Line S2 is a

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 ...

line in the

Rhein-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 cover ...

network. It starts in

Dortmund Hauptbahnhof Dortmund Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The station's origins lie in a joint station of the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn and Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn which was built north of the city centr ...

and runs westerly. During weekdays one service per hour runs each to

Essen Hauptbahnhof Essen Hauptbahnhof (German for "Essen main station") is a railway station in the city of Essen in western Germany. It is situated south of the old town centre, next to the A 40 motorway. It was opened in 1862 by the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbah ...

and

Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof is a railway station for the city of Recklinghausen in Germany. History The original station opened in 1870 by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company as part of the construction of the Hamburg-Venlo railway. During the Se ...

using Stadler FLIRT 3XL units. Line S2 runs over lines built by various railway companies: * from

to Dortmund-Dorstfeld over the

Witten/Dortmund–Oberhausen/Duisburg railway The Witten/Dortmund, Oberhausen/Duisburg railway is one of the most important railways in Germany. It is the main axis of long distance and regional rail transport on the east–west axis of the Ruhr and is served by Intercity-Express, InterCi ...

, opened by the

Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company The Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company (german: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BME), also referred to as the Berg-Mark Railway Company or, more rarely, as the Bergisch-Markische Railway Company, was a German railway company that togethe ...

in 1862 * from Dortmund-Dorstfeld to Dortmund-Mengede over the

Welver–Sterkrade railway The Welver–Sterkrade railway is a former through railway line from the Westphalian town of Welver to Sterkrade in the western Ruhr region in Germany, which is now broken into four disconnected sections. Because its route ran along the Emscher r ...

, built by the

Royal Westphalian Railway Company The Royal Westphalian Railway (german: Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn, KWE) was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussian government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways. The network eventuall ...

on 1 September 1878. *from Dortmund-Mengede to

Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. It connects the city to the regional and long-distance rail service of Deutsche Bahn and other railway companies in Germany. History The Gelsenkirchen railway ...

via

Herne station Herne station was opened in the inner city of Herne in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1847 together with the Cologne-Minden trunk line. It was located between the village of Herne, which had about 1,000 inhabitants, and the moat ...

over the Duisburg–Dortmund Railway 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 ...

in 1847, *from Gelsenkirchen to Essen over the

Essen–Gelsenkirchen railway The Gelsenkirchen Essen railway is a double-track, electrified main line railway in the central Ruhr area of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It runs from Essen Hauptbahnhof via Essen-Kray Nord to Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof. History B ...

, opened from Gelsenkirchen to Essen-Kray Nord 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 ...

in 1872 and from Essen-Kray Nord to Essen Hauptbahnhof by the

Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...

in 1905, *from Herne to Recklinghausen over tracks competed in October 1901 by

Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...

and the

Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway The Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Metropole Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany. The Route runs over the cities Münster (Westf ...

opened by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company in 1870. S-Bahn services commenced between Dortmund and Duisburg on 2 June 1991. Services commenced between Dortmund and Essen on 29 September 1991. Services commenced between Dortmund and Recklinghausen on 24 May 1998. Services between Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg ended on 15 December 2019 and were replaced by the RB 32 ( Rhein-Emscher-Bahn).

Notes

References

*{{cite book, title=Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) , edition =2007/2008 , publisher= Schweers + Wall , year= 2007 , isbn= 978-3-89494-136-9 BF Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen

S02 1991 establishments in Germany