Rheydt–Cologne-Ehrenfeld railway

Cologne–Mönchengladbach railway
Overview
Locale	North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Termini	Rheydt Hbf Köln-Ehrenfeld
Line number	2611 (Rheydt–Cologne-Ehrenfeld Gbf) 2612 (Cologne-Ehrenfeld Westkopf) 2613 (Cologne-Ehrenfeld Gbf–Pbf)
Technical
Line length	49.4 km (30.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (74.6 mph) (maximum)
Route number	465
Route map Line from Mönchengladbach 49.4 Rheydt Hbf freight bypass from Viersen Former line from Rheydt freight yard Former line from Mönchengladbach 46.4 Rheydt-Odenkirchen Rheydt Gbf Iron Rhine to Roermond Line to Aachen 41.5 Hochneukirch Former line to Stolberg 38.7 Jüchen 35.0 Gubberath A 46 Erft Railway from Neuss 31.3 Grevenbroich Erft Railway to Bedburg 27.6 Erftwerk 24.3 Oekoven 20.0 Rommerskirchen Former line to Holzheim Freight line to Niederaußem 15.5 Stommeln 11.5 Pulheim 5.6 Köln-Bocklemünd 3,5 Köln-Ehrenfeld Gbf Westkopf Bft HSL from Aachen (grade separated) Köln-Müngersdorf Technologiepark 1.7 Köln-Ehrenfeld freight yard 0.0 Köln-Ehrenfeld HSL to Cologne Hbf Source: German railway atlas

The Rheydt-Cologne railway is a mostly double-track electrified railway in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia between Rheydt and Cologne-Ehrenfeld. Only the section between Rheydt Hauptbahnhof and Rheydt-Odenkirchen is single track.

The first part of the line was built as part of the Mönchengladbach–Stolberg railway, which was built in stages between 1870 and 1875 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (German: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) from the current Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof (central station) via Geneicken, Mülfort, Odenkirchen and Hochneukirch and continuing to Jülich, Eschweiler and Stolberg. In 1889, a connection was built from Hochneukirch station, which was located on this line, to the Erft Railway near Grevenbroich station. The direct link from Grevenbroich to Köln-Ehrenfeld station was opened in 1899. The direct link between Odenkirchen and Rheydt Hauptbahnhof was finally opened in 1908. This meant that the 1870 line through Geneicken, which ran to Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof parallel with the line through Rheydt Hauptbahnhof and which had already been duplicated, was sidelined. This section of line, which was electrified in 1968, initially continued to be used for trains from Mönchengladbach to Cologne, but it was finally closed in May 1985 and dismantled between Odenkirchen and Geneicken.

The line is served by Regional-Express service RE 8 (Rhein-Erft-Express), operating with class 425 electric multiple units, and Regionalbahn service RB 27 (Rhein-Erft-Bahn) operating with a class 143 electric locomotive and three double-deck coaches. Each service operates hourly.