Voreifel Railway

Voreifel Railway
Overview
Native name	Voreifelbahn
Locale	North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Termini	Bonn Hbf Euskirchen
Line number	2645
Technical
Line length	34.2 km (21.3 mi)
Number of tracks	2: Bonn Hbf–Bonn-Duisdorf Meckenheim-Kottenforst–Rheinbach Kuchenheim–Euskirchen
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	110 km/h (68.4 mph) (maximum)
Route number	475
Route map Left Rhine Railway from Koblenz 0.0 Bonn Hbf 1.5 former Wessel Railway from Poppelsdorf 1.6 Bonn freight yard A 565 1.9 Left Rhine Railway to Cologne 2.8 Bonn-Endenich Nord(from 2014) 4.4 Bonn Helmholtzstraße(from 2013) 5.4 Bonn-Duisdorf 82 m 5.4 Bonn-Duisdorf crossover 7.1 Alfter-Impekoven (from 2014) 7.9 Witterschlick/Impekoven 9.8 Witterschlick 129 m 12.9 Kottenforst crossover 12.9 Kottenforst 162 m 15.0 Meckenheim Industriepark 16.1 Meckenheim-Merl (siding) 17.7 Meckenheim (Bz Köln) 168.5 m A 61 former Strategic Railway Embankment (unfinished) 21.0 Rheinbach Römerkanal (from 2013) former Strategic Railway Embankment from Dernau (unfinished) 22.0 Rheinbach 174 m to Schmidtheim/Losheim (formerly planned) former Strategic Railway Embankment to Liblar (unfinished) 25.5 Oberdrees (siding, Bundeswehr) 27.5 Odendorf 169.5 m 31.1 Kuchenheim 166.5 m 32.4 Erft Valley Railway from Bad Münstereifel 32.8 vEifel Railway from Cologne 34.2 Euskirchen Börde Railway to Düren Eifel Railway to Trier Source: German railway atlas

2:

The Voreifel Railway (German: Voreifelbahn) is a partly double track, non-electrified main line in the Voreifel from Bonn to Euskirchen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (KBS 475).

The Voreifel Railway was opened on 7 June 1880. The station buildings at Bonn-Duisdorf, Kottenforst, Meckenheim (Bz Köln), Rheinbach, Odendorf and Kuchenheim (spelt Cuchenheim until 1936) were built at this time. The other buildings stations between Duisdorf and Kottenforst were based on designs by Johannes Richter (1842–1889) and built from clinker brick. The station buildings of Duisdorf, Odendorf and Kuchenheim were built on the same plan. The station buildings of Meckenheim and Rheinbach were built to a slightly modified plan with Meckenheim and Rheinbach built in mirror-image to each other.

The line was originally built as a branch line and upgraded in later years as a main line. The maximum development of the line and its stations was achieved in the 1930s and 1940s. The line was then slowly downgraded to its present condition.

In the postwar years, the line was called the Kappes-Express ("Cabbage Express”) as it met the fate of many other lines: the second track was removed on more and more sections and passenger numbers declined as the timetable continued to be thinned in line with demand. At the end of the 1970s, the Voreifel Railway was still used by 3,000 passengers each day. Services on the line were threatened with more cuts in the short term and with closure in the medium term. In 1979, the service was temporarily intensified significantly to provide trains every half-hour during the daytime on week days and hourly on weekends. As a result, passenger numbers rose significantly.

Bonn Hbf (West Rhine Railway) – Duisdorf – (Meckenheim-)Kottenforst – Meckenheim – Rheinbach – Odendorf – Cuchenheim – Euskirchen (Eifel Railway)

Bonn Hbf – Duisdorf – Impekoven (Witterschlick) [km 7.9] – Kottenforst – Meckenheim – Rheinbach – Odendorf – Cuchenheim – Euskirchen

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