Vennbahn

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A viaduct on the Vennbahn near Bütgenbach in the Liège province of Belgium

The Vennbahn is a railway line that, although it lay in Germany when first built, is today entirely in Belgium – even where parts of its route now run through otherwise German territory – the trackbed of the line having been made Belgian territory in 1919 by a provision of the Treaty of Versailles. This part of the treaty also had the effect of creating five small exclaves of Germany on the line's western side.^[1]

The line, which is standard-gauge, runs for some 75 kilometers (47 mi) across the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes, Hohes Venn) to the south of Aachen in a roughly southward direction from Eupen via Raeren (the site of the depot), Monschau (Montjoie) and Malmedy to Trois-Ponts, with a 20 km (12 mi) eastward branch from Oberweywertz to Bütgenbach and Losheim. At Eupen it connects with the line to Welkenraedt where it joins the Brussels-Cologne main line. At Trois-Ponts it connects with the Liège-Luxembourg line.

Until the end of 2001, the Vennbahn line operated tourist services, some of which were steam-hauled. These were withdrawn for want of funds to maintain the line. Part of the track between Kalterherberg and Sourbrodt is now used by railbikes.^[2]

It was reported in 2008 that, with the Vennbahn no longer operational, Belgium might have to surrender the land where the line passes through Germany, so that the exclaves would no longer be exclaves.^[3]^[4] However, the foreign ministries of Germany and Belgium have since confirmed that the trackbed, even though disused, will continue to be Belgian territory and that the German exclaves will therefore remain.^[5]