Oberbergische Bahn

RB 25: Oberbergische Bahn
Route number:	459
Line length:	67
Maximum speed:	120
State:	North Rhine-Westphalia
Route map
Legend 0 Köln Hansaring(Hp) 1 Cologne Hbf             ICE, Thalys, IC, RE 2 Köln Messe/Deutz ICE, RE 4 Köln Trimbornstraße(Hp) 8 Köln Frankfurter Straße   17 Rösrath-Stümpen 19 Rösrath 21 Hoffnungsthal 25 Honrath 29 Overath 41 Engelskirchen 46 Ründeroth 54 Dieringhausen 59 Gummersbach 67 Marienheide 76 Meinerzhagen(from December 2013) 80 Kierspe(extension by 2015) 91 Brügge (Westf)(extension by 2015) 97 Lüdenscheid(extension by 2015)

The Oberbergische Bahn (RB 25) is a Regionalbahn rail service running between Cologne Hansaring and Marienheide in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).^[1] It is planned that the route will be incorporated in the Rhine-Sieg S-Bahn, which is operated as part of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn.

This service is operated by DB Regio NRW with Bombardier Talent (class 644 diesel) railcars in double or triple traction.

Route

Overath station

The RB 25 service starts at Cologne Hansaring and runs over the tracks of the S-Bahn line to the Cologne–Overath railway to Overath then on the Siegburg–Olpe railway (also called the Agger Valley Railway) to Dieringhausen, continuing over the Hagen–Dieringhausen railway (Volme Valley Railway) to its terminus at Marienheide.

The RB 25 service runs on the section between Cologne Hansaring and Overath every half hour. Trains continue from Overath to Marienheide hourly.

Fares

Fares on the entire line are regulated by Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (Rhine-Sieg Transport Association).

Future

It is proposed to operate the section between Cologne Hansaring and Overath at 20-minute intervals. This, however, requires the duplication of the line. In 2015, the line is to be integrated into the network of the Rhine-Sieg S-Bahn and to be extended through Cologne to the Eifel Railway.

Furthermore, there are plans to reactivate the section of the Volme Valley Railway between Marienheide and Brügge (Westfalen). This would continue over the Brügge–Lüdenscheid railway without reversal to Lüdenscheid, unlike the current RB 52 (Volmetal-Bahn) from Dortmund to Lüdenscheid, which reverses in Brügge.

Oliver Wittke, the former NRW transport minister, turned down a proposal to reactivate the entire section in 2005. The Meinerzhagen–Meinerzhagen section will return to operation in 2013.^[2]

In March 2011, the Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (Westphalia-Lippe Regional Transport) awarded operations of the Cologne diesel network (Kölner Dieselnetz) to DB Regio Rheinland from December 2013 for 20 years. This contract requires the following actions on the Oberbergische network to be undertaken:

• line extension (reactivation) from Meinerzhagen to Meinerzhagen
• duplication of the Dieringhausen–Gummersbach section
• measures to raise speeds between Köln-Porz and Rösrath
• increased services on the Overath–Engelskirchen section by increasing services between Cologne and Overath (13 services from Monday to Friday)
• increased services on the Overath–Gummersbach section to 14 services from Monday to Friday
• an extra service in the morning peak from Overath (7:11 AM) to Cologne (7:48 AM)
• establishment of a half hourly service between Marienheide and Gummersbach between 7:00 and 8:00 AM for students and school children.

Alstom Coradia LINT 54 and 81 railcars are used for the service.

Since the beginning of October 2012 extensive work has been carried out in the premises of Meinerzhagen station. The rail tracks are being renewed in preparation for the reactivation of passenger traffic on the section between Marienheide and Meinerzhagen in 2013. The old tracks are to be demolished. Deutsche Bahn has invested around €16.5 million on this track renewal alone. The current construction project will cost about €5 million. Further work is being carried out on the upgrade and protection of level crossings and on the redevelopment of future stations in Meinerzhagen and Kierspe. The goal is to offer an integrated regional passenger service RB 25 (Oberbergische Bahn) from Cologne to Lüdenscheid at the timetable change in December 2015.

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oberbergische Bahn.

• "Timetable No 459: Köln Hansaring ↔ Marienheide" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 24 October 2013.