Cologne-Kalk – Overath railway line

Cologne-Kalk-Overath
Route number (DB) :	2655 ( Köln-Kalk –Overath) 2621 (Köln-Kalk – Flughafen Nordost) 2692 (Flughafen Nordost – Frankfurter Str.)
Course book section (DB) :	459
Route length:	24.6 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	Cologne-Kalk – Frankfurter Str .: 15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Top speed:	120 km / h
Legend Victory route from Cologne 1.9 0.0 Cologne-Kalk Cologne freight bypass Gremberg – Cologne-Kalk Nord Connecting curve from Cologne-Kalk Nord 3.3 1.5 Vingst (Abzw) A 4 4.4 0.0 Northeast Airport (Abzw) Victory route to Siegen 1.5 4.1 Cologne Frankfurter Strasse 50 m Former freight line from Cologne-Kalk Süd 4.2 Plantation (Abzw) Airport loop to Troisdorf A 59 5.7 Porz-Heumar 50 m 7.9 Porz-Heumar Nato ( Awanst ) A 3 10.2 Porz-Königsforst (most recently Awanst) 12.1 Rösrath-Stümpen 91 m former route from Bergisch Gladbach 14.4 Rösrath 96 m Sülz 15.9 Hope valley 90 m former route to Lindlar Aqueduct ⊙ Hope Valley Tunnel (1087 m) 160 m 20.2 Honrath (previously Bf) 132 m Bombach Viaduct (90 m) 92 m formerly Aggertalbahn from Siegburg 24.6 Overath 94 m Aggertalbahn to Gummersbach-Dieringhausen Swell:

The Cologne-Kalk-Overath railway line is a single-track , largely non-electrified railway line . With it, the historic Siegburg – Olpe railway line was extended in 1910 by a direct connection to Cologne and the Hope Thaler Tunnel required for it. The section from Hoffnungsthal to Rösrath was planned and built during the course of the Cologne-Mülheim-Lindlar railway line (which is now partially closed) . As an inlet route, like the route from Siegburg via Overath to Olpe, it is also called the Aggertalbahn , but it leaves the Agger valley at Overath. The electrified section is included in the Cologne airport loop .

In 1997 the scheduled freight traffic of the Deutsche Bahn was given up in the entire Oberbergischer Kreis . Since then there has only been passenger traffic, initially only to Gummersbach, and since 2003 also to Marienheide again. At the beginning of 2014 the route was extended again to Meinerzhagen, at the end of 2017 to Lüdenscheid. Since May 2007, the Rhein-Sieg-Eisenbahn has been operating sporadically goods traffic on the Wiehl Valley Railway , which branches off the Aggertalbahn, and leads it towards Cologne.

prehistory

The planning phase and the construction of the old line and the importance of both lines are described under the Siegburg – Olpe line .

From the start, the planners had actually preferred a direct connection to Cologne instead of Siegburg. At that time there was still a military area in Cologne, which was in the way of the route. When this area disappeared, the route to Cologne was quickly planned.

The travel time from Cologne to Oberbergisch was significantly shortened when the 1,087 m long Hoffnungsthaler Thunel between Hopesthal and Honrath , the connection between Hopesthal and Overath and the connection from Rösrath to Cologne were completed. The new line was routed between Rösrath and Hoffnungsthal over a section of the Cologne-Mülheim-Lindlar railway line , which connects the two extensions. At the western entrance to the tunnel was the Anacker mine , which had resumed operations in 1909, and the Aurora mine at the eastern entrance .

Since the connection to Cologne was built

As in many other places, there were line breaks here after the Second World War. Hitler's scorched earth policy led to makeshift arrangements and a diversion over the old Siegburg route so as not to block the entire route. This was mainly due to the destruction of a bridge between Overath and Cologne by German troops when they withdrew. This bridge was repaired in 1946, then trains were diverted over the line to Olpe, as the main line to Siegen was much more heavily damaged. This diversion traffic continued until 1949. During these difficult years numerous hamster trips by the starving population also fall. In 1960, the poorly used stop at Vilkerath was closed. In 1976 the route from Cologne-Kalk to Dieringhausen was given a route block facility.

The Aggertalbahn also had to struggle with passenger losses due to the increasing use of automobiles and a systematic reduction in timetable by the Federal Railroad and other rationalizations. At the beginning of the 1980s, the line between Lohmar and Overath as well as Dieringhausen and Olpe was considered to be in danger of being closed. The closure of the depot on the Aggertalbahn in 1982 also fits in with this, and vehicles from Cologne were used from then on.

Since there was still potential for passengers, the three routes between Cologne and Meinerzhagen became test routes for the Citybahn operating test in 1984 with trains specially painted in pop colors . This connection led from Cologne via Overath on the only remaining section of the Siegburg – Olpe railway line still served by passenger traffic and then in Dieringhausen on the Volmetalbahn via Gummersbach and Marienheide to Meinerzhagen. The result was a sharp increase in the number of passengers. However, in 1986 passenger traffic from Marienheide to Meinerzhagen was discontinued, and on May 30, 1987 also from Gummersbach to Marienheide.

In 1989 the line was given a central signal box in Overath, the city railway sets were withdrawn in 1992 for preliminary operations on the S 12 between Cologne and Au (Sieg) , but the regular service was maintained. Since 1999 only diesel multiple units of the DB class 644 have been running on the route , since the end of 2014 all journeys with 620 + 622 .

Since 1991 the Oberbergische Bahn in Cologne has been using the newly built S-Bahn main line Cologne Hansaring - Cologne Central Station - Cologne Messe / Deutz - Cologne Trimbornstrasse. In the course of the new construction of the ICE route Cologne – Frankfurt , the route in Cologne was changed again. Shortly after the Cologne Frankfurter Strasse stop, which was opened in 2004, the route forks to Overath and via the Cologne / Bonn Airport train station to Troisdorf .

Since April 20, 2003, the regional train has been back to Marienheide , since the beginning of 2014 to Meinerzhagen and since the end of 2017 to Lüdenscheid .

There have been few service improvements on the route in recent years. The new passenger information system with modern dynamic text displays announced in February 2009 for the Overath train station was installed in May 2010 and provides information on delays and cancellations.

On August 1, 2010, a celebration of the centenary with a ceremony took place at Overath train station.

The safety deficiencies found in 2001 in the Hoffnungsthaler Tunnel (difficult to reach, no lighting) were remedied in 2012/2013.

The plan is to switch the S-Bahn advance service to S-Bahn line 14 . For this purpose, the RB 25 is to be linked with the RB 24 on the Eifel route . This line picks up on a historical connection because there was once a regional train line from Jünkerath on the Eifel route to Rösrath.

Status

While some railway buildings have been renovated with the support of the city in recent years, others are privately owned and serve as residential buildings. The Overather reception building was completely renovated in 2008 and serves the city as a cultural station. In addition to an RVK service facility , the building also houses a newly opened restaurant and rooms for social and cultural events. Various other station buildings, such as Honrath or Porz-Heumar, are privately owned. The buildings are in good condition and have been converted into a residential building. Some other station buildings are still used purely as a railway building and are in a poor visual condition. However, once the ticket office is no longer available, the function of the building is severely restricted.

The Porz-Heumar station, which is located in a large residential area, is only used as a depot (shunting of freight trains from the nearby garbage transfer station); regional trains to Marienheide have not stopped there since the 1980s. The station is only used for passenger traffic in the event of operational problems or a line closure.

Vehicle use

For the project Citybahn on the line Cologne-Meinerzhagen were 1,984 ten locomotives of the 218 series of the depot Hagen matching repainted n-car repainted in pure orange (RAL 2004) with pebble gray cigar band and with this as a push-pull trains in clock transport used.

These train sets represent a special feature in the history of the railway, as they were only used here and then from 1992 onwards in S-Bahn advance operation on the S 12 between Cologne and Au (Sieg) .

Since 1999, mainly diesel-electric railcars of the DB class 644 have been running on the route in double or triple traction . To relieve some of the pressure, railcars of the 643 series that were originally procured for the Euregiobahn and labeled accordingly were used. Since 2012, some journeys have been made with class 218 locomotives and n-wagons, and since the end of 2014 all journeys have been made with 620 + 622 .

Accidents

• On March 7, 1981, a class 211 diesel locomotive drove into a landslide between Honrath and Overath, was lifted to the side and overturned against a rock face. The accident had been inevitable because of a curve and the darkness. The engine driver and two passengers were slightly injured, and the remaining 80 passengers were brought to their destination by rail replacement buses. The next day the locomotive and the first two wagons were recovered and soon after that they were taken out of service. Up until April 6, there was heavy damage to replacement rail traffic between Rösrath and Overath, and freight traffic had to be routed entirely via Hagen.
• On February 15, 2009, near Vilkerath, a truck came off the road parallel to the tracks during snowfall and slipped onto the rails. As a result, rail traffic in this section was suspended until the next morning. A signal was also destroyed, which led to problems with the nearby level crossing. A speed limit stop and a manually controlled level crossing still testified to the accident for two weeks. Nobody was injured, there was around € 100,000 damage to property.

Service offer

The route is from Cologne via Overath and Dieringhausen in advance traffic of the S-Bahn Cologne with connection to the Aggertalbahn and Volmetalbahn to Lüdenscheid in passenger traffic by the regional train RB 25 ( Oberbergische Bahn ) daily

• from Köln Hansaring via Köln Hbf, Köln Messe / Deutz, Overath, Dieringhausen, Gummersbach and Meinerzhagen to Lüdenscheid every hour,
• between Cologne and Engelskirchen every 30 minutes, sometimes Mon – Fri every 30 minutes to Gummersbach

served.

The tariff of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS) applies on the Cologne-Kalk-Overath route .

The Oberbergische Bahn was put out to tender in 1997 by the VRS together with the Eifelbahn and the Voreifelbahn . DB Regio NRW won the tender. From December 15, 2013, DB Regio took over the traffic for 20 years.

With the timetable change in December 2019, there are plans to introduce a half-hourly offer to Engelskirchen on the weekend as well. In addition, a half-hourly service from Cologne to Gummersbach is to be implemented between 12 noon and 11 pm.

See also

• Railway network in the Oberbergisches Land

literature

• Eberhardt Dommer and Robert Wagner (eds.): A railway into the Bergisch - for the 100th anniversary of the Cologne-Rösrath-Hoffnungsthal-Honrath-Overath railway line . Publication series of the history association Rösrath eV Volume 40. Rösrath 2010. ISBN 978-3-922413-61-5
• Sascha Koch, Horst Kowalski u. a .: Railways in Oberberg and the history of the Dieringhausen depot . Galunder Verlag Nümbrecht 2005. ISBN 3-89909-050-0
• Sascha Koch: Dieringhausen - Bergneustadt - Olpe: Chronicle of a railway line between the Rhineland and Westphalia . Galunder Verlag Nümbrecht 2003. ISBN 978-3899090192
• Gerhard Peter Hänsel: Train by train - The railways in the Sülztal and Aggertal - a regional historical investigation . Publication series of the history association Rösrath eV Volume 15. Rösrath 1986.

Web links

Commons : Cologne-Kalk – Overath railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost

• Description of route 2655 : (Cologne-Kalk ↔) Cologne Frankfurter Str. Abzw ↔ Overath
• Description of route 2621 : Cologne-Kalk ↔ Northeast Airport
• Description of route 2962 : North East Airport ↔ Cologne Frankfurter Str.

further evidence:

• The railways in Oberbergischen
• Photos of the RB 25 Cologne-Marienheide
• Book presentation "Ein Bahn ins Bergische" (over 100 years of the Cologne-Overath railway)
• vrsinfo “vareo”: Premiere for future-oriented vehicle generation in Cologne's diesel network . Accessed on January 17, 2014.
• DB Bahn: vareo. The new train for the region. Accessed January 17, 2014.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
3. ↑ http://www.rundschau-online.de/grosse-gedenkfeier--freudentrunk--und-festhaeppchen-11260880
4. ↑ http://www.ksta.de/aggertalbahn-langer-weg-zum-sicheren-tunnel-11775348
5. ↑ http://www.ksta.de/roesrath/hoffnungstahl-bessere-sicherheit-im-tunnel,15189238,21025388.html
6. ↑ https://eisenbahn-tunnelportale.de/lb/inhalt/tunnelportale/2655-hoffnungsthal-nachruestung.html Pictures of the retrofitting (lighting, access)
7. ^ S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr-Sieg - destination network
8. ↑ Kulturbahnhof Overath , accessed on March 18, 2009
9. ↑ The slightly different motifs of the Citybahn, part 1
10. ↑ The slightly different motifs of the Citybahn, part 2
11. ↑ The slightly different motifs of the Citybahn, part 3
12. ↑ The slightly different motifs of the Citybahn, part 4
13. ↑ Kölner Stadtanzeiger: Tracks damaged: further disabilities after an accident ; Notification dated February 15, 2009, updated February 17, 2009. Accessed March 18, 2010.
14. ↑ 15th meeting of the main committee of the Rhineland local transport association, Top 10 SPNV train path registration for the 2020 annual timetable, November 9, 2018