Nordbahntrasse
The Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal is an approximately 22 km long, broadly developed foot, bike and inline skater path on the former railway lines 2423 ( Rhenish route ) and 2713 ( coal railway ). It runs on a west-east axis along the northern slope of the Wuppertal city area. The northern railway line is considered to be the world's longest inner-city former railway line. On the route there are bridges and viaducts with a total length of one and a half kilometers as well as five tunnels with a total of two kilometers. The route leads past numerous testimonies to Wuppertal's industrial and transport history, past residential areas, monuments and geological features, which are described on 50 accompanying boards.
Wuppertal can be a challenge for cyclists because of its narrow valley and steep slopes. With the continuous and mostly at ground level north railway line, a spacious and urban-significant alternative route was created for the first time, in the immediate catchment area of one kilometer on both sides of the line over 100,000 people live. Numerous schools and public institutions with the city centers of Elberfeld and Barmen are in the vicinity of the route and can therefore be reached at any time via the footpath and bike path.
The Nordbahntrasse connects Wuppertal to the national cycle path network ( corkscrew route and Niederbergbahn in the west, Barmer Kohlenbahn in the east) and is part of the Bergisches Panorama cycle path. The ten kilometers of the route, which lead through inner-city areas, are six meters wide and illuminated at night. In the outer areas of the city, the route is three and a half to four meters wide.
history
Building history
At the end of 2005, under the leadership of Carsten Gerhardt, plans were concretized in parts of the Wuppertal citizenship to convert the railway lines that were closed in 1991 into a leisure route. This should connect people from different parts of the city on foot and lead them out of the city into nature without crossing.
The non-profit association Wuppertal Movement, founded on February 6, 2006, prepared a feasibility study, which it presented to the public in spring 2006. The estimated costs were 16 million euros, for which 80 percent funding was in prospect. With intensive public relations work in the media, associations and political bodies at municipal and state level, the Wuppertal movement was able to create a positive climate for the project. The representatives of the city of Wuppertal also responded positively to the study, but indicated that the city did not have the financial and human resources to implement the idea.
With broad support from the population, the Wuppertal movement was able to clear the route in hands-on activities, build a demonstration piece in Wichlinghausen, write applications for funding from the state and the EU and successfully obtain financial support from many local companies and citizens. In this way, donations and donation commitments totaled around 3.3 million euros. so that the financing of the necessary own funds was secured by mid-2008. Among other things, the Dr. Werner Jackstädt Foundation donated one million euros, and numerous other companies support the project with large donations. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU made the requested funding available.
In 2009, the city transferred responsibility for the construction and 20-year operation of the route to the non-profit subsidiary Wuppertaler Nordbahntrassen GmbH, which had meanwhile been founded by the Wuppertal movement . The rails were removed, the path leveled and, in spring 2010, the first two and a half kilometers between Wuppertal-Rott and Ostersbaum expanded with voluntary citizen engagement and the participation of the second labor market (Wichernhaus Wuppertal, Society for Vocational Education and Training [GBA]).
In the summer of 2010, the city took over the construction because of alleged violations of public procurement law . After a planning phase from 2011 to 2013, the city resumed construction activities in view of the funding that expired at the end of 2014. Nevertheless, important construction sections such as the bridges and viaducts Wüstenhofer Straße, Uellendahler Straße, Sedanstraße, Westkotter Straße, Montagstraße, Max-Planck-Straße could not be completed on time, so that the necessary construction work in the following years would have to be carried out with ongoing operations and without funding. In the meantime, the city has demolished the historic bridges Wüstenhofer Strasse and Max-Planck-Strasse against the protest of the Wuppertal movement and replaced them with new buildings.
The route was inaugurated on December 19, 2014 after a total cost of over 30 million euros and has been continuously navigable since then. As a public street, it is dedicated to the city of Wuppertal and bears the name of its founder after the largest individual sponsor, the Jackstädt Foundation, and is called Dr.-Werner-Jackstädt-Weg .
In 2015 the project received the German Bicycle Prize in the “Infrastructure” category.
Second job market and permanent civic engagement
An essential part of the construction and financing concept was the integration of the second labor market in the renovation and the subsequent maintenance. Participants of the Wichernhauses non-profit GmbH and the GBA Gesellschaft für Berufsausundbildung mbH have put in more than 300,000 hours for paving, laying empty pipes, concreting, site work, retaining wall renovation, removing tunnel cladding and green waste, among other things. Above all, due to the reduction in the number of participants in the measures and the time pressure towards the end of the project, the original plans could not be fully implemented. The support from the second labor market continues after production. The route maintenance department of the Wichernhaus continues to maintain the northern railway line.
Citizens' commitment to the Nordbahntrasse has also proven to be permanent. In new agreements with the city, the participation of the Wuppertal movement in the further development of the northern railway line is stipulated. More than 70 schools, companies and individual citizens help as route sponsors to keep the northern railway route in good condition and, despite the sometimes very heavy use in the inner-city areas, to shape cooperation.
Species protection
Species protection issues played a major role in the development and implementation of the project. Bats live in several tunnels and belong to the strictly protected species, in NRW one of the so-called planning-relevant species. In addition, the embankment enabled an inner-city biotope network for many plant and animal species. The discussion led to compromises, including the route (the Tesche tunnel is reserved for bats, as is a tube of the Schee tunnel), the renovation measures, the construction process (no construction work during the protection period) and the tunnel lighting. An initiated monitoring should report on the development of the bat population. The results obtained so far do not suggest any negative effects on the bat population.
Lived railway history
In addition to the five tunnels (up to 722 m long) and several viaducts with a view of the city, the lived railway history of the northern railway line is an attraction. In addition to three old station buildings that are privately owned, there are two stations (Wichlinghausen and Loh) on the Nordbahntrasse, which have been restored in their old form. In addition, a 1.6 km long track with switches and signals has been preserved at Loh train station, on which the Wuppertal Movement eV railway group offers a free trolley ride on Sunday afternoons in the summer and by appointment. There are also memories of earlier uses, such as old milestones and stop signs.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reiner Rhefuß, Industrial Culture along the Nordbahntrasse, Wuppertal, 1st edition 2017, ISBN 978-3-9816981-2-1
- ↑ Panorama-Radwege NRW, Stage 2: Wuppertaler Nordbahn / Jackstädt Weg In: panorama-radwege.bahntrassenradeln.de , accessed on October 10, 2017.
- ↑ Project schedule northern railway line in: wuppertalbewegung.de , accessed on 10 October 2017th
- ↑ Feasibility study for a pedestrian and cycle path on the Nordbahntrasse In: nordbahntrasse.de , accessed on October 10, 2017 (PDF; 372 kB)
- ↑ Acquiring financial support In: nordbahntrasse.de , accessed on October 10, 2017.
- ↑ Nordbahntrasse is also to be funded as part of the Erlebnis.NRW tourism competition. In: Wuppertal Movement of May 27, 2008
- ↑ a b Wuppertal Movement: Clear the way for the most beautiful leisure route . In: Westdeutsche Zeitung of March 13, 2007
- ^ Michael Renner: Barmenia press release . In: LayerMedia from February 12, 2008
- ↑ Sponsors ( memento from June 24, 2010 on WebCite ) In: Wuppertal Movement, accessed on October 17, 2014
- ↑ Public law contract - draft for the production, operation and maintenance of the Nordbahntrasse In: nordbahntrasse.de , accessed on October 10, 2017 (PDF; 258 kB)
- ↑ Planned demolition of the Max-Planck-Straße bridge irresponsible In: nordbahntrasse.de , accessed on October 10, 2017.
- ↑ Dedication of the Nordbahntrasse in the Wuppertal urban area under road law ( memento of the original from October 10, 2017 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. In: wuppertal.de , accessed on October 10, 2017.
- ↑ Nordbahntrasse wins German bicycle award. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung of May 18, 2015.
- ↑ Wichernhaus non-profit GmbH and the GBA Society for professional training and further education mbH ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) 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.
- ↑ One-euro jobbers less and less and in great demand . Westdeutsche Zeitung of January 29, 2012, accessed October 17, 2014
- ↑ City of Wuppertal - Thanks to the godparents of the Nordbahntrasse ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2017 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. In: wuppertal.de , accessed on October 10, 2017.
- ↑ Protected species in North Rhine-Westphalia, 2007
- ↑ On the trail of the bats . Retrieved October 11, 2014
- ↑ Submission by the city of Wuppertal for the meeting of the environmental committee on June 27, 2017 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved October 6, 2017
- ↑ Driving a trolley on the Loh | Wuppertalbewegung eV In: nordbahntrasse.de , accessed on October 10, 2017.
