Rhine Express
The Rhein-Express ( RE 5 (RRX) ) is an hourly, cross-state regional express line in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate belonging to the Rhein-Ruhr-Express network . It connects Wesel , Düsseldorf , Cologne and Bonn with Koblenz along the Rhine .
The line is commissioned by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland (NVR) and the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL) for NRW as well as the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland-Pfalz Nord (SPNV-Nord) and the Nordhessischer VerkehrsVerbund (NVV) operated by National Express Rail GmbH .
For the final completion of the RRX network, the line will only serve the section between Wesel and Düsseldorf. The stops to the south of Düsseldorf, which were then no longer available, will be served by the RRX 4 and RRX 6 lines.
history
The Rhein-Express was formed in 1998 with the introduction of the integral regular -cycle timetable ( NRW-Takt ) by linking two train routes that had previously ended in Cologne. Initially, the RE 5 stopped at all subway stations and was therefore more like a regional train .
When ITF 2 was introduced in December 2002, the train became significantly faster with the elimination of a number of intermediate stops and all overtaking by long-distance traffic and the increase of the planned maximum speed to 160 km / h. Between Cologne and Koblenz alone, the travel time has been reduced by over 30 minutes. Due to the acceleration and the simultaneous thinning of the pace between Emmerich and Wesel, the need for vehicles fell from nine to seven laps.
Since the timetable change in 2007, the Rhein-Express has been running hourly between Emmerich and Wesel again to compensate for the reduction in the frequency of the former regional train Der Weseler (RB 35) as a result of the cut in regionalization funds . In order to take long-distance traffic and the turning time in Emmerich into account, some weakly used stops every two hours against the load direction had to be omitted.
The problematic section of the route between Emmerich and Wesel was transferred to the new tender for the Rhein-IJssel-Express (RE 19) from December 2016, and since then the line has only operated from and to Wesel. Since the small timetable change in summer 2019, the line has continued to Emmerich , but only once a day at the edge of the day.
The line was operated from 1998 to June 2019 by DB Regio NRW , Cologne-Deutzerfeld location. National Express has been operating the RE 5 (RXX) line since June 2019 .
Train run
In the course of the route, the Rhein-Express uses four different railway lines with eight different route numbers :
- the Oberhausen – Arnhem railway line between Wesel (formerly Emmerich) and Oberhausen (together with all regional, long-distance and freight trains),
- the Duisburg – Dortmund railway line between Oberhausen and Duisburg (total traffic without intermediate stops),
- the Cologne – Duisburg railway line continuously (long-distance tracks , see note below) and
- the left Rhine route between Cologne and Koblenz (together with all regional and long-distance trains).
On the four- to six-track section between Duisburg and Düsseldorf, the Rhein-Express continuously uses the long-distance tracks, as does the NRW-Express (RE 1) and the Rhein-IJssel-Express (RE 19). In contrast, the Rhein-Haard-Express (RE 2), the Rhein-Emscher-Express (RE 3), the Rhein-Weser-Express (RE 6) and the Rhein-Hellweg-Express (RE 11) use sections of the S -Bahn or - if available - the so-called local tracks.
Vehicle use
Originally, the Rhein-Express was with locomotives of the 110 series and six modernized n cars driven without driving car. In the course of 2002, push-pull trains consisting of newly delivered class 146 locomotives and five double-decker cars were used. The delivery of the double-decker coaches was delayed due to flood damage caused by the Elbe flood at the manufacturer of the seats, so that two sets of n-coaches were used until the summer of 2003.
Between August and November 2011, the capacity was increased by a further car, with one car now belonging entirely to the first class. In the 2018 timetable, two mixed-class cars were generally used, the upper deck was reserved for the first class, the second class seats were on the lower deck and at one of the two ends of the car, and the toilet was at the other end of the car .
The first-class carriages usually followed directly behind the locomotive that was driving ahead in the direction of Wesel. The control car with the multi-purpose compartment drove ahead in the direction of Koblenz.
Since the takeover by National Express are two railcars of the type Desiro HC of Siemens in double traction used. As before, individual stops can not be approached because the platforms are still too low . In addition, because the platforms are too short at some stations, the last three exit doors of the train have to remain closed.
Tender
Four special-purpose associations are involved in ordering the Rhein-Express : the Niederrhein local transport association , the Rhine-Ruhr transport association and the Rhein-Sieg transport association in North Rhine-Westphalia and the regional rail passenger transport association Rhineland-Palatinate North (SPNV-Nord) in Rhineland - Palatinate.
The RE 5 was tendered on January 31, 2014 as part of the awarding of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express for the period December 2019 to December 2033 as an RRX line. National Express won the tender for the corresponding lot . The company started operations with Desiro HC vehicles in June 2019, the provision and maintenance of which was outsourced to Siemens.
The regional train line RB 35, which strengthened the Rhein-Express and which until December 2016 mostly only ran between Wesel and Duisburg, served the section between Emmerich and Düsseldorf and was extended to Arnhem ( Netherlands ) in April 2017 . In line with its international importance, the RB 35 was renamed the Rhein-IJssel-Express (RE 19). The line number "RB 35" was then transferred to the northern section of the Rhein-Niers-Bahn (RB 33), which previously ran between Mönchengladbach and Wesel and has been running from Oberhausen to Bottrop since 2017.
As part of this so-called "RRX interim award", the services were provided by DB Regio from December 2016 to the commissioning of the RRX vehicles in June 2019 . Since the beginning of May 2019, individual journeys in test operation by National Express with RRX vehicles have been taken over.
Delay values
The RE 5 (RRX) is the regional express line with the highest average delay in the area of the Rhineland Local Transport Association and the Rhineland-Palatinate North regional rail passenger transport association . The average delay of the Rhein-Express trains in 2018 was 5.3 minutes per journey. Despite the change of operator and the use of new, much faster vehicles, the punctuality rate has not improved. The punctuality rate currently fluctuates between around 40 to 65 percent.
This is mainly due to the fact that the Rhein-Express often has to give priority to delayed long-distance trains on the heavily used and partially congested railway lines Wesel – Duisburg , Duisburg – Cologne and Cologne – Koblenz . This makes the line particularly susceptible to delays. This also means that the line has to change direction again and again due to very long delays in order not to carry over the delays to the next trip. Owing to the short turnaround time in Wesel, this is often done in Oberhausen. Sometimes even turning stops are approached that are not in the timetable - for example the train station in Brohl or Weißenthurm .
Rates
The tariffs of the following transport associations apply along the route of the Rhein-Express:
- Wesel - Düsseldorf-Benrath: Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR)
- Leverkusen Mitte - Bonn-Bad Godesberg: Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS)
- Bonn-Bad Godesberg - Bad Breisig: the VRS tariff applies to transitional traffic to Bad Breisig
- Remagen - Koblenz: Rhein-Mosel Transport Association (VRM)
The NRW tariff applies to cross-network journeys between Wesel and Bonn-Bad Godesberg ; since January 1, 2015, the VRR network has also been part of the expanded VRS network. In the Ahrweiler district , in which the Rolandseck – Brohl section is located, the VRS tariff and the NRW tariff are valid as transitional tariffs.
The Deutsche Bahn tariff applies to cross-network journeys beyond the state border of North Rhine-Westphalia / Rhineland-Palatinate .
The North Rhine-Westphalia ticket and the Schöne-Fahrt NRW ticket are valid on the Wesel – Brohl section, the Rhineland-Palatinate ticket and the Rhineland-Palatinate + Luxembourg ticket on the Koblenz – Bonn section. The Quer-Durch-Land-Ticket is valid for the entire route of the Rhein-Express.
Web links
- Rhein-Express ( National Express ) timetable
- Description of the Rhein-Express in the NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost
- Description of the former Weseler in the NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost
Individual evidence
- ↑ More RE for NRW. VRR, archived from the original on September 28, 2011 ; accessed on July 17, 2013 (press release on the extension of the trains).
- ↑ Wesel via Cologne to Koblenz: RRX will be on line RE5 from Monday . Kölnische Rundschau , May 3, 2019
- ↑ [1] Platforms too low and too short. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ↑ RRX interim award goes to DB Regio NRW. NVR, April 11, 2014, accessed April 11, 2014 (press release).
- ^ [2] SPNV-Nord: Minutes 61st Association Assembly. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ↑ [3] DB Netz: Congested railways. Retrieved December 15, 2019.