Cologne freight bypass railway

Cologne freight bypass railway
Towers at the eastern end of the South Bridge
Overview
Native name	Güterumgehungsbahn Köln
Line number	2641 (Köln Süd–Köln-Kalk Nord) 2642 (Cologne South–Cologne Bonntor) 2656 (Cologne South bridge–Gremberg Nord)
Locale	North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Technical
Line length	7.7 km (4.8 mi) + 7.1 km (4.4 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead catenary
Operating speed	60 km/h (37 mph)
Route map Legend West Rhine Railway to Cologne 0.0 Cologne South│ Cologne South junction Stadtbahn 18 Vorgebirge Railway Cöln-Pantaleon West Rhine Railway to Köln Eifeltor 1.3 Köln Bonntor Bnf 2.1 Köln Bonntor Köln Hafen (siding) Stadtbahn 16 Rhine Shore Railway Cologne South Bridge 0.0 3.6 Cologne South (junction) Sieg Railway to Köln Messe/Deutz 6.6 Köln-Kalk (former station) 7.7 to Köln-Kalk Nord yard Troisdorf–Mülheim-Speldorf railway (freight line) to Köln-Kalk Nord yard 3.0 Gremberg Nord (junction) 5.5 Gremberg Köln Steinstraße (junction)* 7.1 Gremberg Süd (junction) Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway East Rhine Railway, Sieg Railway *start of Cologne-Frankfurt HSR Source: German railway atlas[1] This diagram: view talk edit

The Cologne freight bypass railway (German: Güterumgehungsbahn Köln) is a main line railway in southern Cologne in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is fully duplicated and electrified.

The railway crosses the Cologne South Bridge, connecting the West Rhine Railway (Linke Rheinstrecke), Cologne South station and the Cologne Eifeltor freight yard on the left (western) side of the Rhine with the Sieg Railway, the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway, the East Rhine Railway (Rechte Rheinstrecke), and the marshalling yards of Cologne-Kalk Nord and Gremberg on the right (eastern) side of the Rhine. It was opened on 5 April 1910, disrupted by the bombing of the South Bridge on 6 January 1945, reopened with one track on 3 May 1946 and two tracks in 1950 and electrified on 27 May 1962.^[2]