The Neustadt–Dürkheim Railway Company (''Neustadt-Dürkheimer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft )'' or NDE was an early German railway company dating from the final decade of Bavarian independence. It was founded on 22 October 1862, by a committee of leading citizens from

Deidesheim Deidesheim ( pfl, Daisem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with some 3,700 inhabitants. The town lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration and since 1973 it has been the seat of the ''V ...

and

Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Wine ...

. The railway ran from north to south, connecting Durkheim (which since 1904 has been known as Bad Dürkheim) at the northern end to

Neustadt an der Haardt Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem *Nové Město na Morav� ...

(since 1950 known as Neustadt an der Weinstraße) at the southern end. The largest intermediate town was

. The company worked closely with the Palatine Ludwigsbahn Company to which it transferred operational and administrative control. During subsequent decades the economic focus of the region was drawn twenty kilometres to the east. The reason for that was the higher wage levels available from the burgeoning chemical industry in nearby

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

that drew earning and spending power away from the axis followed by the line south from Bad Dürkheim. The railway was opened on 6 May 1865, but was not as profitable as had been foreseen. On 1 January 1870 the three largest railway companies in the region were united under the Palatinate Railway (Pfalzbahn) and the NDE was wound up. Its assets were transferred to the

Palatine Northern Railway The Palatine Northern Railway (german: Pfälzische Nordbahn) is a non-electrified single-track main line that connects Neustadt (Weinstr) Hbf with Monsheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was opened between 1865 and 1873 in three s ...

. Three and a half years later, on 20 July 1873, a continuation beyond Bad Dürkheim opened: this extended the line as far north as

Grünstadt Grünstadt ( pfl, Grinnschdadt) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless th ...

. The three united private railways remained officially independent until they were nationalised on 1 January 1909, and merged into the

Royal Bavarian State Railways The Royal Bavarian State Railways (''Königliche Bayerische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.Bay.Sts.B.'') was the state railway company for the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded in 1844. The organisation grew into the second largest of the German ...

Sources

* :de:Neustadt-Dürkheimer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft {{DEFAULTSORT:Neustadt-Durkheim Railway Company Defunct railway companies of Germany Anterior Palatinate Transport in Rhineland-Palatinate Railway companies established in 1862 Railway companies disestablished in 1909 1862 establishments in Bavaria 1909 disestablishments in Germany 1909 mergers and acquisitions German companies established in 1862