Jülich – Dalheim railway line
| Jülich – Dalheim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route number : | 2540, 2541 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course book section (DB) : | 457 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 34.3 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Jülich – Dalheim (KBS 457) line is a single-track full-line railway that was formerly electrified in the Baal West - Ratheim section . The line, opened in 1911, used to be an important north-south connection that connected the textile locations Düren and Mönchengladbach / Krefeld . The route runs from the Jülich train station to Baal through the Jülich Bördelandschaft and then through the towns of Hückelhoven and Wassenberg, which were formerly characterized by hard coal mining in the Aachen district . The route ended at Dalheim train station on the German-Dutch border .
Today only the Jülich - Linnich section is in operation; The Rurtalbahn runs on this at least every hour to and from Düren station . On the Baal - Ratheim section, freight traffic for the Hückelhovener briquette factory took place until the line was closed in 2007. This section was originally Hückelhoven favor of a bypass road to 2010 after plans of the city deconsecrated be dismantled and that the Federal Railway Authority rejected the application of the city on declassification However, on 15 January, 2013.
The districts of Heinsberg and Düren are planning (status: 2013) to reactivate the route from Linnich via Baal to Hückelhoven and Ratheim with a time horizon of ten to twelve years.
History and operation
Ideas and beginnings
At the beginning of the 1870s there were already considerations and efforts to build a railway line along the Rur from Jülich to Roermond. The route should lead from Jülich via Tetz-Boslar and Linnich to Brachelen and Lindern. The route was to continue via Randerath, Dremmen, Oberbruch and Heinsberg to Roermond, where there would have been a connection to the Dutch railway network. However, this project was only implemented on the Heinsberg-Lindern section , which was officially opened on May 29, 1890.
In 1896 the Linnich mine owner Gustav Bausch applied for a concession to build a railway line from Jülich via Linnich to Baal. On February 26, 1896, the Erkelenzer Zeitung reported on a project by a Berlin company that wanted to build a railway line from Baal or Lövenich via Hückelhoven and Dalheim to Brüggen.
In a memorandum dated June 21, 1896, the Cologne Railway Directorate clearly favored a line to the right of the Rur, due to the development of the coal basin between Wassenberg and Baal, from Jülich via Linnich, Baal, Ratheim and Wassenberg to Dalheim, where the Iron Rhine connects to Roermond and Mönchengladbach existed.
Planning and construction
In December 1897, Doveren (to which Hückelhoven still belonged at the time), Ratheim and Hilfarth turned to the Minister for Public Works (then Karl von Thielen ) to have a railway line built. On December 19, 1898, the district committee informed the district administrators involved about the minister's order to the railway management to begin the preparatory work for the Jülich - Baal - Dalheim line. The Jülich district subsequently agreed to provide land for the Jülich – Baal section free of charge; However, the Erkelenz district was only ready for this if the route to Dalheim was carried out.
While the municipality of Körrenzig applied for the planning of a train station in mid-1899, the municipality of Baal refused any subsidies for the construction of the railway. In Rurich , it was of the opinion that no decision could be made as long as no precise route was determined. Furthermore, they feared disadvantages in the irrigation of the meadows and the grazing of the cattle, since the route there should run on a dam.
In the following years there were numerous objections and petitions, the main aim of which was to change the route. On July 3, 1904, the final overall draft was presented to the Minister in Berlin. The total cost of the new railway line was estimated at 4,647,000 marks.
opening
After the state police acceptance on December 12 and 13, 1911, the official opening of the Jülich - Baal - Dalheim railway took place on December 15, 1911 with a special train consisting of two locomotives and seven express train carriages.
In addition to the two terminus stations, the new Baal tower station was of greatest importance. This is where the connection for people, luggage and express goods to the Aachen – Düsseldorf route was established. Via a connecting line at Baal Gbf / Baal West, the new line was also connected to the Aachen – Mönchengladbach railway line .
Ratheim, Linnich and Wassenberg received larger train stations; Broich, Tetz, Körrenzig, Hückelhoven, and Rosenthal received smaller train stations (class IV) and Doveren became a stopping point. The Birgelen, Sophia-Jacoba and Rurich stops were added later; Rurich received this in May 1912.
The coal mining of the Sophia-Jacoba union resulted in a works railway to the Hückelhovener and Ratheim colliery grounds.
Second World War
During the Second World War , the bridges of the railway line were mostly destroyed by explosions by the German Wehrmacht. The tower station in Baal was blown up in December 1944, but the station building has been preserved to this day. American pioneers initially filled in the crossing structure in order to accelerate the restoration of the main line between Aachen and Düsseldorf.
Due to the coal transports that were important at the time, the Ratheim Rbf – Baal Gbf section was the first to be restored. The Ratheim - Dalheim section followed on February 11, 1950. On April 1, 1950, the route between Jülich and Baal was again passable. It should take another year for the entire route between Jülich and Dalheim to be passable, as the restoration of the tower station took this time.
Post war and decline
In the 1960s, private transport grew strongly. The number of passengers fell and prompted the Federal Railroad to stop passenger traffic between Jülich and Baal on September 29, 1968; the same happened on May 28, 1972 with goods traffic on the Linnich – Baal section. In 1974, the dismantling of the tracks between Baal and Linnich began. Freight traffic between Jülich and Linnich also fell to a very low level in the following years, so that the Federal Railroad wanted to shut down this section of the route as well. However, this could be prevented by the fact that the then just expanding company PKL (Papier- und Kunststoffwerke Linnich, today SIG Combibloc GmbH ) shifted its raw paper transports from Scandinavia to the railways in 1983, which in turn led to the relocation of transports away from the rails 2001 helped to achieve good utilization.
The remaining connection Baal – Dalheim was initially still relatively good for the population because of the so-called round traffic (a connection Mönchengladbach - Rheydt - Rheindahlen - Wegberg - Dalheim - Wassenberg - Ratheim - Hückelhoven - Baal (West) - Erkelenz - Rheydt - Mönchengladbach) accepted. The Baal - Ratheim section was electrified in 1968 for heavy freight traffic.
In the 1970s, the timetable on the northern part from Baal to Dalheim was thinned down to a few trains a day, the round-trip service popular with the population was finally abolished, and rail buses running in parallel did the rest: on September 27, 1980, the last battery-powered multiple unit left Baal in the direction of Dalheim / Mönchengladbach.
In Wassenberg in particular , the Federal Railroad was sharply criticized; There was a signature campaign and a demonstration on September 27, 1980. Wassenberg's Mayor Schumann held a protest speech on the occasion and said that with a little good will on the part of the Federal Railroad, this line closure was not necessary.
In Ratheim and Hückelhoven , member of the Bundestag, Dr. from spit to the most prominent decommissioning opponents; this doubted the Federal Railroad's surveys for freight and passenger traffic on the Heinsberg - Lindern and Baal - Dalheim (–Mönchengladbach) lines. He described the numbers on which the railway relied as a reason for closure as “unrealistic phantom numbers” that “could not be verified”. Because the passenger counts necessary for the surveys of the Federal Railway Directorate mostly took place during the holidays, on bridging days or on weekends.
Operations on the Dalheim – Ratheim section ceased on December 31, 1983. In April 1985 the tracks in the section Wassenberg (incl.) - Rosenthal were removed, the same happened in 1986 when the rubble dump in Rosenthal was closed on the section from Rosenthal to Dalheim (excl.).
Despite the closure of the Sophia-Jacoba mine on March 27, 1997, DB AG coal trains continued to run between Baal Gbf and Ratheim Rbf (Monday and Wednesday), as SJ-Briquette and Extracitfabrik GmbH continued to operate on the old mine site in Hückelhoven until the end of 2007 Produced charcoal from anthracite. On September 26, 2007 this freight service was also discontinued.
Regular passenger traffic was discontinued in the 1980s; after that there were some special train trips:
- The Klingende Rurtaler linked Hückelhoven and Ratheim with tourist destinations such as Heimbach or Königswinter in the 1980s and 1990s .
- In 1986 the Realschule Ratheim started a special train with around 750 students to Heimbach.
- In the 1980s, the glass train brought railway enthusiasts from southern Germany to Ratheim to visit the colliery there.
- Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen started a special train in 2005.
- The DGEG last traveled the route on October 21, 2006 with a 3-part railbus team.
Further development in the 2000s
Interim use by the Wegberg-Wildenrath test center
In the Expo year 2000, the coal washing plant of the former Sophia-Jacoba colliery was temporarily used as a processing hall for ICE multiple units at the Wegberg-Wildenrath test center . This led to the curious fact that ICE transfers took place on the route (diesel ICEs could run on their own, while electric multiple units had to be taken over by diesel locomotives with protective wagons from the end of the overhead line at the Ratheim level crossing ) and so the Ratheim station the unofficial ICE operational stop was.
Closure of the Baal – Ratheim section
In order to separate from the route Baal Gbf - Ratheim, which was used for freight traffic until 2007, this route was put out to tender by DB Netz . The electrified line, which was in good structural condition at the time, had good conditions for economic operation in both passenger and freight traffic through an intermunicipal industrial park and the Hückelhoven thermal power station, which is why the Hückelhoven Green Local Association demanded that the line be secured. In its 2013 target concept, the Aachen Transport Association also provided for the reactivation of the route (Wassenberg–) Ratheim - Baal for passenger traffic. However, these plans contrasted with the intention of the city of Hückelhoven to partially build over the route after the end of residual goods traffic with the 117n road.
Since the overhead line was switched off in August 2007, electrical traction on the line is no longer possible. On September 26, 2007, the last scheduled freight train left the Ratheim station. On October 1, 2007, the line was officially closed by the Federal Railway Authority . The switch in the Baal freight yard was then locked, but the official branch from the Aachen - Mönchengladbach line towards Baal West still exists. Despite the shutdown, a train last ran on March 26, 2008 for the purpose of removing the SJ works locomotives 14, 15 and 16 as a blocking trip over the route.
Dismantling and plans by the city of Hückelhoven for a new country road (L 117n) on the route
At the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009, the first dismantling measures were started in the Ratheim area: On November 24, 2008, the level crossing in Ratheim-Busch was dismantled and on February 2, 2009 the Ratheim signal box was demolished. In the years 2011 to 2012, the tracks from Doveren to the northern entrance to Hückelhoven were dismantled. A buffer stop has been in place behind the extension in Baal since August 2010, behind which the tracks run partially interrupted only to Doveren. All level crossings in the direction of Ratheim were dismantled and the signal systems removed.
The city of Hückelhoven bought the railway line from Baal to Ratheim from DB Netz AG in order to be able to use it for the construction of the new L 117n relief road. The city's sales contract with DB stipulated that the railway would be allowed to dismantle the tracks. The city then submitted an application to the Federal Railway Authority for de-dedication .
On the other hand, resistance formed on the part of the population, which resulted in the establishment of a citizens' initiative (IG Ratheimer Bahn). Their reasoning is that once the route has been deedicated, reactivation would not be possible without lengthy procedures. Because then, legally, it would be as if there had never been a railway line there. The citizens' initiative fears that in the event of de-dedication, the railway line in Hückelhoven would be built over, as it was in Wassenberg, and a reactivation option for future generations would be blocked. The IG Ratheimer Bahn argues that the city of Hückelhoven would gamble away important future opportunities with a deedication, especially against the background of climate change, the rapidly rising fuel prices and the competition for locations with other municipalities of the same size. However, the initiative also identifies with the goal of relieving the through traffic of Ratheim and Millich and therefore proposed an optimized planning of the L 117n taking into account the dedicated railway line.
The city initially failed with its application for deedication, which the Federal Railway Office rejected on January 15, 2013. At the beginning of 2015, however, the Federal Railway Authority issued a notice of exemption for the section Hückelhoven Stadtmitte - Ratheim after the city had filed a lawsuit with the administrative court in Aachen. The construction of the L 117n could begin in winter 2015. The development plan does provide for a route for a future railway line between the L 117n and Jacobastraße, but this is not dedicated to railway law, which means that future reactivation would legally mean a new building.
Reactivation of the route from Jülich to Linnich
The Dürener Kreisbahn (DKB) decided to reactivate the section between Linnich and Jülich in 2002. This enabled the city of Linnich to be reached again by train (from Düren) for the first time in 34 years, now every hour.
| line | Line course | Tact |
|---|---|---|
| RB 21 |
Rurtalbahn : Linnich , SIG Combibloc - Tetz - Broich - Jülich North - Jülich - Research Center - Selgersdorf - Krauthausen - Selhausen - Huchem-Stammeln - Im Großer Tal - Düren As of: timetable change December 2015 |
30 min ( HVZ ) / 60 min |
Further reactivation and expansion plans
To the north of Linnich, the line is also to be extended to the Aachen - Mönchengladbach DB line. The Heinsberg and Düren districts are currently (as of 2013) reactivating the route from Linnich via Baal to Hückelhoven and Ratheim with a time horizon of ten to twelve years. This variant was identified as the best variant in a feasibility study by the BVS - Rödel & Pachan and KCW expert offices. The extension from Baal to the north to Ratheim was included in the further investigation by the district of Heinsberg in order to be able to improve the benefit-cost ratio of the overall project. The citizens' initiative IG Ratheimer Bahn supports these reactivation plans.
A study on behalf of the Heinsberg district, which was presented to the responsible committee at the end of 2015, predicts a favored reactivation of the Baal – Ratheim line with a connection to and from Mönchengladbach, the potential of 6440 passengers per working day, which, according to the spokesman for IG Ratheimer Bahn, “even the the greatest optimists might be surprised ”.
At a joint meeting of the districts of Düren and Heinsberg in Hückelhoven on March 10, 2016, they asked the NVR to reactivate the Linnich - Baal - Ratheim route . You are referring to a feasibility study by a consulting firm. The reconstruction costs are estimated at 43 million euros. To close the gap to Baal, the municipalities offer to make an advance financial payment.
The NVR intends to have the reactivation of the Baal - Hückelhoven - Ratheim line examined as part of a feasibility study. In the event of a possible restart, the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr makes sense to connect the RB 35 Bottrop - Duisburg - Krefeld - Mönchengladbach line via Baal to Ratheim.
For the extension from Linnich to Baal, the NVR applied for inclusion in the public transport requirement plan and in the infrastructure financing plan in spring 2019. By closing the gap, a regionally important diagonal connection between the main lines Cologne-Aachen and Mönchengladbach-Aachen can be created.
In March 2020, a bridge damage between Tetz and Linnich meant that this section of the route could no longer be used until the bridge was renovated. Since then, passengers at the Tetz stop have had to change from the Rurtalbahn to the replacement bus or vice versa.
Route description
Jülich station
Jülich was of the greatest importance of all train stations in the region in the 1960s with station category 3. Until most of the lines were closed in the 1980s, Jülich was a railway junction, even if all lines were classified as branch lines: until the 1980s the Jülich station equipped with extensive facilities for passenger and freight transport, to 1962, there was a separate depot . Trains ran from Jülich in seven different directions. However, after all DB connections connected to Jülich were discontinued except for the Düren route, the importance of the station declined massively. Today the Rurtalbahn GmbH operates on two of these routes . It runs south on the Jülich – Düren railway line and northwards on the former Jülich – Dalheim line to Linnich . The stretch of the former Jülich Kreisbahn still exists, but is no longer used. All other railway lines in the Jülich region have now been dismantled, see also:
As a substitute, there are several bus lines that connect Jülich with the surrounding villages and towns. The SB 11 bus line also provides a connection to Aachen as a long-term replacement for the Aachen North – Jülich railway line .
The station building is now used as a cultural station (Cuba) for cinema, music and cabaret events.
The station still has sidings to the former Jülich repair shop, now owned by the Bundeswehr , and to the Jülich sugar factory . This connection was removed in the 1980s during the great demolition, as beet deliveries could be made cheaper by tractor and truck. Only in 2004 was the connection to the supply of the sugar factory's newly built in-house coal-fired power station restored. The old rectangular locomotive shed across from the sugar factory is still standing and was used by the Jülich Railway Amateur Club (EAKJ) to park its vehicles until the end of the 1990s. The roundhouse around the turntable, on the other hand, was demolished in 1979.
Jülich Nord stop
This stop is located on Röntgenstraße (km 1.2) and was rebuilt in the typical blue standard version of the Rurtalbahn as part of the reactivation of the line in 2002. There was no old breakpoint at this point before.
Jülich An den Aspen stop
The An den Aspen stop was put into operation on December 9, 2018. It is named after the street of the same name on which it is located. This station was supposed to be approached in 2013, but due to the uncertain financial situation, the date was repeatedly postponed until construction work started in November 2018 at km 2.2. The stop supports school traffic.
Broich stop
Broich had had access to the Jülich – Dalheim railway line at the Broich station at kilometer 4.3 since 1911. The station had a reception building with a goods shed and a pull-out siding. During the fighting on November 21 and 22, 1944, Broich got into the front line between the retreating Wehrmacht and the attacking Allies. Not only the entire village but also the entire train station were destroyed. The station building was not rebuilt after the war.
With the cessation of passenger traffic in 1968, the station was given up. When it was reactivated in 2002, Broich had access to rail traffic for the first time in 34 years (in the direction of Jülich / Düren and Linnich) via the newly built Broich stop, which is located directly at the southeast entrance to the village at kilometer 4.2 across from the cemetery. The old train station used to be about 100 m further north and no longer exists today.
Linnich-Tetz stop
The story of the Tetz station is analogous to that of Broich : Tetz had had access to the Tetz-Boslar station at km 6.3 since 1911, and the railway facilities were also given up in 1968. When it was reactivated in 2002, Tetz was given access to rail traffic for the first time in 34 years via the newly built Tetz stop on Birkenallee. The Tetz-Boslar train station is no longer served due to its less favorable location. The former reception building and the associated property were renovated and are now privately owned.
Linnich stop
When it was reactivated in 2002, Linnich had access to rail passenger transport for the first time in 34 years (in the direction of Jülich / Düren) via the newly built side platform with bus shelters at km 10.1 in front of the station building. The station is referred to as Linnich-SIG Combibloc in passenger traffic in timetables and on signs . It is approached at least every hour by regional sprinters of the Rurtalbahn.
Linnich also has the rail connection to SIG Combibloc GmbH . The connection is opposite to the direction of travel, so it can only be reached by changing the direction of travel at Linnich station. The connection has only been operated temporarily since the end of 2001, but is kept ready for operation in order to simplify a possible restart after a gap to the Mönchengladbach – Aachen railway line has been closed .
Linnich station
Linnich has had access to the Jülich – Dalheim railway line since 1911 with the Linnich train station on the right-hand side of the river (km 10.4). The station building and the former goods shed are still preserved today, have never been renovated and are now privately owned. At the rear of the station, part of the track system is still preserved. Directly behind the station area is a land trading company, which at least in the past was supplied via two freight tracks. These tracks are still preserved today and are used as siding. Behind the station area, the route runs parallel to Erkelenzer Straße until it ends at a buffer stop after about 600 m just before the B57.
Körrenzig train station
In 1911, the town of Körrenzig was connected to the railway network and, until 1968, a train station on the former Jülich - Dalheim line at kilometer point 12.2. This single-track railway used to run past Bahnhofsstraße in Körrenzig.
The railroad tracks between Linnich and Baal were finally dismantled with the closure of goods traffic in 1974. The station building was not demolished, but preserved, renovated and is now privately owned. The railway embankment is now partially used as a bicycle and walking path.
Rurich stop
The old Rurich stop (km 13.7) was then to the left of today's turning hammer on Hompesch Strasse. An old brick house (shelter) reminds of the breakpoint. Today it is privately owned and serves as a storage room. Since 2002, the former railway line between the Rurich sports field and Baal train station has served as a cycling and hiking trail.
Baal stop
In 1852 the Aachen – Mönchengladbach railway was opened by the Aachen-Neuss-Düsseldorfer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft and Baal was given a passenger and freight station. The street name Am alten Bahnhof still reminds of the original location.
In 1911 the passenger station was relocated west to line kilometer point 16.2. The reason was the newly opened Jülich - Dalheim railway line, which was in operation until 1980 . In order to be able to serve the two railway lines, the Baal tower station was built, which consisted of an upper and a lower stop. This design made it easier to change between the two routes. The upper Baal stop on the Aachen – Mönchengladbach railway line is still in operation.
After the Jülich – Dalheim route was closed, the station area was converted. On the previous route, a P + R parking lot was created on both sides of the main route. Today, the passage under the tracks offers regular bus services free passage.
The Baal train station ( category 5 train station ) was signposted with Hückelhoven-Baal in 2002 because Baal was part of the city of Hückelhoven , but is still called Baal in the operating location directory . Local politicians like to refer to it as the “Hückelhovener Bahnhof”, which is not very popular with the people of Baal. The station is in dire need of renovation and will be rebuilt by the city in the next few years.
Junction Baal West
In order to enable a transition between the two routes for the rail vehicles, a connecting curve was created between the Baal freight yard and the Baal-West junction at kilometer 17.3. This connecting curve runs along the northern outskirts of Baal and met the Jülich – Dalheim route at the Baal-West junction.
From this point on, there are no longer any tracks, because the switch connection between the two lines was removed after the line was dismantled towards the Baal stop. The track used to run straight under the tower station in the direction of Rurich . From the Baal-West stop, the line was also electrified. This was done after the electrification of the main line in order to have the heavy coal trains transported away from the Sophia-Jacoba colliery in Hückelhoven by means of electric locomotives . After the closure, the line was gradually dismantled. Today there is a buffer stop right behind the Baal junction.
Doveren stop
As the only place on the Baal Gbf – Ratheim Rbf railway line, Doveren had a still usable stop with a distance of 18.4 kilometers. This is at the entrance to Doverens. Today nothing remains of this stop apart from the edge of the platform.
Hückelhoven train station
The station building in Hückelhoven is still preserved, but is now privately used as a Chinese restaurant. It is located between Jülicher Straße (L 117) and Lippeweg at kilometer point 20.0.
Sophia-Jacoba colliery stop
After the route has passed the Millicher Halde on its eastern side, it reaches the former Sophia-Jacoba colliery stop shortly before Schaufenberger Strasse (km 21.7). Nothing is left of this breakpoint today. The breakpoint was removed after the colliery was closed. There is a second railway bridge behind the bridge crossing on Schaufenberger Straße. This connected the mine station of the Sophia-Jacoba colliery with the siding on the line.
Ratheim station
The railway line crossed Ratheim station with several tracks (km 23.5). At the end of the village there was an eight-track works station that was used by the briquette factory located in Hückelhoven.
The Ratheim station was for a long time the most important station in the Hückelhoven city area next to the Baal station due to the strong freight traffic and the branching off connections to the Sophia-Jacoba colliery; Ratheim train station once had 14 civil servants and freight traffic reached up to 60,000 freight wagons per year (e.g. 1987). Four to six so-called program trains (of the DB) drove per day (additional freight trains if required) and in-house transports between the colliery site in Ratheim and the processing (briquette factory) in Hückelhoven almost every block. As a result of the closure of the underground mining of the Sophia-Jacoba colliery, freight traffic fell sharply and only two freight trains per week ran sporadically. In 2009 the railway line, level crossing and the signal box of the mine railway in Ratheim were dismantled. The station building of Ratheim train station and the signal box are still preserved today.
Wassenberg station
The Wassenberg station building still exists and is located at the intersection of Bahnhofstrasse and Am Bahnhof. However, due to the extensive and careful renovation work on the street front, it can hardly be recognized as such. In contrast, in today's garden area, the platform roof, the platform edge and the original kilometer stone (28.1) are still preserved.
Since 1911 Wassenberg had its own train station on the Dalheim – Wassenberg – Ratheim – Hückelhoven – Baal line, which was closed in 1980 for passenger traffic.
After the closure, the tracks were removed in the Wassenberg area and the route was filled in in 2006 in some places. Nevertheless, after a tree felling operation from the Wassenberg train station in the direction of Ratheim, the old railway line is very clearly visible again from the respective road bridges. The Aachener Verkehrsverbund originally envisaged a reactivation of the line (Wassenberg) –Ratheim – Baal in its 2013 target concept [outdated] , which would have been tantamount to completely re-planning the line between the Ratheim industrial park and the Wassenberg town center.
Birgelen stop
Birgelen (km 29.6) was connected to the Jülich – Dalheim railway line until 1983. Part of the Birgelen stop has largely been demolished and overgrown. But you can still find the scaffolding of the station building. Today, however, nothing can be seen of the other part of the stop because it has been converted into a traffic roundabout in the Sandstrasse / Pützchensweg area. The route under the road bridge at the stop was filled in and the road widened. Today there is a playground at this point.
Rosenthal train station
On December 15, 1911, the Jülich – Dalheim line was opened. As part of this, the town north of the town center got a train station at kilometer 31.3 for freight and passenger traffic. Freight traffic was crucial for the construction of the station, as sand had been mined and processed in the nearby forest. Furthermore, there was at times a siding from Rosenthal to the nearby garbage dump. In 1983 the line was also closed for freight traffic and the tracks from Ratheim to Dalheim, including in Rosenthal, were dismantled in 1985. Numerous buildings belonging to the Wegberger sand works, for example a loading building or storage building north of the reception building, are still preserved today and some are used as residential buildings. The station building itself is still preserved today. It has been renovated, is used privately and is a listed building.
Dalheim train station
Of particular importance for Dalheim's local history was the construction of the Dalheim train station (km 20.1) on the cross-border railway line Iron Rhine as a connection from the Ruhr area to the port of Antwerp in 1879.
In the station, the line had its own waiting room at times, which was located behind the signal box Df. There were temporary transfers to passenger trains in the direction of Mönchengladbach and Roermond / Antwerp. At times, Dalheim train station was only served every two hours by regional sprinters from the Rurtalbahn Dürener Kreisbahn in the direction of Mönchengladbach . This connection has been operated by VIAS since December 2017 . The trains run every hour from Monday to Friday. Freight traffic does not take place here at the moment, but there are political considerations to reactivate it.
As a border station in the Netherlands, there were originally extensive freight tracks that were used for customs clearance. There was also a small depot in Dalheim to supply the steam locomotives used. From 1911 Dalheim became a branch station: on December 15, 1911, the Jülich – Dalheim line was opened, which ended at the eastern head of the station, directly at the Df signal box. The track in the direction of Jülich was given its own bypass track and a platform with a waiting hall. The station had its own direction groups for trains in the direction of Germany and the Netherlands, a goods shed with an attached ramp and locomotive handling systems including a locomotive shed, water tower and coal bunkers . The locomotive treatment facilities were abandoned and demolished in 1969, the water tower was blown up in 1974. The station building is no longer preserved today. It was damaged in a fire in 1979 and subsequently demolished. Passenger traffic in the direction of Baal was discontinued on September 27, 1980, goods traffic on the route could continue until 1983 until the Rosenthal landfill .
Today only the main track of the Iron Rhine and a stump track where the regional sprinter stops. A bus shelter and a ticket machine are available for travelers on the platform. In addition to these systems, the interlocking Df together with the associated form signals has been preserved. The signal box Dw, which used to be at the western head of the station, has now been torn down.
Train stations today
- The station buildings of the train stations in Jülich, Tetz, Linnich, Körrenzig, Baal, Wassenberg and Rosenthal are still preserved, but have been converted and renovated and are now used for private purposes.
- The stop in Doveren is in poor condition, but could not be used until the line was closed in 2007. B. be used for special trips. The tracks have been removed since 2012.
- Today (as of 2013) there is a Chinese restaurant in Hückelhoven station. The platform is enclosed with a wall.
- After the colliery was closed, Ratheim station was only manned when required (freight trains from the SJ briquette factory). Since the line was closed in 2007, the station building has only been used for private purposes. The tracks in front of the former train station were completely removed.
- Most of the Birgelen stop has been demolished and overgrown. But you can still find the scaffolding of the station building. The route under the road bridge at the stop was filled in and the road widened. Today there is a playground at this point.
- Dalheim station is now a regional train stop with only two tracks. In addition to the signal box, which is responsible for the route block between the German-Dutch state border near Dalheim and Wegberg, there are also former border apartments.
- At Baal West there is a buffer stop in the curve .
literature
- Bernd Franco Hoffmann: Disused railway lines in the Rhineland. Sutton-Verlag, Erfurt 2014, ISBN 978-3-95400-396-9 .
- Josef Lennartz: Railways in the Rhineland border region. A contribution to the recent economic history of the Heinsberg district. (= Museum publications of the Heinsberg district 6). District of Heinsberg, Heinsberg 1985, DNB 850942187 .
Web links
- Line 2540 (Jülich – Dalheim) in the NRWbahnArchiv by André Joost
- Driver's cab ride in the Euregiobahn Talent from Baal to Ratheim
- railroad-in-dalheim
- Baal-Ratheim railway line with freight train times
- Jülich – Dalheim railway line
Individual evidence
- ^ Hückelhoven station. Retrieved August 29, 2012 .
- ^ Wassenberg station. Retrieved August 29, 2012 .
- ↑ A train leaves Birgelen in the direction of Dalheim. Retrieved August 29, 2012 .
- ^ Rosenthal station. Retrieved August 29, 2012 .
- ↑ Dalheim train station. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007 ; Retrieved August 29, 2012 .
- ↑ End at the briquette factory (February 1, 2008)
- ↑ Hückelhoven hopes to work around it ( memento of the original from December 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article of the Rheinische Post from September 30, 2008, accessed on February 5, 2009.
- ↑ Baal-Ratheim railway line: No de-dedication , article in the Heinsberger Zeitung from January 18, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013.
- ^ Rurtalbahn from Linnich via Baal to Ratheim? , Article in the Heinsberger Zeitung of March 11, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013.
- ^ Meanwhile Hermann Friedrich Hans von Budde was Minister for Public Works
- ↑ Bernd Franco Hoffmann (2014): Disused railway lines in the Rhineland , p. 101 f. ( online )
- ↑ Timetable 1979. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; Retrieved August 29, 2012 . 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.
- ↑ it was hung with a funeral wreath (Hofmann (2014), p. 102)
- ↑ Turntable Online Forums :: 02 - General Forum :: ICEs in Ratheim (Kr. Heinsberg). Retrieved August 29, 2012 .
- ↑ Tendering for the Baal Gbf - Ratheim route from DB Netz ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Takeover of the Baal - Ratheim rail line, Die Grünen, Hückelhoven local association, May 12, 2006 ( Memento from October 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Hückelhoven: Rails of the railway line are silvered , article in the Heinsberger Zeitung of March 22, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013.
- ^ IG Ratheimer Bahn: L 117n and railway line no contradiction , article in the Heinsberger Zeitung of March 24, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013.
- ↑ Founding declaration of the IG Ratheimer Bahn ( memento of the original from March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 30, 2013.
- ^ L 117 new and rail possible , article in the Rheinische Post dated September 27, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013.
- ↑ Baal-Ratheim railway line: No de-dedication , article in the Heinsberger Zeitung from January 18, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013.
- ↑ Authority clears the route for the L 117n. In: Aachener Zeitung. March 2, 2015, accessed December 9, 2015 .
- ^ Rurtalbahn from Linnich via Baal to Ratheim? . In: Heinsberger Zeitung, March 11, 2013.
- ↑ Reactivation of the Baal-Ratheim railway line has potential . In: Aachener Zeitung, November 29, 2015.
- ↑ The train should run to Ratheim again in 2025 . In: Aachener Zeitung, March 11, 2016.
- ↑ Bahn Linnich-Baal-Hückelhoven is feasible according to a study . In: Rheinische Post, March 12, 2016.
- ^ Düren district wants rapid rail expansion. Press release Düren district, June 12, 2018, accessed on July 25, 2018 .
- ↑ VRR Local Transport Plan 2017 , ed. from Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr , accessed on March 10, 2017.
- ^ The Linnich - Hückelhoven-Baal railway line is to be reactivated. AVV, April 2, 2019, accessed on April 5, 2019 .
- ↑ https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?17,8599098
- ↑ Bernd Franco Hoffmann: Disused railway lines in the Rhineland , p. 99 ( online )
- ↑ VIAS takes over the Erft-Schwalm network. AVV, March 26, 2015, accessed on April 5, 2019 .
