40-474: The Duisburg-Dortmund Railway is an important and historically significant railway in Germany . It is a major axis for long distance and regional passenger freight transport in the northern Ruhr . It is served by Intercity-Express , InterCity , Regional-Express , Regionalbahn and S-Bahn trains. It includes the central stations of Duisburg , Oberhausen , Gelsenkirchen , Dortmund and Wanne-Eickel and
80-606: A central station , connecting the city to the regional-train-network of Deutsche Bahn with direct connections to Hagen, Bochum, Essen, Siegen, Wuppertal, Düsseldorf, Aachen or Dortmund. Local service is carried out by the BOGESTRA , a joint venture between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen, to which most of the bus lines in Witten belong. There is a tram line connecting to Bochum . From mid-December on, there will be two tram lines, which will run in Witten (lines 309 and 310). When
120-575: A conservative list) with three, National Democratic Party two, and the PDS /WAL (socialists) and AUF Witten (a left wing list) with one each. From 2004 to 2020, for the first time in its history, the council was led by a female mayor: Sonja Leidemann (SPD). In the election of 2020 she lost her mandate to Lars König (CDU). The current mayor of Witten is Lars König of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The most recent mayoral election
160-436: A large part of the line from Duisburg to Wanne-Eickel. In addition occasional trains of IC line 32, and at-least hourly regional services on lines RE 2 ( Rhein-Haard-Express ), RB 42 ( Haard-Bahn ) and RB 46 ( Glückauf-Bahn ) use the section from Gelsenkirchen to Wanne-Eickel. The only Regional-Express service that uses the total length of the route is RE 3 Rhein-Emscher Express , which runs from Düsseldorf to Hamm , all on
200-672: A part of the Diocese of Paderborn ; however, the borough of Herbede belongs to the Diocese of Essen . In the 19th century the Ruhr area drew up to 500,000 Poles from East Prussia and Silesia , most of whom were Catholic. Hundreds settled in Witten, leading to a growth in the Catholic community. Today, between 30 and 40 per cent of the population is Catholic. In the 16th century Witten was influenced by Martin Luther 's Reformation , and until
240-524: A temporary terminus at the site of present-day Duisburg Hauptbahnhof called the Cologne-Minden railway station , the first of three train stations built at the same place. The route of the next section to Oberhausen , Altenessen , Gelsenkirchen , Wanne , Herne and Dortmund to Hamm was chosen over a route close to the coal mines that were then located on the north bank of the Ruhr because it
280-440: Is 80. Germany was ranked fourth among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index assessing intensity of use, quality of service and safety. Germany had a very good rating for intensity of use, by both passengers and freight, and good ratings for quality of service and safety. Germany also captured relatively high value in return for public investment with cost to performance ratios that outperform
320-883: Is gradually increasing the percentage of InterCity-Express services and downgrading the remaining InterCity services to the role formerly played by InterRegio. Regional and local rail traffic is organised and funded (as the fares usually do not cover the running costs) by the federal states . The usual procedure under EU legislation is to award the contract to the lowest bid by means of a tender procedure. The respective states are free to announce short- or long-term contracts as well as to stipulate further conditions such as on rolling stock. In recent years, many bids have been won by private rail companies like NordWestBahn or Arriva , although some states have awarded long-term contracts to local DB Regio subsidiaries. The train types for regional and local traffic are as follows. The earliest form of railways, wagonways , were developed in Germany in
360-709: Is now comparable to the other east-west line, in particular the central Ruhr trunk line of the former Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company . Long distance trains only use parts of the line. The section from Duisburg to Oberhausen is served by Intercity-Express trains to and from Amsterdam . It is also served by Regional-Express trains on line RE 5 ( Rhein-Express ), terminating in Wesel , and RE19 ( Rhein-IJssel-Express ), terminating in Arnhem , and Regionalbahn line RB 35 ( Emscher-Niederrhein-Bahn ) between Gelsenkirchen and Mönchengladbach . Every two hours InterCity line 35 uses
400-419: Is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area . Witten is divided into eight boroughs and each borough is further divided into two or more city-districts. Every district has its own district-number: Witten was first mentioned in historic sources in 1214, however the borough Herbede (which was incorporated into the city in 1975) dates back to 851. The city was a mining town from 1578. In 1946, it
440-557: Is the main provider of railway service. In recent years a number of competitors have started business. They mostly offer state funded regional services, but some companies offer long-distance services as well. In 2016, Deutsche Bahn had a share of 67% in the regional railway market and 68.6% in the inland freight market. As of October 2016, there were 452 railway operators registered in Germany, among them 124 regional passenger operators, 20 long-distance operators, and 163 freight operators. In 2018, public sector funding accounted for 25.6% of
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#1732801846114480-752: The 2017 state election . Verena Schäffer of the Greens also ran in the constituency and was elected to the Landtag on her party's state list. In the Bundestag , Witten is part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II constituency. Axel Echeverria of the SPD was elected as representative in the 2021 German federal election . Witten is connected to the Autobahn network by the A 43 and A 44 motorways. It has
520-502: The Emscher valley largely parallel to its trunk line via Osterfeld Süd and Wanne through the northern Ruhr to service the growing industries and prosperous coal mines. Since the railway line was opened from Duisburg to Dortmund it has grown in importance as the centre of coal mining in the Ruhr has migrated north and it has continually been modernized. Today the line is at least double track and electrified for its entire length. The route
560-822: The Holland line . Wanne station (now Wanne-Eickel Hbf) was from 1 January 1870, the starting point for a line to Hamburg called the Rollbahn ( Rolling Line ). This line along the German North Sea coast was part of the Paris-Hamburg Railway, linking with the CME’s concession from the Prussian government for a Hamburg-Venlo railway. From 1871 to 1878 the CME built another line from Duisburg to Dortmund along
600-634: The Weimar Republic , the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen (later Deutsche Reichsbahn ) was created on 1 April 1920. During the Second World War , austere versions of the standard locomotives were produced to speed up construction times and minimise the use of imported materials. These were the so-called war locomotives ( Kriegslokomotiven and Übergangskriegslokomotiven ). Absent a good highway network and trucks,
640-539: The global energy crisis in 2021–2022 and alleviate the costs of living for people. Some criticized the enterprise, saying it led to overcrowding of trains at some points. InterRegio services, introduced in 1988 to replace the former Schnellzug and InterCity , were abolished in 2003. UrlaubsExpress , national night trains to the Alps and the Baltic Sea during vacation times, were abolished in 2007. Deutsche Bahn
680-562: The 16th century. A wagonway operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola (image right) in his work De re metallica . This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and a vertical pin on the cart fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way. The miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs") from the noise they made on the tracks. Such wagonways soon became very popular in Europe. Modern German rail history officially began with
720-566: The CME built a branch line to the docks at Ruhrort from Oberhausen station and agreed with the Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway Company ( Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrorter Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ) to construct the Ruhrort-Homberg train ferry . The Oberhausen Station was also at the beginning of a line opened on 20 October 1856 to Arnhem via Wesel and Emmerich am Rhein , popularly known as
760-715: The Germans relied heavily on the railways, supplemented by slower river and canal transport for bulk goods. After the war, the German railway system was split into the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany . In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Train frequency rapidly increased on the existing East/West corridors; closed links which had formerly crossed
800-408: The average ratio for all European countries. Germany's rail freight of 117 billion tons/kilometer meant it carried 17.6% of all inland German cargo in 2015. In 2018, railways in Germany transported the following amount of passengers and freight. In 2014 (local passenger) and 2015 (other), there were the following amount of railway cars in Germany. Deutsche Bahn (state-owned private company)
840-458: The border were re-opened. On 3 October 1990, Germany was reunified ; however, this was not immediately the case with the railways. Administrative and organisational problems led to the decision to completely re-organise and reconnect Germany's railways. The so-called Bahnreform (Railway Reform) came into effect on 1 January 1994, when the two state railways were formally reunited to form the current German Railway Corporation ( Deutsche Bahn ). At
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#1732801846114880-430: The cost of short-distance passenger transport including all rail and bus services. The long-distance market generally does not require government funding. In June, July and August 2022, there was a special ticket called the 9-Euro-Ticket , which was a ticket with which passengers could travel for 9 Euros per month on local and regional transport throughout Germany. The initiative aimed to reduce energy consumption during
920-593: The entire historic route between Duisburg and Dortmund. Since December 2019, this has operated as the RB 32 ( Rhein-Emscher-Bahn ), but running only on the Duisburg–Dortmund railway route, skipping the stations between Dortmund-Mengede and Dortmund. This is complemented by the RB 35 Emscher-Niederrhein-Bahn between Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen from Monday to Friday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. The RB 32 and RB 35 services stop at all stations between Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen, like
960-557: The following countries. All are to countries of the same gauge (1435 mm), although electrification (15 kV AC 16.7 Hz) and other systems such as signalling may differ. Local border services are not listed. Witten Witten ( German: [ˈvɪtn̩] ) is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany . Witten
1000-592: The former S 2 service. Rail transport in Germany S-Bahn Berlin 750 V Map of the railway network in Germany as of 2020: As of 2021 , Germany had a railway network of 33,399 kilometres (20,753 mi), of which 20,540 kilometres (12,760 mi) were electrified and 18,556 kilometres (11,530 mi) were double track. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Germany
1040-577: The founders of the town of Witten. Their slogan was: "Sigillum Hermanni de Wittene" . Because of its long history this coat of arms was the only one in the Ruhr area, that was not forbidden by the Allies in May 1945, after the end of the Second World War . Witten is twinned with: When Witten was first mentioned in historical documents, it was part of the Archdiocese of Cologne . Since 1821 it has been
1080-431: The late 19th century, Witten was a predominantly Protestant town with just a few Catholic inhabitants. Between 30 and 40 per cent of the population is Protestant today. There are four mosques in Witten, Annen and Herbede today, founded by immigrants from Turkey who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s. Between five and eight per cent of the population is Muslim. In 1815 the first Jewish community was mentioned in Witten. In 1938
1120-576: The new track to Langendreer is completed (September 2020), the tram lines will ride to the station of Bochum-Langendreer (309) or to Wattenscheid-Höntrop via Bochum main station (310). Public transport in the city is carried out according to the fare system of the VRR transport association. The coat of arms of Witten with its two lions once belong to the Everhards von Witten-Steinhausen and was first mentioned in 1283. The family of Witten-Steinhausen belongs to
1160-596: The opening of the steam-hauled Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth on 7 December 1835. The first long distance railway was the Leipzig-Dresden railway , completed on 7 April 1839. The following years saw a rapid growth: By the year 1845, there were already more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of railroads in Germany, and ten years later that number was above 8,000. German unification in 1871 stimulated consolidation, nationalization into state-owned companies, and further rapid growth. Unlike
1200-459: The regionally important stations of Essen-Altenessen and Herne . It is the middle section of the Cologne-Minden trunk line from Cologne-Deutz to Minden . It was opened in 1847 and has been modernised and developed several times since then. Today, it has two to four tracks and is electrified and classified as a main line. On 18 December 1843, the Prussian government granted a concession to
1240-595: The responsibility for local rail services was transferred from the federal government to the 16 state governments) whereas long distance services are subject to open access operation . However, while the share of DB in the market of regional rail has declined since 1994 - in the context of an overall expanding market of regional rail service - the vast majority of long distance trains are still operated by or in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn AG. The German railways were long protected from competition from intercity buses on journeys over 50 km. However, in 2013, this protection
Duisburg–Dortmund railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-609: The route of the trunk line of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company. S-Bahn line S 2 runs at 30-minute intervals between Herne and Dortmund Mengede and continues to Dortmund via the Southern route of the former Royal Westphalian Railway Company ( Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ). West of Herne, one train per hour connects to Recklinghausen and one connects via Gelsenkirchen to Essen . Formerly another S-Bahn service per hour ran along
1320-479: The situation in France, the goal was support of industrialization, and so heavy lines crisscrossed the Ruhr and other industrial districts and provided good connections to the major ports of Hamburg and Bremen . By 1880, Germany had 9,400 locomotives pulling 43,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of freight, and forged ahead of France. 1915 Leipzig Hauptbahnhof had become one of the largest stations worldwide. Under
1360-642: The time the Bahnreform was seen as a "first step" towards future railway privatization and Deutsche Bahn operates as a joint stock company ( AG ) even though the federal government owns all stocks . However, plans for privatization were delayed by the Great Recession and ultimately cancelled altogether. The railway sector was however liberalized insofar as Deutsche Bahn lost its railway monopoly status in 1996; regional services are now subject to open bidding (" Regionalisierung " or "regionalization", as
1400-535: The trunk line to the Cologne-Minden Railway Company ( German , old spelling: Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , CME ) for the line, which began at what was then the CME station in Deutz (now a suburb of Cologne) with the construction of the first section to Düsseldorf , which was opened on 20 December 1845. Only a few weeks later, on 9 February 1846, the second section was completed to
1440-545: Was cheaper to build as it largely avoided hills. Nevertheless, it still took well over a year until 15 May 1847 for this section to be completed and put into operation. On 15 October 1847 the last section was opened to Minden, thus completing the entire 263 kilometre long, single track railway. On the same day the Royal Hanoverian State Railways opened its Hanover-Minden Railway , completing a connection to Berlin and northeastern Germany. In 1848
1480-605: Was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: The Witten city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: In the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia , Witten is part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II constituency. Nadja Büteführ of the SPD was elected as representative in
1520-469: Was included in North Rhine-Westphalia on its establishment. In 1975 Witten was included in the administrative district Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis and it is now its biggest city. 1975 was also the year Witten was first counted to have more than 100,000 inhabitants, the threshold to be considered a large city ("Großstadt") in Germany. In the late 19th century Witten was known for the Roburit dynamite. This dynamite
1560-677: Was once used by coal mines around the world. In 1906 an explosion occurred, resulting in the deaths of 41 people. In the local elections of 2004 the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the largest party on the council with 24 seats. It was followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 18 and the Alliance 90/The Greens with 7, the WBG (a conservative lis) and Free Democrats with four each, FLW (also
1600-549: Was removed, leading to a significant shift from rail to bus for long journeys. The European Union Commission issued a TSI (Technical Specifications for Interoperability) on 30 May 2002, ( 2002/735/EC ) that sets out standard platform heights for passenger steps on high-speed rail. These standard heights are 550 mm and 760 mm. In Germany new builds are 550 mm and 760 mm. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has new builds with 550 mm. Hesse , NRW , Berlin had new builds with 760 mm. Germany has rail links with
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