Münster – Enschede railway line
The Münster – Enschede railway is a 64-kilometer, single-track , non-electrified branch line from Münster via Gronau in North Rhine-Westphalia to Enschede in the Netherlands .
The regional train RB 64 "Euregio-Bahn" runs on it .
The Münster-Enscheder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (MEE) planned the route and started construction, which was then completed by the Royal Westphalian Railway Company (KWE), which is financed by the Prussian state .
history
After the KWE had taken over the Münster-Hammer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft and its railway line to Münster in 1855 , it built it further north in 1856 . In Rheine it was then connected to the Emsland line to Emden of the Royal Hanover State Railways and via this to the Almelo – Salzbergen railway of the Spoorweg-Maatschappij Almelo-Salzbergen .
In 1870, MEE was granted the concession to build a new line in the direction of the Netherlands and construction started from Münster to Enschede. When it became insolvent in 1874, the KWE took over the construction of the line to Gronau. The last section to Enschede was then built in cooperation with the Dortmund-Gronau-Enscheder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (DGEE) and subsequently operated jointly.
The opening of this new line took place on September 30, 1875, on the same day the DGEE inaugurated the last section between Coesfeld and Enschede of the Dortmund – Enschede railway line . The section to Enschede was officially opened for passenger traffic a good two weeks later on October 15, 1875.
As a result of the Second World War, this section was then out of service between 1940 and 1951. Freight traffic was finally stopped in autumn 1979, and regular passenger traffic exactly two years later on September 26, 1981. On March 1, 1982, the conversion into a branch line took place, before the line was shut down with a special trip on June 15, 1985. At the beginning of the 1990s the idea arose to build a Euregio cycle path on the route. However, these plans were not pursued any further. In 1996 a Dutch-German working group was founded with the aim of putting the line back into operation. Initially, around 2000 travelers per day were expected. On November 18, 1998, an agreement under public law was signed to restart the local rail transport between Enschede and Gronau. A short time later, the first construction work began, so that the line could be reopened on November 16, 2001. The stops Glanerbrug and Enschede De Eschmarke were added.
Although the route to the Nevinghoff is identical to the route to Rheine for the first few kilometers, the Royal Westphalian Railway built a separate track parallel to the existing route. It was only dismantled during the repair work after the Second World War. This track, known as the “Gronauer Stummel”, has since ended in front of the bridge over Stolbergstrasse in Münster.
A special feature of the railway line is the Metelen Land Railway Museum at the Metelen Land stop.
Significance and service offer
Since the cross-border section was put back into operation, the RB 64 Euregio-Bahn has been running every hour between Münster and Enschede along its entire length . There is a half-hourly service between Gronau and Enschede, alternating with the RB 51 Westmünsterland-Bahn , which is operated by DB Regio NRW (the route was temporarily served by Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH ). In Enschede there are connections to the Dutch Intercity to Amersfoort - Schiphol Airport , - Rotterdam or Utrecht - The Hague and to the Sprinter Almelo - Zwolle and Almelo - Deventer - Apeldoorn . 2–3 diesel multiple units of the type Bombardier Talent are used for normal trains . As a rush hour amplifier, trains are occasionally driven in single units. The average speed is around 49 km / h.
The extension to Enschede resulted in a disproportionate increase in passenger numbers. Today the Euregio-Bahn is one of the most important connections in western Münsterland and is used by thousands of commuters every day. At the weekend, many passengers are on their way to Enschede to the local market. Many Dutch people also use the Euregio-Bahn to go for a stroll through Münster, for example. On weekdays, many students also use the train on their way from Münster to the Steinfurt location of the Münster University of Applied Sciences . The capacities are therefore very much in demand during rush hour .
There are additional late connections on the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday as well as before public holidays. Since December 2014, these have also been running on weekdays. The timetable has also been expanded to include an additional train on weekends.
The line was tendered as part of the Western Münsterland diesel network under the leadership of the Westphalia-Lippe Local Transport Association (NWL). The line is operated by DB Regio AG, Region NRW . The vehicles used are modernized Talent- type diesel multiple units.
Rates
The Westphalian tariff also applies to Enschede in the transition. The OV-chipkaart with the tariff of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) is used for journeys only on the Glanerbrug - De Eschmarke - Enschede section in the Netherlands . In contrast to the German tariff offers, these tickets cannot be bought and checked in at the machine on the train. For the Schöne-Tag-NRW Ticket and the Schöne-Fahrt-NRW Ticket, a transitional regulation applies, with which you can also travel from Germany to Enschede and back. The Quer -übers-Land-Ticket and free travel for the severely disabled are also valid on the entire route.
development
The route is part of the DB regional network Münster-Ostwestfalen (MOW) based in Münster. On November 23, 2008, DB Netz AG put an electronic signal box (ESTW) into operation in Coesfeld. The ESTW has so far controlled the traffic on the Münster - Enschede route including the branch to Coesfeld. For timetable change 2008/2009, the line speed in the section Munster Center North was - Burgsteinfurt (h previously 80 km / and 90 km / h) to 100 km / h increases.
Since the utilization of the trains has continued to increase in recent years, which is attributed to the commuter traffic to the Steinfurt University of Applied Sciences and the increase in attractiveness due to the modernization, the connection is increasingly reaching its capacity limit. Therefore, in February 2012 , the ZVM initiated the discussion about electrification, which would enable double-decker cars to be used. From a purely technical point of view, it would also be possible to use double-deck cars that are pulled by diesel locomotives. In this regard, test drives between Münster and Gronau took place in April 2014. Diesel locomotives , however, would not be as economical as electric locomotives .
In September 2012, the Münster district government published a list of rail projects that are to be included in the new federal transport infrastructure plan (planned for 2015). This also includes electrification of the Münster - Enschede railway line. The reason given is the "increase in line speed and increase in clock frequency through electrification and the selective double-track expansion to enable two-way traffic with increased frequency". In general, an expansion to every half hour is planned. For this purpose, another platform and another track were built at Münster Zentrum Nord station. The inauguration took place on May 7, 2018. Then the train encounters will take place there, which will now take place on the open stretch just before the station. The introduction of a full-day, half-hourly service, as required in the local transport plan, then continues to fail due to the lack of an alternative point between Altenberge and Nordwalde.
In May 2014, the Federal Ministry of Transport published a list of all project registrations for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 . Neither electrification nor a selective double-track expansion of the Münster - Gronau railway line is listed. Only the section 'Gronau - D / NL border' is required to be “upgraded for cross-border traffic”.
Planning
In November 2019, the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL) published the concept of a possible S-Bahn Münsterland. This provides for a half-hourly S-Bahn between Münster and Gronau, which is supplemented by another S-Bahn line to Steinfurt-Burgsteinfurt during rush hour. The S-Bahn will also stop at the new Münster Kinderhaus station. The S-Bahn line should run once an hour via Gronau to Enschede. In addition to the S-Bahn service, there is an hourly RE line from Hamm to Zwolle, which only stops in Steinfurt-Borghorst, Steinfurt-Burgsteinfurt, Ochtrup and Gronau between Münster and Enschede. The offer requires full electrification of the route, a connection to the Dutch network, four additional intersection and meeting stations and a block consolidation between Münster Zentrum Nord and Münster Hauptbahnhof. A simplified version with “reduced infrastructure expansion” could, however, also be implemented in the medium term.
Web links
NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost:
further evidence:
- Route timetable RB 64 (pdf) Zweckverband SPNV Münsterland (ZVM; 67 KiB)
- The railway in Gronau
- Article on ESTW Coesfeld in the Allgemeine Zeitung (AZ)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the operating agency ENBE in NRWbahnarchiv until 2001 Nienberge until 2004 Nienberge-Haeger, by 2008 the station
- ^ Press release of the NWL from January 9th, 2009: Call for tenders for the "Westliches Münsterland" rail network has started
- ↑ The Münster – Enschede railway route is to become a power line. February 15, 2012, accessed December 31, 2014 .
- ↑ Double-decker on test drive. Westfälische Nachrichten, April 24, 2014, accessed on December 31, 2014 .
- ↑ Reorganization of the BVWP - project registration for the rail sector, Annex 1. (PDF; 4.7 MiB) Münster district government, September 17, 2012, archived from the original on December 9, 2016 ; Retrieved December 28, 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.
- ^ New train station for the north center. May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
- ↑ Overview of the current projects and the projects proposed for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan, page 10. (PDF; 670 KiB) Federal Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, May 5, 2014, accessed on March 25, 2016 .
- ↑ Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe, 56th Association Assembly, December 5, 2019, S-Bahn Münsterland, page 15
