railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath ( Ripuarian: ; li, Hertseraoj; nl, ’s-Hertogenrade) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running alon ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, passing through
Heerlen
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...
. The line was opened in 1896.
History
The line was nationalized in 1899. In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, cross-border passenger traffic was stopped on the line. In 1992, the first passenger trains began running on the line at 2-hour intervals as a ''City Express'' from Aachen to
Heerlen
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...
. As the first real stage of the transnational regional rail system
Euregiobahn
Euregiobahn is a system of regional trains (RB 20) in the combined area of the ''AVV (Aachener Verkehrverbund)'' at the Aachen (district), Düren (district) operated by DB Regio NRW.
History
The historical predecessors of ''Euregiobahn'' were ...
in June 2001, the connection from Aachen to Heerlen via
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath ( Ripuarian: ; li, Hertseraoj; nl, ’s-Hertogenrade) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running alon ...
was introduced. The train ran hourly from Heerlen to Stolberg.
Present
April 2014 marked the start of the electrification of the
single-track railway
A single-track railway is a railway where trains traveling in both directions share the same track. Single track is usually found on lesser-used rail lines, often branch lines, where the level of traffic is not high enough to justify the co ...
from
Landgraaf
Landgraaf (; li, Lankgraaf ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ''Snow World'' is the largest indoor ski piste in Europe.
Population centres
* Nieuwenhagen
* Schaesberg ...
to
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath ( Ripuarian: ; li, Hertseraoj; nl, ’s-Hertogenrade) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running alon ...
, which was completed at the end of 2018. On 27 January 2019
Arriva
Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Aachen,
Heerlen
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...
and
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
. Plans to extend this service from Maastricht to Liège (Belgium) have been delayed to 2022 or later.
The following train services on this track:
*''Intercity'' IC 3500: Amsterdam Schiphol – Utrecht – Eindhoven – Heerlen
*''Sneltrein'' : Aachen – Heerlen – Maastricht
*''Stoptrein'' : Sittard – Heerlen – Kerkrade
Stations
The main interchange stations on the Sittard–Herzogenrath railway are:
* Sittard: to
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
and
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...
*
Heerlen
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...
: to
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
*
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath ( Ripuarian: ; li, Hertseraoj; nl, ’s-Hertogenrade) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running alon ...
: to
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 ...
,
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
File:Station Sittard2.jpg, Station Sittard (2006)
File:Station Heerlen voorkant.jpg, Station Heerlen (2006)
File:Station Heerlen De Kissel.jpg, Station Heerlen De Kissel (2008)
File:Stationlandgraaf2.jpg, Station Landgraaf the right track direction Herzogenrath, left track direction Kerkrade. (2006)
File:Station Eygelshoven Markt.jpg, Station Eygelshoven Markt (2011)
File:Bf Herzogenrath.JPG, Bahnhof Herzogenrath (2012)