The Warendorf Railway (german: Warendorfer Bahn) is a single-track branch line from
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
via
Warendorf
Warendorf (, Westphalian: ''Warnduorp'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of Warendorf District.
The town is best known today for its well-preserved medieval town centre, for horse-riding, and the opportunities it prov ...
to
Rheda-Wiedenbrück
Rheda-Wiedenbrück (; Westphalian: ''Raie-Wienbrügge'') is a city in the district of Gütersloh, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
The twin community lies within the valley of the river Ems in the Westphalian Lowland south of the ...
in the German 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 state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
. It is now served by a train that continues from Rheda-Wiedenbrück to
Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
. The line is a section of the former Münster–Rheda–
Lippstadt railway and is now operated as part of
Deutsche Bahn’s ''Münster-Ostwestfalen'' regional network, based in Münster. According to Deutsche Bahn it is the accident-prone railway line in Germany.
History
![Telgte Bahnhof 1331](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Telgte_Bahnhof_1331.jpg)
After initially being planned as a
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
railway from Münster to
Telgte
Telgte (German pronunciation: tɛlktə regionally tɛlçtə is a town in the Warendorf district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the river Ems 12 km east of Münster and 15 km west of Warendorf. Telgte is famous as a place o ...
, a
standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
railway was built from Münster via Warendorf and Rheda to Lippstadt. Services began operating between Munster and Warendorf on 10 February 1887 and from Warendorf to Rheda on 25 June 1887.
In the early 1980s,
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...
wanted to close sections of the line because of its inefficiency. However, Peter Strüber und Jochen Sänger of Rheda-Wiedenbrück thwarted this with a cross-party political and local alliance.
Until the timetable change of December 2013, the line was operated by
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 ...
, but it is now operated by
eurobahn
Eurobahn is a railway operator in Germany, established in 1998. It operates regional train services in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with cross-border services including Lower Saxony and the Netherlands.
Initially a joint venture between K ...
.
Rheda Railway
The "Rheda Railway" (''Rhedaer Bahn'') refers to the line from Rheda via Wiedenbrück,
Langenberg, Bad Waldliesborn to Lippstadt. The last passenger train ran on the line on 30 November 1979. The transport of freight between Langenberg and Lippstadt was abandoned on 16 June 1983 and the track was dismantled in 1985. Freight traffic ended between Wiedenbrück Süd and Langenberg on 1 December 1994 and the section was closed on 30 November 1995. Freight traffic was abandoned on the remaining part of the line on 31 December 2000 and the line was closed on 1 May 2001.
[ Since 2006, the ''Westfälische Localbahn'' (Westphalian Local Railway) has tried to reactivate the line as a museum railway, although the line is not currently licensed for rail operations by the ]Federal Railway Authority
The German Federal Railway Authority (german: Eisenbahn-Bundesamt, ) has been the independent federal authority for the regulation of the railways in Germany since 1 January 1994. It is under the supervision and direction of the Federal Minist ...
. The city of Rheda-Wiedenbrück has been building a cycle path on the old route since 2009. Parts of the line have now been dismantled.
Route
A large part of the line runs along federal highway 64. A variety of mostly ungated level crossings means that there is a low line speed of up to 60 km/h. Shortly before Rheda-Wiedenbrück station the Warendorf Railway passes under the Hamm–Minden Railway
The Hamm–Minden Railway is an important and historically significant railway in Germany. It is completely quadruple track. It is a major axis for long distance passenger and freight trains between the Ruhr and the north and east of Germany.
I ...
and thus does not connect to its passenger tracks, but has its own platform on the freight tracks, so that it to could connect with the Rheda Railway without crossing the main line on the level.
The line speed between Warendorf and Beelen was increased to 100 km/h from the 2006/07 timetable change. This required numerous alterations to the track and the elimination of, or the upgrade of technology at, numerous level crossings. At the same time Vohren station was closed.
In October 2009, the section between Münster and Warendorf was partially renewed and the line between Munster and Beelen was connected to the electronic signalling centre in Coesfeld, while the Beelen–Rheda section was connected later. This now controls all operations on the line, replacing individual signalmen at turnouts and crossing guards. In the course of the upgrade the outdated mechanical interlockings were demolished at Telgte, Warendorf and Beelen stations.
At the end of August 2011, further sections of the line and the ballast bed between Münster and Warendorf were completely renewed.
Rail services
The Warendorf Railway is served by Regionalbahn service RB 67 (''Der Warendorfer'') from Münster to Bielefeld every hour, but on Sundays it runs only every two hours between Warendorf and Bielefeld. The service continues from Bielefeld as Regionalbahn service RB 71 ( Ravensberger Bahn) to Rahden
Rahden is a town in the far north of North Rhine-Westphalia between Bielefeld and Bremen and between Hanover and Osnabrück. Rahden is part of the Minden-Lübbecke District in East Westphalia-Lippe.
Rahden was first mentioned in 1033 and 1816 t ...
. Therefore, passengers normally do not have to change on this route.
The trains cross in Beelen and hourly also in Telgte. Under the timetable, services miss a connection in Brackwede
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
with RB 74 ( Senne-Bahn) services towards Paderborn
Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...
. The hourly service over the entire route was introduced for the first time at the 2006/07 timetable change. Previously, the section between Warendorf and Rheda-Wiedenbrück was operated primarily at two-hour intervals. There was already an hourly service between Münster and Warendorf. It was necessary to increase the line speed between Warendorf and Beelen from 60 km/h to 100 km/h to make the increased frequency possible.
Services are operated by eurobahn
Eurobahn is a railway operator in Germany, established in 1998. It operates regional train services in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with cross-border services including Lower Saxony and the Netherlands.
Initially a joint venture between K ...
on behalf of the ''Verkehrsverbundes OstWestfalenLippe'' ( East Westphalia-Lippe Transport Association) and the ''Zweckverbandes SPNV Münsterland'' (Münsterland Public Transport Association), using Bombardier Talent
The Talent is a multiple unit railcar manufactured by Bombardier that was developed by Waggonfabrik Talbot in Aachen shortly before the company was acquired by Bombardier in 1995. The name ''Talent'' is an acronym in German for ''TALbot LEichte ...
railcars of DB class 643. The average speed is 50 km/h.
Fares
All forms of public transport is covered by the following fare systems:
*in Münster and in Warendorf district by the ''Münsterland-Tarif'' (fares) of the ''Verkehrsgemeinschaft Münsterland'' (Transport Community of Münsterland)
*in the districts of Gütersloh
Gütersloh () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 100,194 peo ...
and Lippe
Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
The ...
and in the city of Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
by the ''Sechser-Tarif'' (“the six” fares) of the ''Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund OWL'' (transport association of Ostwestfalen-Lippe)
*between Warendorf and Rheda-Wiedenbrück by transitional fares under each fare scheme
*and collectively under the ''NRW-tariff'' (fares) of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warendorf Railway
Railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia