The Troisdorf–Mülheim-Speldorf railway is the main axis for freight between

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

area in Germany and the Netherlands. It connects the marshalling yards of Duisburg-Wedau (formerly important, now closed and demolished) and Gremberg (in Cologne).

History

The track was opened on 18 November 1874 by the

Rhenish Railway Company The Rhenish Railway Company (German language, German: ''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the m ...

(german: Rheinischen Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) to connect its Ruhr line with the Right Rhine line. It runs parallel, but a few kilometres to the east of the Cologne–Duisburg trunk line opened by the

Cologne-Minden Railway Company The Cologne-Minden Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CME'') was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th ...

(''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') thirty years earlier, from which it hoped to draw traffic. Since the line bypasses the centre of the towns, soon after the nationalisation of both companies in 1879/1880 passenger operations were closed on parts of it. Except on a few short sections the line is now used exclusively for freight.

Passengers

After the Second World War passenger services ran only on the section from Mülheim-Speldorf to

Düsseldorf-Rath Rath is a quarter in northern Düsseldorf, part of Borough 6. It is about 5 km northeast of the city center, near the airport. It has an area of , and 20,483 inhabitants (2020). History The Rath area was occupied since at least the Mesoli ...

(continuing to

Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station of Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History The station was opened on 1 October 1891. It replaced the three following stations: *the ''Bergisch-Märkische s ...

) and from

Hilden Hilden is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town with a forest and numero ...

Opladen Opladen, now a district of Leverkusen, used to be the capital of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis (Rhine-Wupper-District) until 1975. Opladen station is located northeast from Cologne on the railway to Wuppertal. It is also on the Autobahn A3. Population ...

. Passenger services were discontinued between Duisburg-Wedau and Mülheim-Speldorf on 6 December 1971. This was followed on 23 September 1983 by the end of operations between Duisburg-Entenfang and Düsseldorf-Rath. Since then the only operation on the line is the Regionalbahn service, ''Der Wedauer'' (RB 37), from

Duisburg Hauptbahnhof Duisburg Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in 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 The station is situat ...

to Duisburg-Entenfang. Between Duisburg-Wedau and Lintorf, the line is also used by museum trains to access the Anger Valley Railway. Passenger services on the Opladen–Hilden section were abandoned on 23 September 1983. Passenger operations on the two sections were mainly operated in the postwar period with battery railcars of class 515, but local trains were also hauled by locomotives of classes

140 140 may refer to: * 140 (number), an integer * AD 140, a year of the Julian calendar * 140 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * ''140'' (video game), a 2013 platform game * Tin King stop Tin King () is an at-grade MTR Light Rail stop ...

and

212 Year 212 (Roman numerals, CCXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asper and Camilius (or, less frequently, year 965 '' ...

or composed of class 430 electric multiple units. A reactivation of passenger services has been discussed from time to time.

Freight

The line was and is used by heavy freight traffic. North of Düsseldorf-Rath station there is a siding connecting to

Vallourec Vallourec S.A. is a multinational manufacturing company headquartered in Meudon, France. Vallourec specializes in hot rolled seamless steel tubes, expandable tubular technology, automotive parts, and stainless steel, which it provides to energy ...

Mannesmann Mannesmann was a German industrial conglomerate. It was originally established as a manufacturer of steel pipes in 1890 under the name "Deutsch-Österreichische Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG". (Loosely translated: "German-Austrian Mannesmann pi ...

Tubes for the carriage of steel tubes by freight trains.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Troisdorf-Mulheim-Speldorf railway Railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia Railway lines opened in 1874 1874 establishments in Germany Transport in Düsseldorf