Rhein-Hellweg-Express
Encyclopedia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
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The Rhein-Hellweg-Express (RE 11) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
(NRW), running from Hamm via Dortmund
Dortmund Hauptbahnhof
is the central station for the city of Dortmund in Germany.The station's origins lie in a joint station of the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn and Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn which was built north of the city centre in 1847. That station was replaced by a new station, erected in 1910 at the current site....
, Bochum
Bochum Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bochum in western Germany. In its current incarnation, it was built from 1955 to 1957 and is one of the most notable 1950s railway stations in Germany....
, Essen
Essen Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Essen in western Germany. It is situated south of the old town centre, next to the A 40 motorway.It was opened in 1862 by the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn...
, Duisburg
Duisburg Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof of the city of Duisburg in western Germany. It is situated at the meeting point of many important national and international railway lines in the Northwestern Ruhr valley.- Lines :...
and Krefeld
Krefeld Hauptbahnhof
Krefeld Hauptbahnhof is the largest station of the city of Krefeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The double-track and electrified Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway and the Lower Left Rhine Railway cross at the station. A line to Rheydt formerly began at the station, but...
to Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof
is a railway station in the city of Mönchengladbach in western Germany.-Overview:The station is the largest railway station in the city and, along with Rheydt Hbf, one of the two Hauptbahnhof stations in Mönchengladbach...
.
History
In 1988 the first regular interval regional rapid train service was established from Dortmund via Essen, Duisburg and DüsseldorfDüsseldorf Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Düsseldorf in Germany, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:The station was opened on 1 October 1891 opened as Düsseldorf Central Station...
to Cologne
Köln Hauptbahnhof
Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains...
. This operated hourly on the Cologne–Duisburg
Cologne–Duisburg railway
The 64 km long Cologne–Duisburg railway is one of the most important lines in Germany. It is the main axis for long distance and urban passenger rail services between Cologne and the Ruhr, served by Intercity Express, Intercity, Regional Express, regionalbahn and S-Bahn trains...
and Dortmund–Duisburg lines, which even then were the most important railway lines for passenger traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia.
With the introduction of high-speed regional services in the early 1990s, this line was named the NRW-Express (originally numbered RSB 1; from 1995 it was redesignated as Stadt-Express
Stadt-Express
The Stadt-Express , formerly City-Bahn , was a category of train in the Deutsche Bahn, that linked conurbations in Germany with the outer reaches of the surrounding countryside...
line SE 1) and ran from Bielefeld
Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof
is the central railway station of the city of Bielefeld in Germany. The station was opened in 1847 as part of the Cologne-Minden trunk line. The current building was built in 1910 in the Art Nouveau style.-Train services:...
via Hamm, Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne to Aachen
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Aachen Central Station is the train station for the city of Aachen, in the far west of Germany near the Dutch and Belgian border. It is the largest of the four currently active Aachen stations, and is integrated into the long-distance network.- History :...
. With the extension of the service on the Hamm–Bielefeld and Cologne–Aachen lines, the service soon had insufficient capacity. Therefore, in May 1998 with the NRW-wide implementation of regional express lines, the NRW-Express (now RE 1) was supplemented by the Westfalen-Express (RE 6) from Bielefeld via Hamm, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg to Düsseldorf so that on the northern section there were two Regional-Expresses per hour.
After the timetable change in December 2002, services on the central Ruhr axis between Hamm and Düsseldorf increased to five Regional-Express services in each two hour period with the introduction of the new Rhein-Hellweg-Express (RE 11) at two hourly intervals, from Düsseldorf to Hamm and continuing on the line to Paderborn.
When the timetable change in December 2010 there was an exchange of sections between the NRW-Express, the Rhein-Hellweg Express and Rhein-Haard-Express (RE 2):
- The section of the Rhein-Hellweg-Express from Hamm via SoestSoest (Germany) stationSoest station is a passenger station in the city of Soest in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is on the Hamm–Warburg and the Dortmund–Soest lines. It was also served by passenger trains on the Möhne Valley Railway from 1899 to 1960.-Train services:It is served by occasional Intercity...
and LippstadtLippstadt stationLippstadt station is a stop for long-distance services on the Mid-Germany Railway in the town of Lippstadt in the district of Soest, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is on the Hamm–Warburg and the Munster–Warstein railways...
to PaderbornPaderborn Hauptbahnhofis the main passenger station in the city of Paderborn in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the Hamm–Warburg line, part of the Mid-Germany Connection from Cologne or Düsseldorf to Thuringia and Saxony...
was taken over by the NRW-Express; this section continues to be operated only every two hours. - The section of the Rhein-Hellweg Express between Duisburg and Düsseldorf (now operated hourly) was taken over by the Rhein-Haard-Express. In return, the Rhein-Hellweg Express runs (now also hourly) on the section between Duisburg and Mönchengladbach. The Duisburg–Mönchengladbach line is for the first time connected directly to the eastern Ruhr region by Regional-Express services.
The timetable change increased service levels: there are now three Regional-Express trains per hour between Hamm and Duisburg (RE 1, 6 and 11), a four hourly Regional-Express services between Hamm and Dortmund (with the addition of RE 3), between Bochum and Essen (with RE 16) and between Essen and Duisburg (with RE 2).
Route
The Rhein-Hellweg Express runs daily every hour and utilises four railway lines:- The Dortmund–Hamm railway (built by the Cologne-Minden Railway CompanyCologne-Minden Railway CompanyThe Cologne-Minden Railway Company was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding :The founding of the...
), which is also used by three other Regional-Express services and long-distance trains, - the Ruhr line from Dortmund to Duisburg (built by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company), using the long-distance tracks, which is also used by regional and long-distance trains,
- The Osterath–Dortmund Süd railway (built by the Rhenish Railway CompanyRhenish Railway CompanyThe Rhenish Railway Company was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia.-Foundation :The...
) from Duisburg to Krefeld-Uerdingen, which is also used by other regional services and freight trains, - the Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway (built by the Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway CompanyAachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway CompanyThe Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway Company was a German railway company founded in 1850 and taken over by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company in 1862...
), which is also used by other regional services and freight trains.
Operations
RE 11 services runs hourly from Monday to Sunday. Initially, when the service operated between Hamm and Paderborn on weekdays at two hourly intervals, trains were composed of class 110DB Class E 10
The class E 10 is an electric locomotive of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, introduced in 1952. It belongs to the Einheits-Elektrolokomotiven program and was built for express passenger service. In 1968 the series was redesignated as class 110 and class 112...
and 111
DB Class 111
The Baureihe 111 is a class of electric locomotives built for the Deutsche Bundesbahn, and now owned by Deutsche Bahn AG.- History :Class 111 is the successor of the Class 110 express Einheitslokomotive...
locomotives, usually hauling five Silberling
Silberling
Silberling is the colloquial name for the n-coaches of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, a type of regional passenger coach of which more than 7,000 units were built from 1958 to 1981...
carriages. But it was soon noticed that the number of passengers required higher capacity, which meant that class 112
DR Class 243
The DR Class 243 is a universal electric locomotive of the Deutsche Reichsbahn which is used for general rail service. Deutsche Bahn lists the locomotive as Class 143. The locomotives of class 143/243 still belong to the most successful class of German electric locomotives.- Development :Since...
(sometimes class 111) locomotives are now used with four double-decker carriages. The carriages have air conditioning and are approved for a maximum speed of 160 km/h. The service has an average speed of 81 km/h.
Since 21 February 2011, in addition to the double-decker trains, class 425
DBAG Class 425
The Classes 425 and 426 EMUs are a class of electric multiple units built by a consortium of Siemens, Bombardier and DWA and operated by DB Regio in Germany...
electric multiple units are used on the Rhein-Hellweg Express, these had previously been modernised for use on this service. Double-deck trains remain operating on the line until the completion of the conversion of the class 425 EMUs.
Operator
The line is operated by DB RegioDB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
NRW under a special contract with the North Rhine-Westphalian public transport associations. DB Regio NRW has the contract to operate the line until the timetable change on 13 December 2015; in turn it is committed to use only air-conditioned double-deck carriages.
See also
- List of regional rail lines in North Rhine-Westphalia
- List of scheduled railway routes in Germany