Bergheim – Rommerskirchen railway line
| Bergheim – Rommerskirchen | |
|---|---|
| Route number (DB) : | 2601 (Niederaußem – Rommerskirchen) 2604 (Bergheim – Niederaußem) |
| Course book range : | 247b (1960-1971) ; 224e (1938) |
| Gauge : | 1000 mm (1897-1913) ; 1435 mm |
| State (D): | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Operating points and routes | |
The Bergheim – Rommerskirchen railway is a railway line in North Rhine-Westphalia . The non- electrified line was originally built and operated by the Bergheimer Kreisbahn as a meter- gauge small railway. The line was later converted to standard gauge. A large part has been shut down, freight traffic is still taking place between Rommerskirchen and Niederaussem.
Operation and history
The Bergheimer Kreisbahn opened several routes in the district in just a few years. The line from Bergheim to Rheidt was opened on August 20, 1897. The track was performed in meter gauge and was of the construction firm Lenz & Co. built. Despite the meter gauge, regular gauge expansion was also considered. The subgrade was correspondingly wide, standard track sleepers were laid at shorter distances and a heavy superstructure was used. In 1904 the third rail for the standard gauge was installed, while the line to Rommerskirchen was extended and put into operation on December 19, 1904. Due to the heavy goods traffic and for the construction of the Ruhr – Mosel relief line , the Bergheimer Kreisbahn was nationalized in 1913. On May 23, 1971, the line between Bergheim and Niederaussem was closed due to an expansion of the Fortuna-Garsdorf opencast mine . At the same time, passenger traffic was stopped on the entire route.
Route description
Bergheim train station
Bergheim train station was put into operation on August 20, 1897 at kilometer point 6.11. A railway line (KBS 481) runs through Bergheim from Neuss to Horrem (on the main Cologne-Aachen line). The old station had an electromechanical dispatcher interlocking "Bf" (E 43) in the reception building with form signals as entry and exit signals. Three to four tracks were available for train crossings. There was a three-track railcar hangar on tracks 9-11. Track 12, without a platform, led behind the railcar hangar and only allowed entries and exits to and from Horrem. The stabling tracks 7 and 8 were located between the main tracks and the railcar hangar. Two butt tracks led from track 1 towards the reception building, of which track 13 ended at a head ramp. The whole station was seen from the direction of Horrem in a strong left curve. In 1988 the station was relocated, the old station building remained in its original location. The new station went into operation on April 18, 1988. On June 27, 1988, the laid tracks in Bergheim (Erft) station went into operation. The straight tracks 1 and 2 with outside platforms remained in a new location. With the exception of the loading track at the head ramp, all other tracks and the railcar hangar were dismantled. Previously, the tracks for passenger train operations were in a curve. The former location of track 1 (house platform) can be seen on the reception building that is still in place. In 2007 the old interlocking "Bf" was shut down when the control of operations on the line was taken over on October 28, 2007 by the Cologne-Ehrenfeld electronic interlocking , which is controlled from the Duisburg operations center. The remaining loading track was disconnected. In the past branch lines branched off in Bergheim to Bedburg , Horrem, Rommerskirchen and from Zieverich to Elsdorf Ost. There was also a siding to the Martinswerk. The railroad depot was home to railcars. Among other things, passenger trains ran via Horrem to Kerpen . The route is now served by the RB38 Erftbahn (Cologne / Horrem – Bergheim – Bedburg– Grevenbroich –Neuss– Düsseldorf ). It is operated by DB Regio NRW GmbH.
Fortunagrube stop
The Fortuna district was founded in 1899 not far from the Fortuna briquette factory near the town of Oberaussem . With the expansion of the briquette factory and, from 1910, the Fortuna power station, more and more people moved into the village. Due to the growing lignite mining in the Rhineland, the workers and their families needed living space. Little by little, the workers' settlement developed into a place with a corresponding infrastructure. Therefore, the Fortunagrube stop on the railway line was put into operation on August 20, 1897 at route kilometer 8.45. With the expansion of the Fortuna-Garsdorf opencast mine , the section between Bergheim and Niederaussem had to be shut down and dismantled on May 23, 1971.
Oberaussem stop
Oberaussem received a rail connection on August 20, 1897. The station was for this route at the route kilometer 9.83. The stop did not have a station building, but only a small corrugated iron hut as a shelter and was equipped with an additional loading platform. The street name "An der Bahn" indicates the former location of the small station: It was on the northwestern outskirts of Oberaussem. With the expansion of the Fortuna-Garsdorf opencast mine , the line from Niederaussem to Bergheim was abandoned and dismantled on May 23, 1971.
Niederaussen train station
Niederaussem received a rail connection on August 20, 1897. The station for this route is at route kilometer 11.25 and at route kilometer 25.5 for the Mödrath – Rommerskirchen railway line . The station has a reception building with a goods shed. Both are still preserved today and are privately owned.
Even before the First World War, it was planned to expand the railway line leading through the town as a bypass of the Cologne railway junction and part of the strategic railway embankment. However, this was not realized. Passenger traffic on the railway line initially ran on the Rommerskirchen - Rheidt-Hüchelhoven - Niederaussem - Oberaussem - Fortunagrube - Quadrath-Ichendorf line , later the trains ran directly between Niederaussem and Bergheim . On May 23, 1971 the passenger traffic was stopped. The tracks in the direction of Bergheim fell victim to the opencast mine. Today the route between Niederaussem and Rommerskirchen is used for freight transport. This route crosses the North-South Coal Railway and the Hambach Railway in Niederaussem .
Rheidt station
On August 20, 1897, Rheidt received a train station at kilometer 29.9. The railway line ran on the east side of the Rheidter village square. In the 1920s, because of the coal transports, the line was moved to a railway embankment and extended to Rommerskirchen . The station was shut down on May 23, 1971 due to the significant increase in car traffic and the associated decrease in the number of people transported on the route. The station building, which is exactly the same as Niederaussem station, still exists and is privately owned.
Loading point Gill
The Gill loading point was at km 32.0 on the "Bergheimer Strasse", was built in 1904 and closed again in 1925. It was insignificant for passenger and goods traffic, but served the local land trade for loading goods.
Rommerskirchen station
The Rommerskirchener Bahnhof is on the main line Cologne – Grevenbroich – Mönchengladbach and was put into operation on October 1, 1898.
The reception building of the Rommerskirchen train station is still there today and is used commercially. A central platform is available for travelers, which is equipped with shelters and ticket machines. At the end of 2008 / beginning of 2009 the park-and-ride car park next to the reception building was expanded. Until the introduction of ESTW technology in 2007, Rommerskirchen had the Rof dispatcher interlocking, which stood in a T-shape above the two main tracks. In November 2008, this now redundant signal box was demolished.
At times there were connections to a scrap shop and an agricultural cooperative south of the main line. In addition to the two main tracks, there are two bypass tracks in Rommerskirchen. A freight train line branches off here to Niederaussem to the RWE Power mine station there , which is part of the Strategic Railway Embankment . In relation to this route, the station has a route kilometrage 33.4. This route used to lead from Rommerskirchen to Mödrath and was closed in the course of the Frechen opencast mine . The last passenger traffic between Rommerskirchen and Niederaussem was carried out on May 23, 1971.
Since then, the track has only served as a connection between Rheinbraun / RWE Power and the Deutsche Bahn line . Lime powder trains run daily between the Flandersbach Rhine lime works in Wülfrath and Niederaussem for the flue gas desulphurisation systems of the power plants. In this context there was the company Dampfpilze am Rhein in February 2008 : a transport of a lime flour train with a steam locomotive. Occasionally it comes to transportation of transformers for the connected power plants. RWE Power is the owner of the Rommerskirchen – Niederaußem route today, but DB Netz is the infrastructure operator.
literature
- Gerd Wolff: German small and private railways. Volume 4: North Rhine-Westphalia, southern part. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1997, ISBN 3-88255-660-9 , pp. 105-109
Individual evidence
- ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 8th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2011, ISBN 978-3-89494-140-6 .