Zutphen – Winterswijk railway line

Zutphen - Winterswijk
Route length:	43.6 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C2
Dual track :	-
Legend from Arnhem from Amsterdam Tram from Emmerich Tram from Hengelo (Gelderland) Tram to / from Deventer 0.0 Zutphen 1.6 Nieuwstad from Leeuwarden from Enschede Berkel 7.0 Warken 11.8 Vorden (formerly connection to the Zutphen – Hengelo tram ) 17.5 Brandenborch formerly from Doetinchem 21.3 Ruurlo formerly to Hengelo 28.8 Beltrum-Zieuwent 33.9 Lichtenvoorde-Groenlo Groenlo – Zeddam tram Rijksweg 15 formerly of Neede 42.5 Winterswijk West 43.6 Winterswijk 38.7  m to Zevenaar to Bocholt to Borken Swell:

The route Zutphen – Winterswijk is a 43.6 kilometer long railway line in the Netherlands . It was opened on June 24, 1878 by the Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company and runs from Zutphen to Winterswijk in the province of Gelderland .

history

At the end of the 19th century, the textile industry grew in the Achterhoek region and especially in Winterswijk, which increasingly required a connection to the Dutch rail network.

The Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company was founded at the beginning of 1872 and on March 27 of the same year it was granted the concession to build a railway line from Zutphen to Winterswijk. The plans provided for a route over Vorden and Ruurlo , but a point of contention was the train station between Ruurlo and Winterswijk.

The shortest route ran between the two places Groenlo (north of the line) and Lichtenvoorde (south of the line), and both places required a connection to the railway line. For this reason, the place Lichtenvoorde acquired for 50,000 guilders in shares in the Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company and requested a train station on the south side of the place. Groenlo, on the other hand, sought support from the neighboring communities of Eibergen, Neede and Borculo for an alternative plan that would also connect these places with a common train station.

The Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company ultimately chose the shortest route for the route with a shared train station between Lichtenvoorde and Groenlo, called "Lichtenvoorde-Groenlo" and located in the small town of Lievelde. In order to get a better connection to the railway, both places built trams: first from Groenlo to Lievelde in 1883 (closed in 1922), then in 1902 from Lievelde to Lichtenvoorde, which then continued to Zeddam on the Zutphen-Emmerich tram (closed in 1953 ).

Eibergen and Neede were connected to the rail network in 1884 with the Winterswijk – Neede railway line , which was closed again in 1937.

service

The route is only served in local traffic and only between the two terminal stations in Zutphen and Winterswijk. The Stoptrein 30800 is operated by Arriva Personenvervoer Nederland with diesel-electric articulated multiple units GTW 2/6 or 2/8 from Stadler Rail . From Monday to Friday there are two trains per hour, from 7.30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays only one train per hour.

Trivia

When the De Jong cabinet at that time was planning to close unprofitable regional lines, a protest took place on January 24, 1970, during which a regional train from Winterswijk to Zutphen, which was still operated by the Dutch State Railways at that time, was "attacked" by "Indians" on horseback .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Track plan of the routes in Gelderland
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .