo with locomotives of the type Re 482 and freight trains from Crossrail and RTB Cargo , which runs transfer freight trains from Düren to Stolberg and back with diesel locomotives . On the section between the train stations Cologne-Ehrenfeld and Cologne-Müngersdorf Technologiepark, the route is also used by freight trains to and from Mönchengladbach.
literature
- Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen: 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp . Verlag Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 .
Web links
- NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost:
- Description of route 2600 : Cologne main station - Aachen south border (long-distance railway)
- Description of route 2622 : Cologne Hansaring - Düren (S-Bahn)
- Description of route 2608 : Köln Hbf - Köln-Ehrenfeld (long-distance train in the direction of Cologne)
- Description of route 2613 : Cologne West Ws - Cologne-Ehrenfeld Ef
- Information on KBS 480
- Map of the high-speed route Cologne – Aachen on OpenStreetMap.org on OpenStreetMap
- Map / aerial photo of the route on Google
Individual evidence
- ^ Winand Perillieux, Hans J. Leven, Bernd Schwarz: Railways in Euskirchen. Between the Eifel, Börde and Ville. Kenning Verlag, 1991.
- ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
- ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
- ↑ a b c d e Bernhard Poll (ed.): History of Aachen in data. Stadtarchiv Aachen , Aachen 1960, pp. 132-137.
- ↑ a b Bernhard Poll (Ed.): History of Aachen in data. Aachen City Archives, Aachen 1960, pp. 138–143.
- ^ A b c d e f g Karl Meurer: Excerpts from: 'The railway history of the city of Eschweiler in data'. In: Series of publications by the Eschweiler history association. No. 12, 1991, ISSN 0724-7745 .
- ^ A b Arthur von Mayer: History and Geography of the German Railways from 1835 to 1891. Published 1891, reprint 1985.
- ^ Information board for railway lines in Germany in 1845 in the DB Museum in Nuremberg .
- ↑ a b c d Reinhard Gessen: Cologne - Düren - Aachen on gessen.de , accessed on February 28, 2014.
- ↑ a b c Bernhard Poll (Ed.): History of Aachen in data. Aachen City Archives, Aachen 1960, pp. 145–149.
- ↑ a b Bernhard Poll (Ed.): History of Aachen in data. City Archives Aachen, Aachen 1960, p. 152.
- ↑ Jürgen Herres: Cologne 1848–1850 in eyewitness reports on juergen-herres.de , accessed on May 13, 2014.
- ^ A b c Hans Jakob Schaetzke: Eschweiler Mining Association: History and stories of a mining company in the Aachen area. Eschweiler Bergwerks-Verein AG (Ed.), Herzogenrath 1992, ISBN 3-923773-14-5 , p. 43.
- ↑ Bernhard Poll (Ed.): History of Aachen in data. City Archives Aachen, Aachen 1960, p. 289.
- ^ Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , pp. 111-112.
- ↑ Dr. Wilhelm Bender: Eschweiler during the occupation from 1918 to 1929. Eschweiler Geschichtsverein (publisher), Eschweiler 1991.
- ↑ The Buirer rail accident on 1000-jahre-buir.de , accessed June 6, 2014.
- ↑ 13 travelers died in the North Express on wisoveg.de , accessed on June 6, 2014.
- ↑ Bernhard Poll (Ed.): History of Aachen in data. City Archives Aachen, Aachen 1960, p. 336.
- ↑ a b c September 15, 1944 - Low-flying attack on a train near Hüüllen on eisenbahn-stolberg.de , accessed on June 9, 2014.
- ^ Franz Joseph Küsters: Massacre by US fighter-bombers . In: Aachener Nachrichten . September 15, 1994 ( eisenbahn-stolberg.de [JPG; 256 kB ; accessed on March 9, 2019]).
- ↑ a b Hans J. Domsta: Düren 1940–1947. War, destruction, new beginnings. A documentation of diaries, letters, files and reports of the time (= contributions to the history of the Düren country. Volume 21). With a contribution by Heinz Engelen. Düren history association. Düren 1994.
- ^ Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , pp. 132-133.
- ↑ Bernhard Poll (Ed.): History of Aachen in data. City Archives Aachen, Aachen 1960, p. 353.
- ↑ Accidents 1976–1995 on hobby-modelleisenbahn.de , accessed on June 7, 2014.
- ↑ Construction project Cologne - Aachen - federal border (D / B). In: BauInfoPortal of Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved October 6, 2018 .
- ^ Rüdiger Block: On New Paths. The new lines of the Deutsche Bundesbahn. In: Eisenbahn-Kurier Special: High-speed traffic . No. 21, 1991, excluding ISSN, pp. 30-35.
- ↑ Christian Woelker: Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan '80: The rail is catching up. In: Wolfgang Vaerst , Peter Koch (Hrsg.): Yearbook of the railway system. Volume 31, Hestra-Verlag, Darmstadt 1980, ISBN 3-7771-0160-5 , pp. 30-36.
- ^ Rüdiger Block: ICE racetrack: the new lines. In: Eisenbahn-Kurier Special: High-speed traffic . No. 21, 1991, excluding ISSN, pp. 36-45.
- ↑ Without author: Annual review 1988. In: Die Bundesbahn . Vol. 65, No. 1, 1989, ISSN 0007-5876 , p. 62.
- ^ Annual review 1989. In: Die Bahn informs. ZDB -ID 2003143-9 , issue 1/1990, pp. 12-15.
- ↑ a b c d e f g upgraded line (ABS) 4. Cologne - Düren - Aachen - Paris / Amsterdam: 1st construction phase Cologne - Düren . 16-page brochure, August 2002.
- ^ The Cologne - Aachen route . In: Die Bahn informs . No. 4 , 1992, ZDB -ID 2003143-9 , p. 12 f .
- ↑ a b ABS 4 Cologne - Düren - Aachen - Paris / Amsterdam, p. 13 Cologne - Horrem - Düren . 16-page brochure, October 1997.
- ↑ German Bundestag (ed.): Briefing by the Federal Government Report on the project progress in expanding the cross-border rail axis (PDF) Printed matter 18/357 of January 22, 2014, p. 2.
- ↑ a b Announcement of the joint project Cologne - Aachen. In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , year 1997, issue 12, p. 551.
- ↑ Report Cologne - Düren with 275 km / h. In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , Issue 8–9 / 2003, ISSN 1421-2811 , p. 338.
- ↑ Investment framework plan until 2010 for the federal transport infrastructure. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development , archived from the original on December 21, 2008 ; accessed in April 2007 .
- ↑ Investments in the federal railways. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development , archived from the original on November 19, 2015 ; Retrieved December 6, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Notification of delayed construction of railway lines: EU cuts funding. In: Handelsblatt , No. 209, October 28, 2010, p. 16.
- ↑ Jürgen Lange: Stolberger Hauptbahnhof: renovation should now go quickly. In: Aachener Nachrichten . June 23, 2010, accessed November 7, 2013 .
- ^ Groundbreaking ceremony for the modernization of the Stolberg train station . Communication from the AVV of March 2, 2017.
- ↑ Heavy equipment for "Skywalk" in action. In: Aachener Zeitung. September 28, 2018, accessed January 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Patrick Nowicki: Jägerspfad level crossing: The barrier will soon stay down forever. In: Aachener Nachrichten. April 21, 2015, accessed November 17, 2015 .
- ^ Cologne - Aachen - federal border (D / B). In: bauprojekte.deutschebahn.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Overloaded railways 2019. In: fahrweg.dbnetze.com. DB Netz AG, November 2019, accessed on December 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Something's happening at the Ehrenfeld railway arches! Website of the SPD local association Cologne-Ehrenfeld, May 17, 2014, accessed on February 21, 2015.
- ↑ Support from the party people. Kölnische Rundschau website , June 30, 2014, accessed on February 21, 2015.
- ↑ Stop location map Müngersdorf / Technologiepark S. (PDF) Website of the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe , accessed on February 2, 2015.
- ↑ More parking spaces in Weiden-West? Website of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , December 9, 2013, accessed on January 24, 2015.
- ^ The Horrem train station before the renovation in 1999/2000 on wisoveg.de , accessed on January 27, 2015.
- ↑ Germany's first climate-neutral station building for Kerpen-Horrem. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn, November 13, 2012, archived from the original on 20130530124811 ; Retrieved October 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Next stop: Green train station . In: DB World . No. 2 , March 16, 2014, p. 8th f .
- ↑ Over the underground bridge over the Horremer jump. Website of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , December 6, 2002, accessed on January 27, 2015.
- ↑ Axel Horstmann visited the Sindorf S-Bahn stop. Rhein-Erft Rundschau website , October 4, 2004, accessed on January 24, 2015.
- ↑ a b Sindorf S-Bahn station: At the limit of capacity. Website of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , January 14, 2010, accessed on January 24, 2015.
- ↑ Demolition of bridges: Problems are rolling in the region on aachener-zeitung.de , accessed on June 7, 2014.
- ↑ Regional train will soon roar past Nothberg. Website of the Aachener Zeitung , December 1, 2009, accessed on January 15, 2015.
- ^ Roland Keller: 170 years of the Rheinische Eisenbahn from Cologne to Aachen. Roland Keller's website, September 1, 2011, accessed August 29, 2015.
- ↑ Roland Keller: Stolberg Hauptbahnhof on eisenbahn-stolberg.de , accessed on September 2, 2015.
- ↑ a b Eilendorf on gessen.de , accessed on November 26, 2013.
- ^ Lutz-Henning Meyer: 150 years of railways in the Rhineland . Verlag JP Bachem, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7616-0961-2 , p. 539.
- ^ Peter Langohr: New platforms in Eilendorf, but only 125 meters long. In: Aachener Nachrichten . March 18, 2017, accessed January 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Redesign of Eilendorf station - the citizens are in demand. In: avv.de. October 7, 2013, accessed March 9, 2019 .
- ^ A b Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , pp. 36-37.
- ^ Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , p. 25.
- ^ Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , p. 39.
- ^ Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , p. 109.
- ^ Roland Keller: 175 years of the Cologne - Aachen route. In: Railway in Stolberg. Roland Keller, September 5, 2016, accessed on July 23, 2019 .
- ^ A b Hans Schweers, Henning Wall: Railways around Aachen. 150 years of the international route Cologne - Aachen - Antwerp. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1993, ISBN 3-921679-91-5 , pp. 134-159.
- ↑ DB Schenker and SNCB create Cobra on verkehrsrundschau.de , December 10, 2009, accessed on January 20, 2015.
- ^ Mining and railways in the Aachen-Düren-Heinsberg region - Photo locations KBS 480 (Aachen-Cologne) on gessen.de , accessed on January 20, 2015.
