# RHINE-RUHR | Public Transport



## AmiDelf (Jun 9, 2004)

*Oberhausen tram in Germany*


































One of the smartest things ever constructed. But here in a village? Or is Oberhausen a town? I dont know. Have been there, but havent really seen much. Well, this is a tram and bus station. Its going on a huge bridge over the town.









Some of the parts is a bit underground, but totally seperated from the other traffic. Pretty cool 


















Here a small picture, showing from inside of the bus towards a tram on the bridge. Here the bus can go towards the town or strait forward.

















The blue bridge is where the tram and bus share tracks.



























Does someone have some more of this interesting place? Is Oberhausen a city, town or a village? And how manye people lives there? It seemed to me its connected with other small villages or cities.

But for the final comment. This tram system, is a system that other small places, should learn from. 

Regards,
Michal


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

Nice system!

How big is that town?
:?
What is the lenght of the tram network?
:dunno:


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

Population is 220,000. Oberhausen is part of the Rhine-Ruhr agglomeration.


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## kostya (Apr 13, 2004)

Beautiful...


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## AmiDelf (Jun 9, 2004)

Yes,.. a very nice place indeed. Good transport system too.


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## spsmiler (Apr 9, 2004)

Well now,

I started looking though the thread and suddenly I saw a picture that I recognised - the "small" picture looking through the front of a bus about to pass a tram (with a bus behind it).

I am sorry the picture is so small, but my website has so many images that if I made them all much larger the site would take too long to download on computers where the internet connection is by dial-up modem.

The reason that image is so wide is because it was taken with what is known as a "stretch" or "panoramic" camera which uses regular 35mm film but takes wide images.


The image below shows the station at the Centr-O shopping centre. The station is actually very draughty, but it needs to be well ventilated because are a lot of motor buses use it, and good ventilation is needed to blow away the poisonous exhuast fumes.










both these pictures were taken in 1997.

my website is at www.citytransport.info, and one of the reasons for this website is to promote electric transports (especially trolleybuses and trams) because of the air pollution, which according to a House of Commons report (British Parliament) kills between 12,000 and 24,000 people every year. 

Simon

ps, website will be updated this weekend - probably Sunday evening. I;ve finally started to spell check it, plus most pages completed and almost all images will be uplifted.


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## barnim (May 17, 2003)

I wonder why are these trams painted exactly as those in Poznan (Poland). Interesting. 
MPK Poznan


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## AmiDelf (Jun 9, 2004)

hehe.. same colors.. that wagon seems to be a testwagon for the Oslo tram network, which was used.. seen it on a picture somewhere.


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## beta29 (Sep 30, 2004)

Here some facts about the tram: 

lines: 1
length: 9,6 km

Then there´s the MVG(Mülheimer Verkehrsgesellschaft) which has also a tram and "Stadtbahn" network. It is also connected with the Oberhausen tram. 
Facts:

lines: 5
length: 33,0 km


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## AmiDelf (Jun 9, 2004)

Very nice. Bergen is the second largest city in Norway, with about 260 000  and it dosent have any tram system. Thought, now its said and done. Bergen will have its first light-rail/tram system in about 5 years. The building will start in November this year.

Oberhaussen is a really good example, that tram is a nice sollution.


Regards,
Michal


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## beta29 (Sep 30, 2004)

*Transport in Germany, Part 2: Rhein/Ruhr*

First I have an awesome map from Rhein/Ruhr (Germany)!

You can see all S-bahn, tram and U-bahn(Stadtbahn) lines there.

Look here:









I´ll post some pics from trains there later!


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

WOW!! :eek2:
Your maps are great, as usual.
:wink2:
Thanks!


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

It would be even more impressing if it would have Cologne and Bonn included.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

^^ True, it would be amazing if they included Köln and Bonn. These two cities are generally accepted as part of the greater Rhein/Ruhr today, yet their transport is seperated on maps.

Here is a schematic of the Rhein/Ruhr public transport network, minus the large Köln/Bonn network to the south.









Here is a pdf of the Köln/Bahn part of the network: (continues directly south of the above map)
http://www.kvb-koeln.de/german/fahrplan/download/vrs_ges_1204.pdf


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## Momo1435 (Oct 3, 2005)

The first map would even more impressive if all railwaylines would be included, not only the S-Bahn network. I am always amazed at the density of railwaylines in the Ruhr area. I am looking forward to see some pictures.

Bonn and Cologne area deserves a thread of it's own in this series!


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## beta29 (Sep 30, 2004)

DORTMUND


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## beta29 (Sep 30, 2004)

ESSEN


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## beta29 (Sep 30, 2004)

DÜSSELDORF:


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

Here are some photos of good-looking stations in Rhein-Ruhr: http://mic-ro.com/metro/rhein-ruhr.html


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## AmiDelf (Jun 9, 2004)

Is this trams going between small towns which are pretty close to each others? Or? Very nice system. Big maps though


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

AmiDelf said:


> Is this trams going between small towns which are pretty close to each others? Or? Very nice system. Big maps though


Rhein-Ruhr area is one of Europe's major metropolitan areas. It's made up of some 15 big cities (>100,000, including Düsseldorf, Essen, and Dortmund) and many smaller ones and is said to have about 7 million inhabitants. Directly attached to the south is the Rhein-Sieg metropolitan area (including Cologne and Bonn). 

Together it's 12 million inhabitants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine-Ruhr) and can almost be called a German New York City, though much more spread out and with less common identity. It also lacks the skyscrapers and the feel of a real metropolis. It consists of 25 big cities and has 45 universities, 3 airports, 12 S-Bahn lines, and some 20-40 metro tram lines. 

It's hard to count the metro tram lines because many of them share tracks. You can find anything from genuine trams to metro tram lines that run partly underground and partly share tracks with road traffic. None of the lines can be called a full metro (except perhaps U35). Among the more interesting lines are U35, U11, U18, U79 and Cologne's line 4 and line 18 which runs from Cologne into the underground stretch of Bonn.

It's a bit silly but the transportation and tariff system is still separated into a northern part (Rhein-Ruhr, or VRR) and a southern part (Cologne/Bonn and vicinity, or VRS). 

The clearest map of the northern part is the VRR map below:

blue = metro or metro tram lines
orange = S-Bahn lines
purple and green = RE and RB (heavy-rail regional express lines and regional lines)










The same as PDF: http://efa.vrr.de/vrr/linienplan_schnellverkehr.pdf 
And, again, the VRS part as PDF: http://www.kvb-koeln.de/german/fahrplan/download/vrs_ges_1204.pdf


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

Impressive railway/stadtbahn networks, depressing cities, to say the least. The mining industry hasn't done the region much good over there. Last year, I drove to Dortmund a couple of times for business reasons. I was always glad to leave that town and head back west to Holland.
Cologne's Dom is quite OK, though


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

The coal mining industry has made the area big but the mining itself is history today. The smog is long gone and mining facilities have been turned into museums or avant-garde cultural centres. I think the region is on the rise...


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

*3DO in Dortmund (RheinRhur)*

Here are some renderings of Dortmunds new trainstation.
The construction start will be in the summer of 2007


















this is the old UFO design which I would have preffered:

http://humanhub.nl/3DO_UFO_byday.jpg
http://humanhub.nl/3DO_UFO_bynight.jpg


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## LuckyLuke (Mar 29, 2005)

I like the garden and the tower looks cool too!


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## Il_Milanese (Jan 31, 2006)

:eek2: :eek2: 
After the Berlin Hauptbahnhof another great project for the DB! WoW


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## LuckyLuke (Mar 29, 2005)

Essen will also get a new Mainstation


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

more pics and information can be found here:

http://deutsches-architektur-forum.de/forum/showthread.php?t=5260


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

LuckyLuke said:


> Essen will also get a new Mainstation


Yeah but I guess that will take some time.

this was one of the proposals for the new mainstation in Essen btw:


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## lpioe (May 6, 2006)

the proposal for essen looks really cool
as for dortmund, i dont know. i think its ok, but i would prefer the old version too


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

I like the new Dortmund station plans, but I did prefer the original plan which was a big dome type construction.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

lpioe said:


> the proposal for essen looks really cool
> as for dortmund, i dont know. i think its ok, but i would prefer the old version too


Yes, Essen looks much better than Dortmunds design.
I would also have preferred the UFO design for Dortmund.
The current design is ok, but it looks too much like a mall or something.
a bit bland.


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## Chilenofuturista (May 24, 2005)

I love Germany...


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## LuckyLuke (Mar 29, 2005)




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## mspelter (Sep 12, 2002)

*S-Bahn under Beach of Bremer Strasse in Dusseldorf*

New S-Bahn-Tunnel (Tube) under Beach of Bremer Strasse in Dusseldorf

Open Samstag, 30. Juni 2007 / clock 11am









Tube - S-Bahn - Station "Medienhafen / Lausward"


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## pflo777 (Feb 27, 2003)

ist da eigentlich ein FKK strand?


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

Nice Photoshop...

No such thing as an S-Bahn tunnel under the Düsseldorf beach on Google...


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## pflo777 (Feb 27, 2003)

maybe because it has to be built first.....


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

:stupid:

That would have meant it would be a _project_ - with plenty of official info on Google. The only links I get when searching for "Strand Bremerstrasse Tunnel" are the ones to threads on _this_ forum...


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## pflo777 (Feb 27, 2003)

maybe you should look up some other postings by mspelter first 

:deadthrea :lock:


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## metro_minotaur (Feb 7, 2009)

yep the best thing about the Rhein-Ruhr is the very extensive public transport network, u can go almost everywhere by train or tram, which is just amazing for someone like me who comes from a city with only 1million people and we've only got; 1 tram line and a few diesel rail lines with track hasnt been replaced for over 40 years.

and with some of those underground stations, i wouldnt be surprised if the public transport network itself is considered a tourist attraction.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

micro said:


> I agree. Fortunately the Rhine-Ruhr system is very diverse and has wide metro-like lightrails as well as narrow little trams. What makes the few small trams somewhat dominant among the photos is the fact that they recently got a handful of architecturally very interesting stations in Bochum.
> 
> […]


And these stations are future Stadtbahn stations. Stadtbahn is not completed yet that's the reason why these stations are used by tram at the moment.


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## Grunnen (Jan 16, 2008)

^^ But I doubt the Stadtbahn will every be completed.

It's quite funny how out-of-date city maps can be in this respect. The most recent ADAC map of Gelsenkirchen still shows the tunnel from Hauptbahnhof to Ückendorfer Platz as "under construction", just like the tunnel from Trinenkamp to Erle Forsthaus. :lol:


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Grunnen said:


> ^^ But I doubt the Stadtbahn will every be completed.
> 
> […]


Future will tell.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Now I will show you photos of some regional trains. First in Essen Hbf.

RB40 operated by Abellio to Hagen Hbf. (train: Flirt):










RE14 to Borken operated by NordWestBahn (train: Talent):



















RE2 to Münster operated by Deutsche Bahn (loco: class 146):



















Regional train at platform 4:










Essen Hbf. from above:









_bahnbilder.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

More regional trains, now: Dortmund Hbf.

Flirt of Eurobahn:



















Talent of Prignitzer Eisenbahn:










Class 146 of DB:










Talent of NordWestBahn:










LINT 27 of DB:










LINT 41 of DB:










EMU class 425 and loco class 111 of DB:










DMU class 624 and loco class 141 of DB:









_bahnbilder.de_


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Filip7370 said:


> Me too, can somebody put here, also photos of classical trams, buses. Is it possible to put here photos of system that do not exist now, like trolleys etc.


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Tram crash after a football match at Schalke (1997)


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Regional trains in Duisburg Hbf.

Class 146 with double deckers:










Double deck steering car, in the background Talent DMU and double deck regional train:









_bahnbilder.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Regional trains in Düsseldorf.

Class 146 at the airport:










Class 111 at Düsseldorf Hbf.:










N-wagon in Düsseldorf Hbf.:










Class 628 and class 111 in Düsseldorf Hbf.:










Class 110 approaches Düsseldorf Hbf.:










Class 643 in Düsseldorf Hbf.:









_bahnbilder.de_


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## Filip7370 (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks, I love those Conurbations like Silesia or Danzig and Gdynia, but in the difference to Rhine-Ruhr they were unificated by the communst goverment, and there don't have such variety of diffrent systems.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

*Some Buses of the Rhine-Ruhr agglomeration.*

Remscheid:









_wupper-sieg-bus.de_










Solingen, trolley bus:




























Solingen, bus:




























City express bus of Wuppertal in Solingen:



















Wuppertal, city bus at Wuppertal Hbf.:




























Wuppertal, regional bus at Wuppertal Hbf.:










Regional express bus of Ennepe-Ruhr at Wuppertal Hbf.:


















_busbilder.de_


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## Filip7370 (Jan 24, 2008)

Let me ask one more thing, that bothers me. Is there any kind of joined transit ticket? You know that allows You to travel along many cities?


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

*More buses of Rhein-Ruhr.*

Düsseldorf city bus:









_lightrailnow.org_

Düsseldorf International (Rhein-Ruhr-Airport), city bus:









_duesseldorf-international.de_

Düsseldorf, Jan-Wellem-Platz, regional bus:










Düsseldorf, Jan-Wellem-Platz, city bus:










Düsseldorf, Jan-Wellem-Platz, city bus, driving school:









_bilder-hochladen.net_


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## Grunnen (Jan 16, 2008)

Filip7370 said:


> Let me ask one more thing, that bothers me. Is there any kind of joined transit ticket? You know that allows You to travel along many cities?


Yes and no. Luckily, not every city has its own transit tickets. However, in the Rhine-Ruhr region there are still five different tickets:

First, there is the VRR tariff. It covers most of the Ruhr Area, plus Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Mönchengladbach and their surroundings.

Then, there is the VRS tariff. It covers Cologne, Bonn and their surroundings.

Then, there is VGN tariff. It covers the area from suburbs of Duisburg (Dinslaken, Moers) until the border with the Netherlands

Then, there is the ZRL tariff. It covers the easternmost portion of the Ruhr Area, with Kamen, Unna and Hamm.

And finally, for trips between these regions, there is the NRW tariff.

All of these tickets, by the way, are valid on all kinds of public transport (except IC/ICE trains) and generally allow unlimited transfers.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Grunnen said:


> Yes and no. Luckily, not every city has its own transit tickets. However, in the Rhine-Ruhr region there are still five different tickets:
> […]


Sorry, I have to correct that: The Rhein-Ruhr agglomeration is the region between Düsseldorf and Hamm and this region is covered by the same ticket network (VRR = Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr).
Köln and Bonn for example are not part of the Rhein-Ruhr agglomeration, they are part of the Köln/Bonn agglomeration (other designation: Rhein-Sieg agglomeration). That's the reason why they have another ticket network in Rhein-Sieg, that's the reason why they are not members of VRR but of VRS; and that's the reason why there operates S-Bahn Köln and not S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr and why they have Stadtbahn Rhein-Sieg and not Stadtbahn Rhein-Ruhr.
We have Rhein-Ruhr on the one hand and Köln/Bonn (Rhein-Sieg) on the other, they have not much in common.
So it makes sense to have different ticket networks.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

You can compare Rhein-Ruhr and Rhein-Sieg to Rhein-Main and Rhein-Neckar, these are different agglomerations with no big distance between them too.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Rhine-Ruhr buses.

Essen, city bus:



















Essen, city express bus:










Essen, Spurbus (guided bus):


















_flickr.com_

Essen-Kettwig S, city night bus:










Essen-Werden S, city bus:










Essen Hbf., city bus:










Essen, Burgaltendorf Burgruine, regional express bus:










Essen-Steele S, city bus:










Test bus from Hanover in Essen:









_essen-bus.bplaced.net_


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## Ricardo Fig (Dec 30, 2006)

Hi!

Can you tell me what is that small number on display near the front door of the Citaro?

06, 12, etc etc..

thank you!


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

JoKo65 said:


> You can compare Rhein-Ruhr and Rhein-Sieg to Rhein-Main and Rhein-Neckar, these are different agglomerations with no big distance between them too.


Umm, it's still some 40 km of less-developed area between those two (at least if one doesn't use the all-encompassing Metropolitan Region definitions), and rather not that much transport interlinks. The relevant public transport area agencies, VRN and RMV, only have three railroad lines (with 3 trains/hour average) and about five bus routes going across the border between them, and especially the bus routes will end right across the border in the next town in each case.



Ricardo Fig said:


> Can you tell me what is that small number on display near the front door of the Citaro?


Circuit number within a route. That is, bus 06 will be the bus running on internal route timetable number 06. Next bus on the same route say e.g. 10 or 20 minutes later will likely be 07, next will be 08 and so on during regular operation, until the route is filled with busses (since at some point, the next one will be 01 again, having passed through the full circuit of the route). Internally, this bus will then run on a timetable saying e.g. "155-12" for the 12th bus on line 155, which combined with the right form for "155-12" gives the necessary information on when to turn up where. Including when to switch drivers, when to turn in the bus at the depot or to which line and circuit the bus changes at a certain terminus.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

More photos of the tram in Essen.

Helenenstraße:










Between stations "Krupp Hauptverwaltung" and "Helenenstraße":










Krupp Hauptverwaltung:










Leaving the tunnel at Essen Hauptbahnhof approaching Aalto Theater:










Loop in Bredeney:









_bahnbilder.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

*Some photos of the tram of Duisburg.*

Station Zoo/Uni:










Dinslaken terminus:










Duisburg's tram at Mülheim's Königstraße:










Mülheim Hbf. terminus:










Duisburg-Hamborn, Rathaus:









_mm-trains.de_


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## Filip7370 (Jan 24, 2008)

Is there in Rhine-Ruhr any trolleybus system, that still is operating?


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Filip7370 said:


> Is there in Rhine-Ruhr any trolleybus system, that still is operating?


Yes, in Solingen, some photos are in post #49 of this thread.


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## Filip7370 (Jan 24, 2008)

OK, I missed them, so can You anwser me something important. How they are doing? Are they planned to be developed, or it is wanted to "extint" naturally?


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Filip7370 said:


> OK, I missed them, so can You anwser me something important. How they are doing? Are they planned to be developed, or it is wanted to "extint" naturally?


Years ago there had been a discussion about closing the trolley lines, but then they decides to continue.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Photos.

Solingen Hauptbahnhof:










Graf-Wilhelm-Platz:










Mummstraße:










Turntable at Burg:









_mm-trains.de_


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## gramercy (Dec 25, 2008)

turntable for a trolley? how much did that cost compared to a path to turn around?


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

gramercy said:


> turntable for a trolley? how much did that cost compared to a path to turn around?


It's a matter of space, there is not enough space for a loop.
For more explanation watch the video if you like to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQlAvPmX-8


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Some interesting photos of a tunnel section built for Stadtbahn but now used by tram because the Stadtbahn line is not completed till today.
This tunnel is used by the tram of Mülheim (1000 mm gauge) and the tram of Duisburg (1435 mm gauge). It is located in Mülheim.

Station Schloß Broich – you can see the different train control systems, Duisburg's tram uses LZB (continuous train protection), between the rails the LZB cable can be seen. Mülheim's tram uses Indusi (point-wise, inductive train protection). At the end of the platform, between the rails, the Indusi inductor (trackside magnet) can be seen:










Same stretch, station Mülheim-Stadtmitte:










Mülheim-Stadtmitte with tram (1000 mm gauge) – Mülheim's 1000 mm gauge trams are broader than Duisburg's 1435 mm gauge, 2,3 m vs. 2,2 m:









_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Tram Düsseldorf, Poststraße, carriage NF10:










NF6, Poststraße:










NF8, Poststraße:









_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Stadtbahn Rhein-Ruhr, Düsseldorf, station Oberbilker Markt:









_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Stadtbahn Rhein-Ruhr, Düsseldorf, Oberkasseler Brücke:


















_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Stadtbahn Rhein-Ruhr, Bochum-Hauptbahnhof:










Bochum-Hustadt:









_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

The new Tango Stadtbahn carriage in Bochum, station Zeche Constantin:









_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Stadtbahnwagen B, Bochum Rathaus:









_mm-trains.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

*S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr.*

Photos of the new class 422 S-Bahn trains.

Wuppertal Hbf:



















Wuppertal Hbf, left – S-Bahn ET422, right – regional train ET425:










Within the train:










Wuppertal-Vohwinkel:










Düsseldorf-Derendorf:









_mm-trains.de_


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## wonwiin (Jan 12, 2008)

The new S-Bahn seems like a facelift only to me. Is there a significant difference to the older ET425?


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

wonwiin said:


> The new S-Bahn seems like a facelift only to me. Is there a significant difference to the older ET425?


ET425 is no S-Bahn carriage.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

New S-Bahn train is leaving Duisburg Hbf.:









_bahnbilder.de_


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

Krefeld Hbf.:










The new Bombardier Flexity Outlook, Dreikönigenstraße:









_mm-trains.de_


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## ErwinFCG (Oct 12, 2008)

^^
Hello JoKo65, I really enjoyed reading this topic, just as the topic about Cologne. Thank you for posting all these pictures and information! In the city where I live (Groningen, NL) there are plans to reintroduce the tram. The first line should be built by 2014. That's why I like to see how the tram is embedded in the streets. Moreover, the tram planned to introduce in Groningen (and surroundings) is a regiotram (Karlsruher Modell).

Something else: I was wondering, are there any kinds of electronic tickets? Are there plans to introduce a system like Oyster in London, Octopus in Hongkong or OV-Chipkaart in The Netherlands?


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## Grunnen (Jan 16, 2008)

^^ In the Ruhrgebiet they have electronic tickets for season cards, normal tickets are still paper tickets. The reading devices for the electronic tickets are quite slow, they take about 5 seconds to read the chip.

As for the embedding into the streets: it really differs. Most lines have been put underground in the busier city centres. The only exception is Krefeld. The last picture that JoKo65 posted is in the city centre of Krefeld, It is a four-track tram line, because it is used by both narrow-gauge normal trams and by normal-gauge 2,65m wide regiotrams.

For the rest, these are some examples:

(Own photo's unless noted)









Little narrow-gauge tram in the main shopping street of Witten









Double-traction Stadtbahn (regiotram / almost full metro) on the middle strip of a motorway









The same 2,65m wide double-traction Stadtbahn trains, but now as a tram on a normal road. It is on a tram stop now, so the cars have to stop if passengers want to leave or board the train.









Typical tram street in the Ruhrgebiet: roads with at least four lanes, the tram uses the lanes in the middle. (However, on this particular street, the tram was replaced by a premetro)









Narrow-gauge tram track in a suburb of Witten

Examples of trams running in narrow streets in the city centre are rare in the Ruhrgebiet. The only good one I can think of is the Hunsrückenstr. in Düsseldorf:









Source: Panoramio

Other examples, like the Hauptstr. in Herne-Eickel, are not really comparable to the situation in Groningen, I think.


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## Grunnen (Jan 16, 2008)

Oh, wait, how could I forget *Neuss*?









Bi-directional single track running through the main street of Neuss (source)









Double track portion during winter (source)

As for the Groningen ideas for the suburbs, you won't find many examples of that in Germany. In Germany, the tram generally only gets an own right-of-way if at least _two_ car lanes remain on either side. Only in Bielefeld (near the Rathaus stop) I have seen tram tracks in grass with only one lane of asphalt on either side.


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## ErwinFCG (Oct 12, 2008)

^^
Haha, funny to see my questions answered by a _Groninger_  But thanks anyway! I like the pictures of Düsseldorf and Neuss especially. What do the shopkeepers think about the tram in their street? Because in Groningen some shopkeepers think the tram will ruin their businesses ("trams are dangerous, noisy, ...").


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## Grunnen (Jan 16, 2008)

^^ In Neuss the tram has been very controversial during the last few years. The city council wanted to remove it from the shopping street, but in a referendum the citizens voted to keep the tram. It was then decided to renew the entire street and reduce the tram from double-track to single-track.

However, another factor in play is that the tramway leads directly to the Düsseldorf city centre, so a natural thought for Neuss shopkeepers is that the tramway makes Düsseldorf take customers away from Neuss. The Neuss city council already augmented the tariff* to discourage this. hno:

(* Stichwort: Zwischenwabe -> Preisstufe B)

Btw. It's indeed very funny that we meet in this thread. As you probably know I've closely followed the Groningen tram developments during the last years, but it is very much a coincidence that I lived in the Ruhrgebiet for a few years and therefore also check this thread, and that you as fellow Groninger _also_ came to look here.


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

^^


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

^^ ​


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

^^


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

^^ Even its swaying is graceful


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Stadler Variobahn in Gelsenkirchen:


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## Grunnen (Jan 16, 2008)

^^ In the first picture the driver's wearing a Schalke shirt :lol:


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Grunnen said:


> ^^ In the first picture the driver's wearing a Schalke shirt :lol:



 At matchdays many drivers are wearing Schalke shirts on the "stadium line" 302.
This picture was taken close to the stadium's tram station:


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## Kaufmann (Mar 9, 2010)

*Ruhrarea | Public Transport*

*The Ruhr*

The Ruhr (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million (2009), it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia.

It is the fourth largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, London and Paris.
For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture.










*Road Transport*

The Ruhr has one of the densest motorway networks in all of Europe, with dozens of Autobahns and Autobahn like Schnellstraßen (expressways) crossing the region. The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with 4 east-west (A2, A40, A42, A44) and 7 north-south (A1, A3, A43, A45, A52, A57, A59) routes. A1, A2 and A3 are mostly used by through traffic, while other autobahns have a more regional function. Both A44 and A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing links are currently not considered to be constructed.
Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways, Bundesstraßes are less important for intercity traffic. The first Autobahns in the Ruhr opened during the mid-1930s. Due to the density of the network, and the number of alternate routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less compared to Randstad, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns possess six lanes, but there are no eight-lane Autobahns in the Ruhr.

*Public transport*
All public transport companies in the Ruhr are run under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, which provides a uniform ticket system valid for the entire area. The Ruhr region is well-integrated into the Deutsche Bahn, both in passenger and cargo rail.

*Air transport*
Düsseldorf International Airport serves as the interncontinental airport for North Rhine-Westphalia and is within 20 km for most of the Western Ruhr area. Dortmund Airport in the Eastern Ruhr is a mid-sized airport, offering scheduled flights to domestic and European destinations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhr


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## Kaufmann (Mar 9, 2010)

public transport system Rhein-Ruhr


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## Kaufmann (Mar 9, 2010)

But now i will start with the biggest city of the ruhrarea - Dortmund

*subway map*









*NGT8 Tram*




























*Skytrain*






































*Dortmund pre-metro *





































*Bus*




























*Dortmund night express*










*Dortmund Airport*


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## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

Kaufmann said:


> *Dortmund Subway*


That's a pre-metro and no subway.


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## Kaufmann (Mar 9, 2010)

already upgraded


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## Fatfield (Jul 26, 2010)

www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=869076


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

31 Jan 2012







:_Weight challenge for Wuppertal monorail car designer_


^^ clickable...​


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Rail Journal:



> http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/light-rail/dortmund-to-upgrade-tram-fleet.html?channel=526
> 
> *Dortmund to upgrade tram fleet*
> Tuesday, July 21, 2015
> ...


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Railway Gazette:



> http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/.../vorgebirgsbahn-electrification-contract.html
> 
> *Vorgebirgsbahn electrification contract*
> 15 Sep 2015
> ...


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

On 20th February, new cross city tram tunnel from Wehrhahn to Bilk will open in Düsseldorf:


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

BOGESTRA (Bochum/Gelsenkirchen) ordered 42 Stadler LRV's for € 110 millions:

http://www.railjournal.com/index.ph...m-gelsenkirchen-orders-more-stadler-lrvs.html


Bogestra Variobahn in Gelsenkirchen by Vitalis Fotopage, auf Flickr


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

dimlys1994 said:


> On 20th February, new cross city tram tunnel from Wehrhahn to Bilk will open in Düsseldorf


Two updated maps on urbanrail.net:
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/de/d/duesseldorf.htm
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/de/d/tram/duesseldorf-tram.htm


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

^^And so it happened and new underground tram stations were opened yesterday, meaning complete change of several Dusseldorf tram routes, which are dissapeared on surface and put below ground. Article from Guardian on new tram tunnel:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...und-dusseldorf-ubahn-new-metro-line?CMP=fb_gu


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Railway Gazette:



> http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...elected-to-supply-rhein-ruhr-s-bahn-emus.html
> 
> *Stadler selected to supply Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn EMUs*
> 18 Mar 2016
> ...


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## Nexis (Aug 7, 2007)

Some recent Dortmund videos from Timosha21


*H-bahn: The Hanging Railway in Dortmund, Germany 2016 *







*Stadtbahn in Dortmund 2016 - Trams of Dortmund, Germany (U43, U44)*







*U-bahn of Dortmund, Germany - Lightrail of Dortmund*


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)




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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Metro Report

http://www.metro-report.com/news/ne...ruhr-express-depot-construction-launched.html

*Rhein-Ruhr-Express depot construction launched*
07 Mar 2017




























GERMANY: The foundation stone for the Rhein-Ruhr-Express maintenance depot was laid in Dortmund-Eving on March 7. Siemens is building the 70 000 m2 facility on the site of a former marshalling yard on the Dortmund – Lünen main line.

A 163 m long, 63 m wide and 12·4 m high six-track maintenance hall is being built, along with a warehouse, administrative and staff welfare building and an outdoor train cleaning facility. There will be around 5·5 km of track in total, as well as an underfloor wheel lathe and wheelset diagnostics system. According to Siemens, the facility will use around 15% less energy than the recommended standard set by the European Energy Saving Ordinance

...


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## 43106 (Sep 1, 2014)

I'm investigating the Tram Depots of Western Europe, and I'm now looking at Duisburg.
According to my research, the Duisburg system has 2 depots...
1) GRUNEWALD - in the south, on the east side of Dusseldorfer Strasse,
2) MULHEIM - on the west side of AN DER WERKSTATTE.
In looking for more depots, I found 2 other tram-stops in Duisburg with the word BETRIEBSHOF as part of the name. I understand that Betriebshof is the German word for Depot, so were there more depots that were closed, but the tram-stop was no re-named?
I couldn't find a thread dedicated to Duisburg, but I believe it is part of the Rhine-Ruhr area. What other tram systems are considered as part of the Rhine-Ruhr area?

Thanks in advance


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

43106 said:


> I couldn't find a thread dedicated to Duisburg, but I believe it is part of the Rhine-Ruhr area. What other tram systems are considered as part of the Rhine-Ruhr area?
> 
> Thanks in advance


In Rhine-Ruhr area, there are tram systems in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Mülheim, Bochum - Herne - Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund. Wuppertal is also part of that area, but it doesn't have tramway system, of course


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

Krefeld also has a tram network. Rhine-Ruhr is sometimes also meant to include the Cologne-Bonn agglomeration that is directly adjacent to the south. Two separate S-Bahn lines connect Duesseldorf and Cologne. Altogether Rhine-Ruhr consists of twenty big cities of more than 100.000 inhabitants each and numerous smaller ones. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine-Ruhr


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## Woonsocket54 (May 7, 2005)

Newly opened tram 701 extension to ISS Dome in Dusseldorf 










https://www.facebook.com/urbanrail/photos/p.934076780091900/934076780091900/


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## Woonsocket54 (May 7, 2005)

There has been a collision at the underground Auf dem Damm Stadtbahn station in Duisburg. A few injuries were reported.










http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte...eck-in-duisburg-viele-verletzte-aid-1.7491369


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## BHT (Jan 27, 2017)

It hasn't been posted here before:
HeiterBlick and Kiepe Electric will supply 24 (with option for additional 2) "Vamos HF" trams to Dortmund, which will be bidirectional and have two-section. Also 64 older trams of types 80C/6 and B80C/8 will be modernized. All this has to be completed until 2028.









Image: HeiterBlick


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## nanar (Apr 12, 2005)

error, to delete


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## fabzzap (Oct 16, 2017)

The Guinness book of records 1992 stated that the world's longest tram ride was between Krefeld St.Tönis and Witten Annen Nord, 105,5 km. There are a few wrong things about that:

 It is not possible to go to Witten-Annen Nord by tram (it is possible to go to Witten however)
 There is no Krefeld St.Tönis: St.Tönis is in the "gemeinde" of Tönisvorst, not of Krefeld
 The stretches between Krefeld and Düsseldorf and between Düsseldorf and Duisburg are part of the Stadtbahn Düsseldorf, which has a different classification from a tram

The German Wikipedia page about Tönisvorst contains more correct information. It only lists the ride as Germany's longest, not the world's.

Anyway I tried my luck and saw if it was possible. I took:

 SWK tram 041 from Tönisvorst Wilhelmplatz to Krefeld Rheinstraße 
 Stadtbahn Düsseldorf U76 from Krefeld Rheinstraße to Düsseldorf Heinrich-Heine-Allee








 Stadtbahn Düsseldorf U79 from Düsseldorf Heinrich-Heine-Allee to Duisburg Hbf
 DVG tram 901 from Duisburg Hbf to Mülhem Stadtmitte (underground)
 Ruhrbahn tram 104 from Mülhem Stadtmitte (above ground) to Abzweig Aktienstraße in the city of Essen
 Tram 105 was not riding because of works, so I walked to Heißener Straße, where a replacement bus suddenly manifested itself
 At Kronenberg, the replacement bus stopped and let all the passengers alight, because the tram had resumed service, so I boarded the tram to Essen Rathaus
 BOGESTRA tram 107 from Essen Rathaus to Gelsenkirchen Heinrich-König-Platz (I intended to get of one stop earlier, at Musiktheater, but the tram did not stop there, apparently because of road works)
 BOGESTRA tram 302 from Gelsenkirchen Heinrich-König-Platz to Bochum Unterstraße








 BOGESTRA tram 310 from Bochum Unterstraße to Witten Bahnhofstraße

It took 6h40. Overall, a failure: part of the route was made by bus, and I did not make all the way to Witten Heven-Dorf. But a fun experience.


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

There's a similar urban rail tour through the entire Rhine-Ruhr-Cologne-Bonn region described on this page ("Self-Guided Tour"). It's focused on urban rail sightseeing rather than going in one direction, though, so one day is probably not enough to ride it. It includes the most interesting station architecture and the three monorail lines of the region.


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## Woonsocket54 (May 7, 2005)

*Stadtbahn Bochum (U35 subway)*









https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stadtbahn_Bochum_U35_6004_Hauptbahnhof_2001141433.jpg









https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stadtbahn_Bochum_U35_6023_Hauptbahnhof_2001141437.jpg

other lines with underground sections:









https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Straßenbahn_Bochum_302_113_Rathaus_(Süd)_2001141556.jpg









https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Straßenbahn_Bochum_302_116_Rathaus_(Süd)_2001141553.jpg


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