The Wuppertal-Vohwinkel-Essen Überruhr Railway is a long, continuous two-track electrified main line. It is known as the ''Prince William Railway'', the first railway linking the valleys of the

Wupper The Wupper is a right tributary of the Rhine in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous region of the Bergisches Land in Berg County and enters the Rhine at Leve ...

and the Ruhr. The first line on the route was opened in 1831 by the ''Deil Valley Railway Company'' (

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 ...

: ''Deilthaler Eisenbahn Aktiengesellschaft'') along the Deilbach Valley and was the first railway in Germany, although horse-hauled until its conversion to standard gauge in 1847.

Construction of the line

Deil Valley Railway Company/Prince William Railway Company

On 21 June 1844 the Prince William Railway Company (German: ''Prinz-Wilhelm-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''PWE'') had received the concession for the rebuilding of its existing line between Nierenhof (near Langenberg, now part of

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 ...

) and Hinsbek (a suburb of Kupferdreh, now part of Essen). The line was converted from

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 ...

() to standard gauge () and extended in the south to Vohwinkel and in the north to Überruhr and opened for passenger operations on 1 December 1847.

Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company

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 togeth ...

(German: ''Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''BME'') took over operation of the route on 27 March 1854 and on 1 January 1863 it acquired the Prince William Railway Company and its line. It extended the line in a north-easterly direction to Steele (later Steele

Hauptbahnhof Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, now

Essen-Steele Ost station Essen-Steele Ost station is located in the district of Essen-Steele in the German city of Essen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is on the Witten/Dortmund–Oberhausen/Duisburg line and is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a categ ...

, connecting to a section of its Witten/Dortmund–Oberhausen/Duisburg line opened in March 1862) and from there along the Ruhr through

Dahlhausen Dahlhausen is a South-Western district of the city of Bochum in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It borders Essen and Hattingen. A large part of the border of Dahlhausen is formed by the river Ruhr. South of the Ruhr is the district of Burgalte ...

and on to Langendreer BME. The Essen-Überruhr–Bochum-Langendreer line was opened five months later on 1 June 1863.

Terminal station

Since the extension of the line in 1847 trains had to reverse in the terminal station (German: ''Kopfstation'', literally "head station") in the Siebeneick Valley to continue their journey. This need was overcome in 1868 with the realignment of the track and the closure of the station.

Ruhr Valley Railway

On 1 February 1872 the first part of the BME's

Ruhr Valley Railway The Ruhr Valley Railway (german: Ruhrtalbahn) is a partly abandoned railway line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, running from Düsseldorf-Rath via Old Kupferdreh station, Bochum-Dahlhausen, Witten-Herbede, Hagen-Vorhalle and Sc ...

was opened from Düsseldorf-Oberbilk to Essen-Kupferdreh, and in 1874 another section of it from Essen-Überruhr to Hagen-Vorhalle (connecting with the Elberfeld–Dortmund line). Both routes now no longer connect with the Prince William line, the sections from Essen-Kupferdreh to Essen-Werden and Essen-Überruhr via Altendorf (now Essen-Burgaltendorf) to Bochum-Dahlhausen are now closed and partially dismantled.

Current situation

In the 1970s work began on developing the main lines in the central Ruhr area for the

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 ...

. On 1 February 1978 a direct connection was opened for the first time from Essen-Überruhr to Essen-Steele (then Essen-Steele West), while the line between Essen-Überruhr and Essen-Steele Ost was closed. The new connecting curve is a single-track line like the old line. This work allowed a new through service. Instead of going to Essen-Steele Ost and further east, trains from Wuppertal-Vohwinkel could continue 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 ...

. The section from Essen-Steele Ost to Bochum- Dahlhausen West junction had already been incorporated (on 26 May 1974) into S-Bahn line S3. The Wuppertal-Vohwinkel-Essen Überruhr line was upgraded for its inclusion in the S-Bahn on 15 December 2003 and electrified for its whole length. Velbert-Rosenhügel station was rebuilt and Velbert-Neviges station was relocated. In addition, the Aprath station closed in 1965 was reopened as Wülfrath-Aprath station. The old platforms of Domap station, which was closed in May 1965, were also demolished. S-Bahn line S9 runs every 30 minutes from

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 tow ...

to Wuppertal-Vohwinkel, Velbert, Essen-Überruhr, Essen-Steele, Essen Hbf, Essen-Borbeck,

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 ...

and

Gladbeck Gladbeck () is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gladbeck is quite a young town, first recognised 21 July 1919 when it was given town rights. The town established itself around five farming villages, Br ...

. Once an hour S-Bahn trains continue to Recklinghausen,

Haltern am See Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. no ...

and Hagen.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wuppertal-Vohwinkel-Essen-Uberruhr Railway Railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia Standard gauge railways in Germany 820 mm gauge railways in Germany Railway lines opened in 1831 1831 establishments in Prussia Ruhr Transport in Essen Buildings and structures in Wuppertal