The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (), abbreviated VRR, is a

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

association (

Verkehrsverbund A transit district or transit authority is a government agency or a public-benefit corporation created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region. A transit district may operate bus, rail or other types of tra ...

) in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. It covers most of the

Ruhr area 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 ...

, as well as neighbouring parts of the

Lower Rhine region The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany between approximately Oberhausen and Krefeld in the East and the Dutch border around Kleve in the West. ...

, including

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and thus large parts of the

Rhine-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers ...

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

. It was founded on 1 January 1980, and is Europe’s largest body of such kind, covering an area of some with more than 7.8 million inhabitants, spanning as far as

Dorsten Dorsten (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Dössen'') is a town in the district of Recklinghausen (district), Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000. Dorsten is situated on the western rim of ...

in the north,

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

in the east, Langenfeld in the south, and

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

and the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

border in the west.

Structure and responsibilities

The VRR is tasked with coordinating public transport in its area. This means the following: * setting and developing the fare system (“VRR-Tarif”) ** redistributing ticket revenue onto the transport companies * coordinating local train services (''Schienenpersonennahverkehr'', SPNV) within its area as public service obligations (PSO) * integrating the public transport system ** setting standards and guidelines for passenger information and bus/tram stop facilities ** coordination between transport companies, local authorities and ''Land'' authorities * financing partial subsidies for bus and tram companies according to § 11 (2) and § 11a ÖPNVG NRW * coordinating ''Land'' subsidies to transport companies and local authorities according to § 12 and § 13 ÖPNVG NRW

Governance

Officially, 24 cities and districts form the ''Zweckverband VRR'' (ZV VRR), and an additional 2 districts the ''Nahverkehrs-Zweckverband Niederrhein'' (NVN). Together, the ZV VRR and the NVN form the ''Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr AöR'', which in addition cooperates with further transport companies. The member cities and districts of the ''Zweckverband VRR'' (ZV VRR) are: * cities of

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

Bottrop Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail cent ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

, Herne,

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

, Monheim,

Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Remscheid Remscheid () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south ...

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

Viersen Viersen (; li, Veeëse) is the capital of the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of Mönchengladbach, 15 km south-west of Krefeld and 20 km east o ...

, and

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...

* districts of

Ennepe-Ruhr The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is a district in the center of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the southern Ruhr urban area and has ca. 324,000 inhabitants (2012). The district's seat (capital city) is Schwelm; the largest of its nine towns ...

Mettmann Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf ...

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...

Rhein-Kreis Neuss Neuss is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Nearby are the urban districts Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, the districts Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Düren, Heinsberg and the district Viersen. ...

and

The members of the ''Nahverkehrs-Zweckverband Niederrhein'' (NVN) are the districts of

Kleve Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

and

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

. The municipal and district councils send representatives to the two ''Zweckverband'' councils (Verbandsversammlung), which in turn elect the main decision making body, the administrative council (Verwaltungsrat) of the VRR AöR, and other committees. The ''Verwaltungsrat'' elects the administrative board of the VRR AöR (Vorstand), currently Ronald R.F. Lünser and José Luis Castrillo. In addition, there are departments within the VRR dealing with different matters, such as marketing or law. Two ''Land'' institutions are located within the VRR structure: ''Kompetenzcenter Digitalisierung NRW'' (KCD) and ''Kompetenzcenter Sicherheit'' (KCS). Through the ''ZV VRR Eigenbetrieb Fahrzeuge und Infrastruktur'' (ZV VRR FaIn-EB), the VRR also buys and/or owns the

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

for some, but not all, of its PSO rail operations.

Transport companies

These above mentioned cities’ and districts’ and other associated transport companies thus operate under the VRR fare scheme: * Bahnen der Stadt Monheim (BSM) * Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen (Bogestra) * Busverkehr Rheinland (BVR), operating as “ DB Rheinlandbus” *

Dortmunder Stadtwerke DSW21 customer center in Kampstraße, in front of Petri church.Dortmunder Stadtwerke AG is a municipal services and public transport company in Dortmund, wholly owned by the city of Dortmund. It is operating under the brand DSW21 since 2005. T ...

(DSW21) * Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft (DVG) * Flughafen Düsseldorf * Hagener Straßenbahn (HST) * Kraftverkehr Schwalmtal (KVS) * Kreisverkehrsgesellschaft Mettmann (KVGM) * LOOK Busreisen * Niederrheinische Verkehrsbetriebe (NIAG) * NEW mobil und aktiv Mönchengladbach (NEW Möbus) * NEW mobil und aktiv Viersen (NEW Viersen) *

Rheinbahn Rheinbahn is a public transport operator operating in Düsseldorf, Meerbusch and Kreis Mettmann. Its network consists of the Düsseldorf Stadtbahn, a network of 11 Stadtbahn (light rail) lines which are integrated in the Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn n ...

* Ruhrbahn * StadtBus Dormagen * Stadtwerke Goch * Stadtwerke Kevelaer * Stadtwerke Krefeld (SWK) * Stadtwerke Neuss (SWN) *

Stadtwerke Oberhausen The 'Stadtwerke Oberhausen AG' (STOAG) is the local transport organization for the city of Oberhausen, Germany. It is a member of the regional transport organization Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (), abbreviated VRR, ...

(STOAG) * Stadtwerke Remscheid (SR) * Stadtwerke Solingen (SWS) * Straßenbahn Herne – Castrop-Rauxel (HCR) * Verkehrsgesellschaft der Stadt Velbert (VGV) * Verkehrsgesellschaft Ennepe-Ruhr (VER) * Verkehrsgesellschaft Hilden *

Vestische Straßenbahnen The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (), abbreviated VRR, is a public transport association (Verkehrsverbund) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It covers most of the Ruhr area, as well as neighbouring parts of the Lower Rhine region, includ ...

* Wuppertaler Stadtwerke (WSW) The following rail companies operate S-Bahn or regional train services in the VRR area and accept VRR tickets: *

Abellio Rail NRW Abellio Deutschland is a public transit operator in Germany operating bus and rail networks. Headquartered in Berlin, it is a subsidiary of the Dutch state-owned Abellio. History Abellio Deutschland was formed by the Essen public transit c ...

DB Regio DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio bus ...

* Keolis Deutschland, operating as “eurobahn” * National Express Rail *

NordWestBahn The NordWestBahn GmbH is a private railway company providing regional train services on several routes in northern and western Germany. It is a joint venture of Stadtwerke Osnabrück AG, Verkehr und Wasser GmbH in Oldenburg and Transdev Ge ...

* Regiobahn * Train Rental * VIAS Rail

Line numbering scheme

With the introduction of the VRR in 1980 a new line numbering system for all bus, tram and ''Stadtbahn'' lines in the VRR area was introduced. The VRR was divided into ten regions, which were assigned a prefix digit (e.g. 4 for Dortmund), the first digit in the three-digit line number representing that prefix. The last two digits are the individual line number. These are the existing prefixes: * 1:

and

* 2: Kreis Recklinghausen,

and northern

* 3:

, southern

, parts of the

Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is a district in the center of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the southern Ruhr urban area and has ca. 324,000 inhabitants (2012). The district's seat (capital city) is Schwelm; the largest of its nine town ...

and Herne * 4:

* 5:

and main part of the

* 6:

and

* 7:

and

Kreis Mettmann Mettmann () is a Kreis (district) in the middle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring are the Ennepe-Ruhr, Rhein-Kreis Neuss, Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis and the district-free cities Cologne, Leverkusen, Wuppertal, Solingen, Düsseldorf, ...

* 8:

and

* 9:

and

* 0:

and

Kreis Viersen Viersen () is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Cleves, Wesel, district-free Krefeld, Neuss, district-free Mönchengladbach, Heinsberg and the Dutch province of Limburg. History In 181 ...

* no prefix: Kreis Kleve and Kreis Wesel Stadtbahn lines are identified with the prefix "U" followed by the prefix and a one-digit identifiers. The prefixes 2, 5, 9 and 0 are not used for Stadtbahn lines. The

Wuppertal Schwebebahn The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn ("Wuppertal Suspension Railway") is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. Its original name was ("Eugen Langen Monorail Overhead Conveyor System"). It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars ...

is officially line 60, but because it does not run underground, the U prefix is not used. After the integration of the former Verkehrsgemeinschaft Niederrhein (VGN) area north of Duisburg, route numbers were unchanged, i.e. representing no prefix. * Express buses are called ''Schnellbus'' and have the prefix SB followed by a two-digit-number. None of these numbers is a key number. * Semi-fast buses are called ''City-Express'' and have the prefix CE followed by a two-digit-number. As with the ''Schnellbusse'' none of these numbers is a key number. * Taxi buses are ''AST'' – ''AnrufSammelTaxi'' or ''ALT'' – ''AnrufLinienTaxi'' or ''Taxibus'' * In some cities the local buses have an own numbering system, e.g. the buses in

Velbert Velbert ( Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in the district of Mettmann, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings. Geography Velbert is located on the hills of 'Niede ...

are called ''Ortsbus'', their line number consists of an ''OV'' followed by a one- or two-digit number. * In some cities the night buses are called ''NachtExpress'' – ''NE'' StadtbahnRR

, the VRR network consists of 1098 lines, of which there are: * in regional rail ** 12

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...

lines (''see:''

Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr) is a polycentric and electrically driven S-train network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in the German federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes most of the Ruhr (and ci ...

) ** 20

Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...

lines (''see:''

List of regional railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia The List of regional rail lines in North Rhine-Westphalia provides a list of all Regional-Express and Regionalbahn railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia. The passenger rail service in North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the densest train services ...

) ** 19 Regionalbahn lines (''see:''

) *in urban rail ** 15

Stadtbahn ' (; German for "city railway"; plural ') is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...

light rail lines (''see:''

Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn The Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn (german: Stadtbahn Rhein-Ruhr) is an umbrella system of all of the Stadtbahn ( light rail) lines included in the integrated public transport network of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), which covers the Rhine-Ruhr met ...

) ** 45

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

lines ** 1 Schwebebahn line (in

) ** 2

H-Bahn The H-Bahn (abbreviation for , German for 'hanging railway') in Dortmund and Düsseldorf (there known as "Sky train") is a driverless passenger suspension railway system. The system was developed by Siemens, who call the project SIPEM (SIemen ...

peoplemover systems made up of three lines (two

lines in

, and the

Düsseldorf SkyTrain The H-Bahn (abbreviation for , German for 'hanging railway') in Dortmund and Düsseldorf (there known as "Sky train") is a driverless passenger suspension railway system. The system was developed by Siemens, who call the project SIPEM (SIemens ...

airport) * in buses ** 1030

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

lines ** 6

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

lines (in

) *290,988 train and bus km per year * 15,300 km of route network (bus, light rail, and train) * 11,500 stops

History

In 2004, roughly 1 billion trips were made by way of the VRR network.

References

External links

Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) – official site

Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) – official site
{{Authority control Transport associations in Germany Transport in North Rhine-Westphalia Ruhr Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia Companies based in Gelsenkirchen Transport in Gelsenkirchen 1980 establishments in West Germany Companies established in 1980