Bettembourg – Volmerange-les-Mines railway line
| Bettembourg-Volmerange-les-Mines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Terminal station Volmerange-les-Mines
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| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 25 kV, 50 Hz ~ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transport community: CFL |
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The railway Bettembourg-Volmerange-les-Mines is a single-track electrified branch line in Luxembourg and France .
history
When a steelworks was planned in Dudelange (Dudelange) in the 1880s , it needed a corresponding railway connection. Although the Metz – Luxemburg line, opened in 1859, ran across the Dudelange area, the nearest train station was in Bettembourg (Bettembourg). The Bettembourg – Dudelange railway line went into operation on December 20, 1883. The siding from Dudelange to the Reiteschkopp loading station followed in 1884, and this track has been part of the railway line since 1888. When the Dudelange ironworks went into operation in 1886, the volume of transport increased tremendously. Since all fuel deliveries and a large part of the ore were delivered by rail, the route was one of the most profitable rail routes in Luxembourg.
In 1959/60 the line was electrified, and electrical operation began on July 9, 1960.
When the steelworks closed in 1984, only one rolling mill remained in Dudelange. Freight traffic therefore fell rapidly, and the short route to the Reiteschkopp loading station was subsequently shut down in 1988.
In the 1990s, new stops were built in Dudelange-Burange and Dudelange-Center.
The extension of the line to the neighboring Volmerange-les-Mines in France was decided in 2001, the continuation was opened in December 2003.
When the remaining rolling mill also closed in 2005, freight traffic was ceased in 2006, and since then the line has only been used for passenger traffic.
literature
- Ed Federmeyer: Railways in Luxembourg - Volume 1 , Wolfgang Herdam Fotoverlag, Gernrode / Harz 2007
