Ruhr Valley Railway

Düsseldorf–Hagen railway
Overview
Line number	2400
Locale	North Rhine-Westphalia
Service
Route number	450.1, 450.3, 450.6 450.7, 450.9, 450.11
Technical
Line length	80 km (50 mi)
Number of tracks	2: Düsseldorf Hbf – Essen-Werden 2: Essen-Kupferdreh – Essen-Überruhr 2: Bochum-Dahlhausen – Hattingen 2: Wengern Ost – Hagen Hbf
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (74.6 mph) (maximum)
Route map Legend from Cologne S1S6 and from Mönchengladbach S8S11S28 0.0 Düsseldorf Hbf 1.1 Düsseldorf Wehrhahn 2.1 Düsseldorf-Zoo 3.3 Düsseldorf-Derendorf 4.0 Düsseldorf-Derendorf junction to Cologne–Duisburg line S1S11 5.4 Vogelsang junction from Düsseldorf-Derendorf freight yard 6.0 Düsseldorf-Rath Mitte line from Troisdorf 7.1 Düsseldorf-Rath line to Mülheim-Speldorf 10.1 Ratingen Ost 11.1 10.8 Chainage change Anger Valley Railway A 3 15.5 Hösel Heiligenhaus-Hösel light railway Hösel Tunnel (326 m, single track) Niederberg Railway from Heiligenhaus Lower Ruhr Valley Railway from Mülheim-Styrum 19.4 Kettwig Stausee Ruhr 20.7 Kettwig 25.0 Essen-Werden (old station) 25.3 Essen-Werden line to Essen Hbf S6 31.6 Essen-Heisingen 33.0 Kupferdreh Ruhr bridge Ruhr (Baldeneysee) Hesper Valley Railway from Hesperbrück 33.7 Essen-Kupferdreh Hesper Valley siding formerly Essen-Kupferdreh (wedge station) 33.7 line from Wuppertal-Vohwinkel, S9 36.5 Essen-Holthausen 37.8 Essen-Überruhr 37.8 Essen-Überruhr junction line to Essen-Steele, S9 41.7 Zeche Theodor junction Mülheim-Heißen–Altendorf (Ruhr) line Line from Mülheim-Heißen 42.7 Altendorf (Ruhr) Ruhr line from Essen-Steele Ost S3 line from Bochum-Dahlhausen Bez West junction 44.1 Bochum Dahlhausen Railway Museum 45.1 Bochum-Dahlhausen former line to Bochum-Weitmar 48.5 Hattingen (Ruhrbrücke) Ruhr New line to Hattingen town centre 49.4 Hattingen (Ruhr) wedge station former line to Wuppertal City-Tunnel Hattingen (100 m, single track) 1.2 Hattingen (Ruhr) Mitte , terminus of S3 51.0 Hattingen (Ruhr) Thyssen (siding) 51.5 Welper (depot) 52.7 Hattingen (Ruhr) Henrichshütte Blankenstein Tunnel (74 m) 54.7 Blankenstein (Ruhr) Burg 56.6 Blankenstein (Ruhr) Bossel–Blankenstein light railway 59.2 Herbede 61.0 Ruine Hardenstein 62.5 Zeche Nachtigall 62.7 Witten-Bommern freight yard 64.1 Witten-Bommern Witten–Wengern Ost/Schwelm line from Witten 67.5 Wengern Ost 68.0 Thyssen (siding) 70.0 Oberwengern 70.8 Schockemöhle (Wilshaus) (siding) 72.0 Volmarstein from Dortmund Hbf S5 Düsseldorf-Derendorf–Dortmund Süd line 76.0 Hagen-Vorhalle from Herdecke to Hagen-Eckesey Upper Ruhr Valley Railway to Schwerte Volme Upper Ruhr Valley Railway from Schwerte 80.2 Hagen Hbf , termini of S5 and S8 to Wuppertal S8 Source: German railway atlas[1]

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 Schwerte to Warburg. It was built between 1872 and 1876 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (Bergisch-Märkischen Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), one of the three major private railway companies in the Ruhr area. The railway tracks that were built along the Ruhr river had a relatively uniform grade that was suitable for railway operations at the time.

The Ruhr Valley line primarily served the transport of coal to the port of Ruhrort, bypassing the Heißen hills. In the heyday of coal mining in the Ruhr, sidings provided a high volume of coal traffic and the line also served the, now closed, Henrichshütte steel works in Hattingen.

In addition to the Ruhr Valley line, which at its western end from Kettwig to Düsseldorf does not run along the Ruhr River, there was also the Lower Ruhr Valley Railway, which ran from Kettwig along the Ruhr to Styrum, but was closed in 1978 and later demolished.