Rhein-Hellweg-Express

map

RE 11 Rhein-Hellweg-Express
Train route of the RE 11 (here still without the Paderborn – Kassel section)
Course book section (DB) :	415.1, 415.2, 430
Route length:	291 km
Top speed:	160 km / h
State:	North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse
Train run
Legend 291 Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe (since 2016) ICE , IC 266 Hofgeismar (since 2016) State border HE / NRW 241 Warburg (Westf) (since 2016) 222 Willebadessen (since 2016) 204 Altenbeken (since 2016) ICE, IC 186 Paderborn Hbf (until 2010, since 2016) ICE, IC 154 Lippstadt (until 2010, since 2016) 134 Soest (until 2010, since 2016) 108 Hamm (Westf) Hbf ICE , IC 100 Nordbögge (until 2016, not every hour) 93 Came 89 Kamen-Methler 87 Dortmund-Kurl (until 2016) 83 Dortmund-Scharnhorst (until 2016, not every hour) 77 Dortmund Central Station ICE, IC 59 Bochum Hbf ICE, IC 52 Wattenscheid 43 Essen Central Station ICE, IC 33 Mülheim (Ruhr) central station IC 24 Duisburg Central Station ICE, IC Rheinhausen (2010-2016) Krefeld-Uerdingen (2010-2016) Krefeld Hbf (2010-2016) Viersen (2010-2016) IC Mönchengladbach Hbf (2010-2016) ICE, IC 8th Düsseldorf Airport (until 2010, since 2016) ICE, IC 0 Düsseldorf Hbf (until 2010, since 2016) ICE, IC

The Rhein-Hellweg-Express is a regional express train run in the Rhein-Ruhr-Express preliminary service in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse from Kassel via Warburg , Paderborn , Lippstadt , Soest , Hamm , Dortmund , Bochum , Essen , Duisburg and Düsseldorf Airport to Düsseldorf with line number RE 11 .

history

The first timed regional express line with the number 10 from Dortmund via Essen, Duisburg and Düsseldorf to Cologne was set up as early as 1988 . This ran every hour on the Cologne – Duisburg and the Dortmund – Duisburg railway , which were already the most important railway lines for passenger traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia at that time.

When the regional high-speed railways were introduced in the early 1990s, this line was replaced by the NRW-Express (then still RSB 1, from 1995 on as Stadt-Express SE 1) from Bielefeld via Hamm, Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne to Aachen. With the extension of the route to the Hamm – Bielefeld and Cologne – Aachen railway , the capacity was soon no longer sufficient, and the long train route also showed a high susceptibility to delays.

Therefore, in May 1998, when regional express lines were introduced across NRW, the NRW Express (now RE 1) was supplemented by the Westfalen Express (then RE 11) from Bielefeld via Hamm, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg to Düsseldorf, Two Regional Express trains ran every hour on the northern section.

When the timetable changed in December 2002, the offer on the central Ruhr area axis between Hamm and Düsseldorf was reduced to five regional express trains in two hours. The NRW-Express was now limited to the Hamm – Aachen route, the Westfalen-Express was given the new route number RE 6 and was extended to Minden . Line number RE 11 was also given to the newly established Rhein-Hellweg-Express , which for the first time ran the Hamm – Paderborn railway every two hours on weekdays.

When the timetable changed in December 2010, the routes of the NRW-Express , Rhein-Hellweg-Express and Rhein-Haard-Express (RE 2) were exchanged :

• The section of the Rhein-Hellweg-Express from Hamm via Soest and Lippstadt to Paderborn was taken over by the NRW-Express, although this section is only served every two hours (but daily).
• The section of the Rhein-Hellweg-Express between Duisburg and Düsseldorf was exchanged - now every hour - with the Rhein-Haard-Express. In return, the Rhein-Hellweg-Express runs - from now on every hour - the section between Duisburg and Mönchengladbach, the Duisburg – Mönchengladbach railway is connected to the eastern Ruhr area for the first time without changing trains.

Overall, the change in the timetable resulted in additional services: on the central axis of the Ruhr area between Hamm and Duisburg, three regional express lines (RE 1, RE 6 and RE 11) now run at approximately 20-minute intervals. The sections Hamm - Dortmund are reinforced by RE 3, Bochum - Essen by RE 16 and Essen - Duisburg by RE 2.

In the course of the preliminary operation for the Rhein-Ruhr-Express , the Rhein-Hellweg-Express returned to its original route between Düsseldorf and Paderborn when the timetable changed on December 11, 2016 and was extended to Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. In the section between Hamm and Kassel, there is a two-hour rhythm together with the two remaining IC train pairs on the Central Germany connection. An additional pair of trains of the Rhein-Hellweg-Express runs in the evening during rush hour via Hamm to Paderborn.

Due to longer scheduled stays in Duisburg and Dortmund, the travel time in regional traffic between Paderborn and Düsseldorf has been increased by up to ten minutes compared to the previous service by the RE 1. Class 425 railcars were used in double traction. In some cases, two two-part class 426 railcars were used, which ran with a class 425 railcar in triple traction. In exceptional cases, a class 426 quadruple unit was also used.

The number of daily round trips that served the entire route section was reduced from eight to seven. The Dortmund-Kassel-Sprinter of the Eurobahn on the edge of the day was integrated into the Rhein-Hellweg-Express (from Hamm).

The section from Duisburg via Krefeld to Mönchengladbach, which was no longer served by the Rhein-Hellweg-Express after the timetable change, was taken over by the RE 42 ( Niers-Haard-Express ) upgraded to the RB 42, the one coming from Münster from Essen via Mülheim, Duisburg and Krefeld was extended. With the extension of the Rhein-Hellweg-Express to Kassel, the number of passengers in the Paderborn - Warburg section has almost doubled from 1,000 in the 2016 timetable (at that time only the RB 89 served as local rail transport in the section) to 1,900 in the 2018 timetable.

With the timetable change in December 2018, the operator Abellio Rail NRW took over the operation of the line from the previous operator DB Regio after winning a tender for a partial lot of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express.

Train route and timetable

Rhein-Hellweg-Express in Rheinhausen, 2015

The Rhein-Hellweg-Express runs every hour between Düsseldorf Hbf and Paderborn and every two hours via Warburg to Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe (with individual gaps in the timetable between Hamm and Kassel) and uses a total of five railway lines :

• the Kassel – Warburg railway line (together with all regional and long-distance trains),
• the Hamm – Warburg railway line continuously (together with all regional and long-distance trains),
• the Dortmund – Hamm (formerly CME ) railway line (together with all regional and long-distance trains),
• the Ruhr route Dortmund – Duisburg (formerly BME ) continuously (long-distance tracks, together with all regional and long-distance trains),
• Cologne – Duisburg railway line between Duisburg and Düsseldorf.
  On this four- to six-track section, the Rhein-Hellweg-Express uses the so-called local tracks or the S-Bahn tracks, as does the Rhein-Haard-Express RE 2, the Rhein-Emscher-Express RE 3, the Rhein-Weser- Express RE 6, the Rhein-IJssel-Express RE 19 and in sections also the S-Bahn. Only the NRW-Express RE 1 and the Rhein-Express RE 5 use the long-distance tracks here.

From 2010 to 2016 he also used five railway lines:

• the Dortmund – Hamm railway line continuously,
• the Ruhr route Dortmund – Duisburg continuously (long-distance tracks),
• the Duisburg – Mönchengladbach railway line continuously (together with all regional and freight trains), with the original sections
  • the Osterath – Dortmund Süd railway line (formerly RhE ) from Duisburg (branch line) to Krefeld-Uerdingen,
  • the Duisburg-Ruhrort – Mönchengladbach (formerly RCGE ) railway from Krefeld-Uerdingen to Mönchengladbach.

Until 2010 it ran every two hours and only used four railway lines:

• the Hamm – Warburg railway between Hamm and Paderborn,
• the Dortmund – Hamm railway line continuously,
• the Dortmund – Duisburg railway line continuously,
• the Cologne – Duisburg railway line between Duisburg and Düsseldorf (local or S-Bahn tracks).

Vehicle use

Rhein-Hellweg-Express in Dortmund Hbf, 2013

Before the timing, the amplifier trains between Bielefeld and Duisburg or Düsseldorf were usually made up of four to five n-cars , hauled by electric locomotives of the 110, 141 or 143 series.

While the RE 11 ran intermittently on the route between Bielefeld and Düsseldorf, the trains initially consisted of the 110 series and four n-cars, later also as push-pull trains with control cars . From around the beginning of the 21st century he drove with the 111 series and four double-decker cars of the classes 751, 756 and 761. When he switched to the route between Paderborn and Düsseldorf, n-wagons with a class 112 each ran briefly at both ends of the train, short then as a five-part n-car push-pull train with the 111 series.

However, it was quickly noticed that the passenger volume required higher capacities, which is why locomotives of the 112 series (in some cases also 111) were used with four new double-decker cars. The cars had air conditioning and were approved for a top speed of 160 km / h. The line reached an average speed of 81 km / h. The change of route in December 2010 to the route between Hamm and Mönchengladbach initially did not change anything in terms of vehicle use.

From 21 February 2011, the double-deck trains were successively on railcars of series 425 Plus switched previously modernized for use on this line. Among other things, new seats were installed and the first class was concentrated on one end of the multiple unit.

Abellio has been using the Siemens Desiro HC RRX multiple units in double traction between Düsseldorf and Hamm since December 9, 2018 . The journeys between Hamm and Kassel operate in a single unit. The weakening and strengthening of the train runs takes place in the Hamm train station.

operator

The line was operated by DB Regio NRW under a special contract with the North Rhine-Westphalian authorities. It stayed with DB Regio until the timetable change on December 13, 2015. The subject of the contract was the two-hour service between Hamm and Paderborn, which has been taken over by RE 1 since the timetable change in December 2010. At the same time, the extension of a sixth double-deck car was agreed for the trains.

As part of the so-called RRX interim award, the services were provided by DB Regio from December 2016 to the 2018 timetable change; since the timetable change on December 9, 2018, the line has been operated by Abellio Rail NRW as part of the new Rhein-Ruhr-Express.

Planning

Redirection 2021-2022

Due to construction work at Dortmund Central Station and the Soest – Hamm section, the Rhein-Hellweg Express is to be diverted between June 2021 and December 2022 in the Soest – Bochum section via Werl, Unna and Dortmund-Hörde. The stops in Hamm Hbf, Kamen, Kamen-Methler and Dortmund Hbf should not be served during this time. In addition, the line should then stop in Unna and Dortmund-Hörde. The platforms in Unna have to be extended for the diversion. Instead of Hamm, the weakening and strengthening of the trains will take place in Unna.

Clock compression

Due to the positive development of the extension of the line to Kassel, the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL) plans to reduce the offer for the timetable change in December 2022 to an hourly service. There should only be gaps in the timetable between Paderborn and Kassel for two pairs of intercity trains. The Ems-Börde-Bahn (RB 89) is to be canceled in general in the Paderborn – Warburg section, with the exception of a late trip on weekend nights. The Sauerland Express in the Warburg – Kassel section will also be discontinued. Originally, the hourly compression should already be implemented for the timetable change in December 2020. Due to the insufficient number of staff at the operator Abellio Rail NRW and an increased demand for vehicles due to construction work, the expansion can only be implemented when the timetable changes in December 2022. By April 2020, coordination should be carried out with regard to the scope of offers in peripheral locations. Funds to finance the additional operating costs must also be raised from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and a binding order must be obtained from the North Hessian Transport Association (NVV).

Web links

Commons : Rhein-Hellweg-Express  - Collection of images

• Description of the Rhein-Hellweg-Express in the NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost
• RE 11 timetable (RRX) (PDF)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tender for RRX pre-run operation started. In: Busses & Bahn NRW. Ministry of Transport NRW , February 10, 2014, accessed on December 9, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Timetable RE 11, VRR. (PDF) Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr , accessed on January 17, 2017 . 
3. ↑ Sebastian Peters: New train from 2016 to Krefeld. In: Rheinische Post . January 12, 2012, accessed December 9, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Local transport association Paderborn / Höxter, 26th association meeting, December 2nd, 2019, Item 8: Target concept RE 11 (RRX) for the Hellweg corridor
5. ^ Rail: New connections in regional traffic. In: WA.de. November 24, 2010, accessed December 17, 2013 . 
6. ↑ More comfort between Düsseldorf, the Hellweg region and the Hochstift. Press release. Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr , July 12, 2006, archived from the original on December 24, 2010 ; Retrieved December 17, 2013 . 
7. ↑ RRX interim award goes to DB Regio NRW. Press release. Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland , April 11, 2014, accessed on August 6, 2014 . 
8. ↑ Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL), Association Assembly, Item 4: Concept RE 11 Hellweg Axis Hamm - Kassel Wilhelmshöhe, June 4, 2020
9. ↑ Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL), Association Assembly, Item 4: Concept RE 11 Hellweg Axis Hamm - Kassel Wilhelmshöhe, June 4, 2020
10. ↑ Local transport association Paderborn / Höxter, 26th association meeting, December 2nd, 2019, Item 8: Target concept RE 11 (RRX) for the Hellweg corridor
11. ↑ Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe, 56th Association Assembly, Item 7: Target concept RE 11 (RRX) for the Hellweg corridor, 05.12.2019