Winterswijk – Zevenaar railway line

Winterswijk – Zevenaar
Stadler GTW of Arriva near Varsseveld (2018)
Route length:	49.6 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Top speed:	100 km / h
Train control :	ATB NG
Legend from Zutphen by Neede Winterswijk West 0.000 Winterswijk 1, 000 Winterswijk GOLS to Borken (Westf) and to Bocholt Boven slings 6.500 Crap 8.600 Bredevoort Small train Lichtenvoorde – Bocholt 11.955 Aalten 16.300 Lintelo from Dinxperlo 20,435 Varsseveld 26.700 Silvolde Kleinbahn Lievelde – Zeddam 27,330 Terborg 28.693 Gaanderen Bielheimerbeek 30.200 Gaanderen-Oosselt A 18 Doetinchem Stadium from Hengelo 33.614 Doetinchem Oude IJssel 34.300 Doetinchem West (formerly Doetinchem Wijnbergen) 36,000 Doetinchem De Huet 39.249 Wehl 41.000 Quiet forest 45,418 Didam A 12 / E 35 Zevenaar Poort by Emmerich 49.000 Zevenaar GOLS 49.600 Zevenaar to Arnhem

The Winterswijk – Zevenaar railway has been connecting Winterswijk with Zevenaar since July 15, 1885 . The railway line was part of the network of small railways in Twente and the Achterhoek , which had been laid by the Geldersch-Overijsselsche Lokaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (GOLS). The railway between Winterswijk and Zevenaar is the only line of this former company that is still in operation.

history

Former reception building of Winterswijk GOLS (2008)

The railway was built by GOLS, which established a network of small railways in the eastern Netherlands in the 1880s. These lines were initially built for the transport of goods for the textile factories in Twente. The Winterswijk – Neede line went into operation in 1884, followed by the Winterswijk – Zevenaar line a year later. In Winterswijk, an independent Winterswijk GOLS station was built west of the Winterswijk station of the Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company (NWE). There was a connection between the two stations via a shunting track, the space in between was expanded for shunting operations until the First World War. In Zevenaar, the railway also had its own small station.

In 1892 a connection to the Arnhem – Emmerich line was built in Zevenaar . This created a direct connection between Arnhem and Winterswijk train station . Initially, the track was used exclusively for freight traffic. From 1918, the GOLS relocated passenger traffic via the connection to the Zevenaar station of the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (NRS) and gave up the small station. In the 1920s, Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HIJSM) took over GOLS and dissolved the company in 1928. As a result, HIJSM ceased operations on the unprofitable routes. Until 1935, with the exception of the section from Winterswijk to Zevenaar, all railways of the former GOLS had no passenger traffic. In 1936, the HIJSM also gave up the small station in Winterswijk and moved the trains to the state station.

The traffic was initially carried out by GOLS itself. In 1920 the lines of the company were taken over by the HIJSM. A little later, the remaining railway companies began an intensive collaboration, which in 1938 led to the merger to form the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). The NS operated the former GOLS route for around 70 years. In 1999, train operations between Winterswijk and Doetinchem were transferred to Syntus . Two years later the section from Doetinchem to Zevenaar followed. Over time, Syntus has been heavily criticized for failures and delays on this route, too short trains and disruptions on the same. In 2010, Syntus had to pay a fine of 35,000 euros to the province of Gelderland . In 2012 Syntus lost the concession for the Achterhoek to Arriva . In addition to Arriva, Hermes trains also operate on the Arnhem – Doetinchem route under the Breng brand.

Train stations and buildings

Terborg railway station

Although the Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company already had a train station in Winterswijk, the GOLS trains stopped at the independent Winterswijk GOLS station after the line to Zevenaar opened. The former station building of the NWE station served as the station building, which was replaced by a new building. In 1908 the expansion of the station was completed. In Zevenaar, too, the GOLS had its own station building near the existing NRS station.

As with most railways, the GOLS station buildings were standardized. The stations in Aalten , Varsseveld , Terborg , Doetinchem and Zevenaar received the largest version, the two-storey buildings had a rectangular floor plan and the gable side was oriented towards the street or the platforms. Terborg and Doetinchem also had a goods shed. The stations Bredevoort , Wehl and Didam received a single-storey station building. The station buildings were enlarged in the first two decades of the 20th century. All buildings were given an additional floor. In most cases, a goods shed was built or expanded. The station building in Zevenaar was expanded in 1910 and 1915. In 1918, however, the train service was relocated to the NRS station. The former station building of the GOLS was demolished in 1974.

1930s

In 1935, most of the stops along the railway line and Bredevoort station were closed, only the Doetinchem Wijnbergen station remained. The stop had meanwhile been equipped with a large waiting room. In 1959 it was replaced by a “ Standaardtype Vierlingsbeek ” building, and in 1966 it was renamed Doetinchem West . With the commissioning of the Doetinchem Huet station in 1985, the station was closed; the building was preserved. Winterswijk GOLS station was closed in 1936, the building has been preserved and serves as a museum.

Partial dismantling

Station Doetinchem De Huet (2011)

In the 1970s and 1980s, the equipment was mostly greatly simplified and some station buildings were demolished. The station buildings of Wehl and Didam were replaced in 1973 by standard buildings of the type "Standaard Douma" by the Dutch architect Cees Douma . Wehl's building was demolished in 2010. The “GOLS-groot” station building in Varsseveld, built in 1884, was demolished in 1980 and replaced by a waiting hall. The station building in Doetinchem gave way in 1983 to a new building by architect PAM Kilsdonk . The Doetinchem de Huet stop, opened in 1985, received a standardized waiting hall of the “Vorstadshaltes” type. by the Dutch architect J. (Hans) Bak.

As part of the Stadsregiorail project, there are plans to build a second station in Zevenaar called Zevenaar Poort near the Groot Holthuizen district. The targeted location is near the intersection with Rijksweg 12 .

On December 10, 2006, the former Gaanderen stop, more than a kilometer from the Terborg station, reopened. The stop existed from 1927 to 1934. The station has a platform.

On June 28, 2013 it was announced that the province of Gelderland was planning to invest 41.5 million euros in improving the route. This concerns, among other things, the construction of a second line track over a length of 4.5 kilometers between Zevenaar and Didam, the construction of a bicycle tunnel in Zevenaar East and toilets in the stations. The provincial government wanted to decide on the proposals after the summer of 2013.

Rail operations

At the beginning there were only a few passenger trains on the route between Winterswijk and Zevenaar every day. Additional trains ran between Zevenaar and Doetinchem, which were tied directly to Ruurlo . The timetable for this route was later condensed, and from 1918 onwards most trains ran to and from Arnhem. At the end of the 1930s there was a train every two hours between Winterswijk and Arnhem. An additional train ran every two hours between Doetinchem and Arnhem. This train was extended from Arnhem to Ede-Wageningen and Amersfoort . With the beginning of the Second World War this connection was suspended. In 1947, a fixed hourly service between Winterswijk and Arnhem was introduced. A few years later, additional amplifiers drove between Doetinchem and Arnhem at peak times. These HVZ compressors were expanded over the years and soon ran for the entire day. When the new Spoorslag '70 timetable came into effect , this resulted in a real half-hourly service. The offer was later extended to the weekends.

In 1999 Syntus took over the operation of the Winterswijk – Doetinchem route. The company's trains ran between the two places every half hour, only on Sunday mornings and mornings the frequency was thinned to an hour. The continuous connection no longer existed until Syntus took over the entire route in 2001, so travelers had to change trains in Doetinchem. After 2001 there was a continuous half-hourly service between Winterswijk and Arnhem. In the morning rush hour, amplifiers also drove between Arnhem and Zevenaar, which were extended to Doetinchem from 2003. Since 2009, these amplifiers have been running every half hour until the early evening, so that there is a quarter of an hour between Zevenaar and Doetinchem. Until December 9, 2012 the amplifiers did not stop at Doetinchem De Huet.

Vehicle use

Train crossing of DM 90 and LINT 41 in Doetinchem (2009)

For a long time steam trains ran between Winterswijk and Arnhem. The train service between Doetinchem and Amersfoort, introduced in 1937, was carried out with diesel multiple units of the omBC series until the beginning of the Second World War . During and shortly after the Second World War, only steam trains ran on the route again. At the beginning of the 1950s, railcars of the Mat '34 series ran some circuits between Winterswijk and Arnhem. From 1955, only diesel multiple units of the DE1 series drove on the route. From 1963, some of the trips were made with class DE3 (Plan U) railcars . During the rush hour, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen used class DE5 ("Dieselvijf") railcars. From 1972 push- pull trains ran between Winterswijk and Arnhem during rush hour . The DE5 railcars also ran between Doetinchem and Arnhem until they were decommissioned in 1974. The push-pull trains were on the route until the summer of 1987. In the summer of 1983 and in the winter of 1984/85, sets with three DE1 railcars operated in their place. From 1987, only DE3 railcars operated.

In the summer of 1996, trial operation began with the new DM 90 multiple unit on the Doetinchem – Arnhem route. From November 1996 the trains to Winterswijk also ran with this series. After the takeover, Syntus initially also used rented units of this series, most of the traffic was carried out with LINT 41 railcars . Since the takeover by Arriva and Brent, railcars of the Stadler GTW type have been operating on the route .

future

In the future, the Didam – Zevenaar section is to be expanded and a second track will be added. The objectives of the measure are a better and faster connection and a higher train speed. In addition, the level crossing at Babberichseweg is to be replaced by a tunnel to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. The construction work has been carried out by the Strukton company since October 2018 and the track extension is to be completed by the end of 2019. The construction of the tunnel, on the other hand, should continue until spring 2020.

See also

• List of railway lines in the Netherlands

Web links

• Martijn van Vulpen: Spoorlijn Winterswijk - Zevenaar. In: martijnvanvulpen.nl. (Dutch). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Railway Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck - Winterswijk . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, ISBN 3-927587-11-7 , p. 45-47 .
2. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Railway Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck - Winterswijk . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, ISBN 3-927587-11-7 , p. 16-18 .
3. ↑ station Wehl. In: stationsweb.nl. Retrieved May 3, 2015 (Dutch). 
4. ^ Station Varsseveld. In: stationsweb.nl. Retrieved May 3, 2015 (Dutch). 
5. ^ Station Doetinchem. In: stationsweb.nl. Retrieved May 3, 2015 (Dutch). 
6. ^ Station Doetinchem De Huet. In: stationsweb.nl. Retrieved May 3, 2015 (Dutch). 
7. ↑ Gelderland zet in op spoorverbetering Arnhem-Winterswijk. In: OV Pro.nl. June 28, 2013, accessed July 1, 2013 (Dutch). 
8. ↑ Spoorverdubbeling Zevenaar - Didam. In: prorail.nl. ProRail, accessed March 13, 2019 (Dutch). 
9. ↑ Spoorverbetering Arnhem-Winterswijk. In: gelderland.nl. Provincie Gelderland, accessed March 13, 2019 (Dutch).