Wupper Express

RE 4 Wupper Express

Course book section (DB) :

485 (Aachen – Hagen)
427 (Hagen – Dortmund)

Route length:

171 km

Top speed:

140 km / h

State:

North Rhine-Westphalia

course

Legend

0	Dortmund Central Station	THA , ICE , IC
16	Witten Hbf
31	Hagen Hbf	ICE, IC
42	Ennepetal (Gevelsberg)
47	Schwelm
52	Wuppertal-Oberbarmen
54	Wuppertal-Barmen
57	Wuppertal Hbf	ICE, IC
64	Wuppertal-Vohwinkel
84	Düsseldorf main station	THA, ICE, IC
92	Neuss main station	ICE, IC
109	Mönchengladbach Hbf	ICE, IC
113	Rheydt Hbf	IC
126	Erkelenz
132	Hückelhoven-Baal
138	Alleviate
145	Geilenkirchen
150	Übach-Palenberg
157	Herzogenrath	IC
163	Kohlscheid ( amplifier only )
168	Aachen West
169	Aachen Schanz
171	Aachen Central Station	THA, ICE, IC

The Wupper Express is a regional express line in North Rhine-Westphalia from Aachen via Mönchengladbach , Düsseldorf , Wuppertal , Hagen to Dortmund . The line is operated every hour by the DB Regio NRW . In the 2010 traffic survey, it was the third most heavily used Regional Express line in the Rhine-Ruhr transport association with around 55,000 passengers a day.

history

Today's Regional Express, which runs under number RE 4 , is the successor to the Aachen – Hagen– Iserlohn city express line of the same name . The end point was later moved to Hamm and after the discontinuation of the Interregio , it continued to Münster . The Maas-Wupper-Express (RE 13) and Ems-Börde-Bahn (RB 89) lines, introduced in December 2002 for ITF 2 , replaced the branch to Münster and the Wupper-Express has since stopped at Witten main station in Dortmund.

Train run

Specifically, the Wupper Express sequentially transits the Aachen-Mönchengladbach railway , the railway Moenchengladbach-Dusseldorf and the railway Dusseldorf-Elberfeld . The Elberfeld-Dortmund railway he follows only to Witten Hauptbahnhof , from there he uses the tracks of Witten / Dortmund-Oberhausen / Duisburg railway and the tunnel overhead road on his way to Dortmund Hauptbahnhof . At night, the RE 4 also serves the Düsseldorf Airport Terminal train station .

A large section of the Wupper Express runs parallel to S-Bahn lines and has partly taken on the character of a fast S-Bahn or Schnellbahn or is used accordingly by passengers.

Used material

Class 111 express locomotives are used together with five air-conditioned, fourth-generation double-decker cars . Reinforcement trains between Düsseldorf and Aachen used to be driven mainly with class 110 locomotives , alternatively 111 and exclusively with modernized n-wagons . After the last class 110 locomotives were taken out of service at DB Regio NRW, only the 111 class was used for these trains. Double-deck coaches are used in these trains today.

Until the timetable change in December 2007, the Wupper-Express was still operated according to plan with the 110 and 112.1 series . The 146 series was also used in the 2000s and early 2010s . In 2011, the 145 series was often seen in phases .

In mid-2012, the trains on this line received a new interior design.

Since the timetable change in December 2015, more modern double-decker cars have been used that previously operated on the Rhein-Münsterland-Express . The amplifier trains, which were formed with the 111 series and five n-cars, were converted to double-deck cars at this time.

reliability

In 2015, the average delay was 2.7 minutes per trip. This means that punctuality has deteriorated slightly compared to 2014, where the average delay was 2.3 minutes per trip.

The rate of train cancellations in 2014 was a very high 11.5%. Compared to 2013, this is a considerable deterioration, where the failure rate was still below 2%. The NVR cites a construction project between Lindern and Erkelenz as one of the reasons for this significant increase .

In 2007 the Wupper- Express was the line with the highest rate of delays after the NRW-Express . On average, each trip was delayed by 4.18 minutes at its endpoints, compared to just 3.0 minutes in 2006. In 2007, 3.6% of the trains failed, in 2006 it was 1.3%. In the quality report of the VRR 2007 this significant increase was explained in part by the hurricane Kyrill in January 2007 and the nine days of strike.

future

The Wupper-Express is part of the planned Rhein-Ruhr-Express network without receiving the RRX line identifier. Since December 2016, the Wupper-Express has been operated by DB Regio as part of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express interim operation and from December 2020 the line is to be taken over by National Express and operated with new vehicles of the type Siemens Desiro HC , which as a reserve for possible Extensions of the RRX lines are used. Due to lawsuits in the planning approval procedure, it is not possible to extend the platforms in Aachen Schanz for the new vehicles on time. In addition, it was determined that a part of the platform in Aachen West was in need of renovation. Therefore, when double traction is used, the rear multiple unit must run in both directions locked and without passengers between Herzogenrath and Aachen Hauptbahnhof when operations begin. For this purpose, a longer evacuation stay must be planned for in Herzogenrath when driving towards Aachen. As soon as the renovation of the platform in Aachen West is completed, the evacuation stay is to be relocated to Aachen West. A completion of the platform extension in Aachen Schanz is not foreseeable. According to DB Station & Service , it will only be possible to block the route for construction work in summer 2023.