Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn

Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn
Route length:	185 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	1.5 kV  =
Gladbeck horst Dortmund Karnap Langendreer Karlsplatz Bochum Elderly food Gelsenkirchen eat Food west Borbeck Dinslaken Frintrop Marxloh Oberhausen Hamborn Alstaden Mülheim Meiderich Duisburg Rheinhausen Dusseldorf Moers Cologne

The Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn or Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn is a former project of a regional express train in the Rhine-Ruhr area . The main line of the railway should run from Cologne via Düsseldorf , Duisburg , Essen and Bochum to Dortmund and be supplemented by various branch lines. The project was supported by nine large cities in the catchment area , the Ruhr coal district settlement association and the RWE , which merged in 1923 to form the study society for the Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn . Criticism came from the Deutsche Reichsbahn and the mining industry . As a result, supporters on both sides prepared around 80 reports and counter-reports. After the Reichsbahn agreed to initiate its own expansion program for the region, the project fell behind. In 1938 the study society abandoned its plans.

history

prehistory

In 1906, Siemens-Schuckertwerke began the preparatory work for an electric high-speed railway between Cologne and Düsseldorf. The web should along the lines of 1906 opened the Rhine railway Cologne - Bonn be established and be designed h for a maximum speed of 70 km /. Three years later, a municipal association of the Ruhr area cities and the city of Düsseldorf reached an agreement on the construction of a city railway. In addition to the main line, which is around 113 kilometers long, seven branch lines with a total length of around 70 kilometers were planned:

• 1 (112.96 km): Cologne - Dortmund
• 2 00(9.31 km): Duisburg - Hamborn
• 3 0(22.35 km): Duisburg - Oberhausen - Essen
• 4 0(15.43 km): Essen - Gladbeck
• 5 00(6.65 km): Hamborn - Dinslaken
• 6 00(5.43 km): Hamborn - Oberhausen
• 7 0(12.47 km): Duisburg - Moers

In the distant future, the network was to be supplemented by another route from Mönchen Gladbach via Düsseldorf to Elberfeld . The Minister of Public Works rejected the project submitted in 1910 in 1912 on the grounds that the state railroad could also meet the requirements by expanding its facilities.

In 1920 the city of Cologne and the Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerk (RWE) joined the agreement. In 1921 the first profitability calculation was made. Two years later, nine cities between Cologne and Dortmund, RWE and the Ruhr coal district settlement association founded the study society for the Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn based in Essen.

Details of the project

Technical data of the RWS railcar
Length:	21.1 m
Height:	3.9 m
Width:	3.1 m
Trunnion Distance:	14.6 m
Bogie axle base:	3.0 m
Service mass:	53 t
Hourly output :	4 × 125 kW
Power system :	1.5 kV =
Power transmission:	Overhead line
Seats:	85
Standing room:	115

The plans envisaged a 113.1 kilometer main route that would lead Cologne via Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Mülheim an der Ruhr , Essen, Gelsenkirchen , Bochum and Langendreer to Dortmund. At Düsseldorf-Flehe , the line was supposed to cross the Rhine . Branch lines to Moers , Hamborn , Oberhausen , Dinslaken and Gladbeck with a total length of 72.5 kilometers should complement the network. They largely corresponded to the plans of 1910. Gelsenkirchen was integrated into the main line because there was no efficient connection between Essen and Gelsenkirchen. Apart from the tram, there was no direct connection between Gelsenkirchen and Bochum . The route, which is run as an embankment , incision or elevated railway , should run independently of other road users. Operation would have been underground over a total length of 14.2 kilometers. In mining areas , the tracks should be kept separate from each other in order to better compensate for differences in level in the event of repairs. The stations should be in the immediate vicinity of the main train stations , stops in the suburbs were not planned on the main line.

The distance between stations on the main line was between 34 kilometers between Cologne and Düsseldorf and 7.9 kilometers between Bochum and Langendreer. On the secondary routes it was an average of 3.45 kilometers. The maximum speed between Cologne and Duisburg should be 130 km / h, and between Duisburg and Dortmund 100 km / h because of the shorter distance between the stations. A maximum speed of 80 km / h was planned on the branch lines. With the targeted speeds, the urban railway could have cut the travel times of the Reichsbahn in half many times over. The travel time between Cologne and Düsseldorf would have been reduced from 46 to 18 minutes, between Düsseldorf and Essen from 52 to 28 minutes and between Cologne and Dortmund from 150 to 77 minutes.

The operating program provided for a rigid timetable with a train sequence of 30 minutes. During rush hour , this should be reduced to 15 minutes between Duisburg and Dortmund. According to other information, a continuous ten-minute cycle was planned in the rush hour, which should be thinned to 30 minutes in the off-peak hours. The secondary lines should be operated separately from the main line in order to avoid the disadvantages of line linking.

The study society provided for the use of four-axle double railcars . If necessary, it should be possible to couple up to four intermediate cars in between. The drive should take place via overhead lines with 1500 volts DC voltage . The fronts were designed to be streamlined in order to reduce energy consumption. The capacity was 85 seats in 2nd and 3rd  carriage classes ; 1st class was dispensed with due to the small distance between stations. The starting acceleration should be 0.5 m / s² and the braking deceleration 0.8 m / s². The depot was planned in Duisburg.

Expert war

The Ministry of Transport issued the study of January 22, 1924, the preliminary license for the construction and operation of high-speed railway lines 1-6 as a standard gauge double track main line . The provisional license for route 7 was granted on August 8, 1924. The responsible ministry rejected the concession for the planned Mönchen Gladbach - Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen - Buer  - Gladbeck and Bottrop  - Altenessen routes . One condition for the granting of the final license was proof of the financing of the project until 1929, another the prohibition on undercutting the Reichsbahn tariffs. While the Prussian State Building Administration and the Reich Ministry of Transport, which were previously responsible, were relatively benevolent of the project and showed little inclination to implement it under state control, things changed when the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG, 1924) was founded: Now the project was seen primarily as a Competition and rejected the planned route and a change in the technical regulations. Mining also rejected the project because of the planned high speeds and possible subsidence.

In the following years a bitter dispute arose over the pros and cons of the railway. Around 80 reports and counter-reports were drawn up by the most renowned experts of the time. Gustav Kemmann was the spokesman for the supporters and Erich Giese for the opponents .

Results of the economic calculation for the urban railway

object	Forecast Giese	Prognosis study total
Year of operation	3	3
Investment capital (in million Reichsmarks)
Bonds	200, 00	156, 00
shares	200, 00	156, 00
Transport (people transported in millions)	20th, 00	27.83
Vehicle kilometers (in million km)	12.80	12.35
Income (in million Reichsmarks)
Operating income	23.40	33.40
Other revenue	0.60	0, 00
Total revenue	24, 00	33.40
Expenditures (in million Reichsmarks)
Pure business expenses	11.50	8.03
Interest on the Notes	18th, 00	10.92
Duties and taxes	1.00	3.42
Transport tax	2.50	3.64
Reparations according to the industrial pollution law	2.00	2.10
Redemption of the Notes	0, 00	0, 00
Balance reserve and special reserve fund	0, 00	0.36
Renewal Fund	0, 00	1.53
Total expenditure	35.00	30.00
difference	-9.00	3.40

In an expert report prepared for the Reichsbahn in 1926, Giese came to the conclusion that the urban railway should primarily be seen as a relief for the Reichsbahn lines. Therefore, the urban railway would primarily pull traffic away from the Reichsbahn. In addition, there would be traffic moving away from the trams and new traffic. Instead, he proposed the four-track expansion and electrification of the Cologne - Dortmund Reichsbahn line. In addition, he envisaged the introduction of a special type of train  - called Ruhrexpress - to improve regional traffic, which was supposed to run at increased speed, fewer stops and special wagons. According to the profitability calculations compiled by Giese in a memorandum, the urban railway would not go out of the red in the first few years and consequently would soon have to file for bankruptcy. The study society took up this memorandum, changed the values ​​calculated in it and provided them with appropriate comments. In particular, new traffic has not been given enough consideration. The values ​​calculated by the company saw an increase in income of 40 percent and a decrease in expenditure of 14 percent compared to Giese's values.

Kemmann said that the traffic figures to be expected during the construction of the railway with the planned tariff - which is higher than that of the Reichsbahn - justified the construction of the railway. He countered the concerns of the mining companies that the Reichsbahn had been operating in the area for decades and had recently increased the speed of the FD trains to 90 km / h. In addition, he expected that the Reichsbahn would not have to expect any lasting damage from the construction, since capacities would be free for other transports, on the other hand an expansion of the Reichsbahn routes would not be a substitute for the city railway.

Giese then published another memorandum in which he went into the calculations of the study society and Kemmanns and discussed each position individually. With the result, he underscored his first calculations and came to the conclusion that the urban railway was an intolerable loss. On the Rhine and Ruhr, Giese was subliminally assumed to badly count the urban railway because, as a former senior traffic-technical officer of the Greater Berlin Association, he would rather see the necessary capital invested in Berlin. With his critic Günthel, Giese had a sharply worded argument about the question of whether he would have described the investment costs or just the market values ​​of the study society as vague estimates .

According to Richard Petersen , the differences in the respective calculations were due to the fact that Giese assumed higher system costs, fewer wagons and significantly less traffic than the study society and Kemmann. The calculation bases, expenses for operation, taxes and the like, however, are on the same basis.

In addition to the two mentioned, other experts took a position on the project, including Carl Pirath , Otto Blum and the General Director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft Julius Dorpmüller . The “war of experts” was also attempted to be controlled by a lobby of the Reichsbahn of related publication organs by only partially publishing the counter-statements or not at all. Kemmann then published a gray booklet in 1928 entitled Grant or Rejection of Freedom of Expression. For the treatment of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn in some specialist journals . In it he dealt with the disadvantages of the arguments for urban railways compared to the arguments for the Reichsbahn and substantiated them in detail. In the same year the study society extended the deadline for the construction of the railway by 15 years.

The Reichsbahn then reaffirmed that the existing routes could be expanded with significantly fewer resources and that this would benefit all traffic, whereas the construction of the urban railway is only aimed at commuter traffic. From 1929 she wanted to expand the Cologne - Duisburg and Essen - Dortmund lines to four tracks and add the Duisburg - Essen section. At the same time, the main train stations should be adapted to the new operational requirements. The costs should total 300 million Reichsmarks and were thus below the cost of the express train. In 1931, the Reichsbahn changed its technical regulations as requested by the study society. In the following year, the introduction of the Ruhr Schnellverkehr began on the main axis Cologne - Düsseldorf - Duisburg - Essen - Bochum - Dortmund. The study society abandoned its plans in 1938 and disbanded. The demand of all the experts involved to separate the high-speed traffic network from the rest of the rail traffic and to run it completely on its own tracks has not yet been implemented (S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr as successor).

literature

• Study society for the Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn (Hrsg.): Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn. Yield calculation . Essen 1927.
• Erich Giese : The Rheinisch-Westfälische Stadtebahn Cologne - Dortmund. On the question of their profitability . Verlag der Verkehrstechnik, Berlin 1926.
• Erwin Heisterbergk: Pros and cons of the Cologne-Dortmund express train . In: Journal of Surveying . No. 3 . Berlin and Augsburg 1927 ( zfv.de [PDF; accessed August 30, 2020]).
• Erich Giese: The Rheinisch-Westfälische Stadtebahn Cologne - Dortmund. On the question of their profitability. A reply . Verlag der Verkehrstechnik, Berlin 1928.
• Frank-Rainer Hesselmann: The Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn - plans from 1926/27 . In: Essener Verkehrs-AG (Hrsg.): One hundred years in Essen on wire - the tram . Klartext Verlag, Essen 1993, ISBN 3-88474-070-9 .
• Gustav Kemmann : Critical considerations on the question of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn . HS Hermann, Berlin 1927.
• Peter C. Lenke: Much discussed, but never realized transport projects (2): The Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn project from 1924–1928 . In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter . No. 1 . Berlin 2005.

Web links

• Dietmar Seher: Coal slowed the Ruhr-Schnellbahn. In: correctiv.org. February 27, 2018, accessed May 15, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Wolfgang R. Reimann , Eckehard Frenz: Die Bahnen des RWE. An economic and technical-historical representation . Energy industry and technology publishing company, Graefelfing 1975, p. 265-273 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Peter C. Lenke: Much discussed, but never realized transport projects (2): The project of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn from 1924–1928 . In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter . No. 1 . Berlin 2005, p. 2-9 .
3. ↑ [1] Rhein.-Westphalia. Urban railway, contemporary map (1922) on the planned route, scale 1: 170,000 / 53 x 66 cm, reproduction by RWE, digitized state archive NRW, Westphalia department, map collection A, No. 24328, accessed on August 30, 2020
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Frank-Rainer Hesselmann: The Rheinisch-Westfälische Schnellbahn - plans from 1926/27 . In: Essener Verkehrs-AG (Hrsg.): One hundred years in Essen on wire - the tram . Klartext Verlag, Essen 1993, ISBN 3-88474-070-9 , p. 130-132 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Richard Petersen : On the question of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn . In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung . No.  52 . Berlin December 26, 1928, p. 845–846 ( zlb.de [accessed May 14, 2019]).
6. ↑ ^{a b} Richard Petersen: The RWTH Städtebahn Cologne-Dortmund. On the question of their profitability . In: The construction technology . No. 24 , June 8, 1928, pp. 323-326 .
7. ↑ ^{a b} Gustav Kemmann: The Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn . In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung . No. 15 . Berlin April 13, 1927, p. 174–175 ( zlb.de [accessed May 14, 2016]).
8. ^ Disput Giese and Günthel (untitled) in Die Bautechnik , 5th year, issue 15, April 1, 1927, page 234
9. ↑ Communications . In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung . No.  50 . Berlin December 14, 1927, p. 661 ( zlb.de [accessed on May 14, 2016]).

Archive sources

• Gelsenkirchen City Archives, Gelsenkirchen holdings before 1928, finding aid, edited by Claire Maunoury: Definition of uniform cross-sectional dimensions for the culvert structures of the urban railway and the rapid transit railway. Signature Ge 1229, Gelsenkirchen 2016. Therein u. a .: Preliminary guidelines for the processing of a draft of the urban railway, December 1921. Normal profiles for paved roads for narrow and wide streets, scale 1:50. More plans. [2] , accessed September 3, 2019

• Gelsenkirchen City Archives, Gelsenkirchen holdings before 1928, finding aid, edited by Claire Maunoury: Planning for the construction of an electric express train through the Ruhr area between Düsseldorf and Dortmund. 4 volumes, signature Ge 1236 to Ge 1239, Gelsenkirchen 2016. Therein a. a., Volume 1: Minutes of a meeting of several mayors on March 2, 1909. Explanatory report, February 1910. Rejection of the project by the Minister of Public Works, March 23, 1911. Overview plan scale 1: 125,000 of the planned Düsseldorf – Dortmund route. Volume 2: “Memorandum on the activities of the municipal association for the construction of a Rheinisch-Westfälische Stadtebahn and the traffic conditions in the industrial area”, 1912. Overview map scale 1: 125000 with the planned route between Düsseldorf and Dortmund. Volume 3: Transcript of the discussion about the routing of the transport association V IX in the area of ​​the Bismarck train station, September 1922. Volume 4: Newspaper article about negotiations on routing, 1922. Article about the paper by Prof. Giese from the Technical University of Berlin on the lack of profitability der Schnellbahn, January 26, 1928. [3] , accessed on September 3, 2019