Waimes – Stavelot railway line
| Waimes – Stavelot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route number : | Spoorlijn 45 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 17.1 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Waimes – Stavelot railway was a former cross-border railway between the German Empire and Belgium . Since 1919 it was completely on Belgian territory. Today it is completely dismantled and converted into a cycle path.
history
On December 1, 1885, the Waimes – Malmedy railway line was opened on what was then German territory by the Prussian State Railways as a branch line to the Vennbahn . The Malmedy – Stavelot section was opened on January 4, 1914 as a joint project between the Prussian railways and the Belgian state. Masta was the border post. In 1919 the region became Belgian territory and the entire railway became Belgian property.
During the construction of the E42 motorway , the Meiz tunnel was also extended on both sides. The originally horseshoe-shaped profile was converted for two rectangular extensions.
The railway was no longer used from May 18, 1983. After the closure of the Vennbahn between Raeren and Sourbrodt , the line was put back into operation on August 25, 1989 for the connection to Sourbrodt and the nearby Elsenborn military camp . The line was also used to transport wood from Büllingen to the Vennquerbahn . There were also tourist trips. In 2007, the line was finally taken out of service and the tracks were removed.
From 2010, the entire route (including the connection from Stavelot to Trois-Ponts ) was paved and a cycle path was set up ( Ravel 44 ). This includes the tunnels.