Almelo–Salzbergen railway
The Almelo–Salzbergen railway is an important Dutch and German 54 kilometre long railway line, that connects Almelo with Salzbergen, offering a rail link between the Netherlands and Germany.
| Almelo–Salzbergen railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Netherlands, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Almelo railway station Salzbergen railway station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Deutsche Bahn, Syntus, WestfalenBahn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 18 October 1865 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 54.5 km (33.9 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of tracks | Double track | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | 1.5 kV DC (Almelo - Bad Bentheim) 15 kV AC (Bad Bentheim - Salzbergen) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating speed | 130 km/h (81 mph) (Almelo - Hengelo) 125 km/h (78 mph) (Hengelo - Salzbergen) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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History
The railway was opened by the Spoorweg-Maatschappij Almelo-Salzbergen (English: Almelo-Salzbergen railway company) on 18 October 1865, after construction had started in 1862. In Salzbergen the line connected with the Emsland Railway, which had opened in 1855.
The Dutch section of the line (Almelo - Oldenzaal) was electrified in 1951 and the remainder of the line was electrified in 1976.
From 2006 to 2009 the line through Almelo was the subject of a major project called Almelo Verdiept Almelo Lowered, which moved the railway line through the centre of Almelo into a lowered embankment, with sections of tunnels.
Route
The railway connects Almelo in a south easterly direction with Hengelo. Before Hengelo station the line from Zutphen railway station merges into the route. After the station the line to Enschede railway station branches out in a south easterly direction. From Hengelo the line heads north east towards the former border station of Oldenzaal and heads east across the border to Bad Bentheim. Here the electric current changes, which often results in a change from a Dutch to a German locomotive. At Bad Bentheim the private freight railway to Nordhorn and Coevorden branches out, heading north. The line continues through the countryside, until the line merges with the Emsland Railway from Emden before finishing at Salzbergen.
Main stations
The main stations on the Almelo–Salzbergen railway are:
Train services
The Almelo–Salzbergen railway is used by the following passenger services:
- International services across the whole line (Amsterdam Centraal - Berlin)
- Intercity services between Almelo and Hengelo (Schiphol/The Hague/Rotterdam - Enschede)
- Stoptrein services between Almelo and Hengelo (Apeldoorn/Zwolle - Enschede) and Hengelo - Bad Bentheim (Zutphen - Oldenzaal, Hengelo - Bad Bentheim)
- WestfalenBahn services between Bad Bentheim and Salzbergen (Bad Bentheim - Osnabrück - Bielefeld)
Train types
A wide variety of trains can be found regularly on the Almelo–Salzbergen railway:
- NS Class 1700 on the Schiphol - Berlin service between Almelo and Bad Bentheim
- DB Class 101 or DB Class 120 on the Schiphol - Berlin service between Bad Bentheim and Berlin
- NS Koploper on the Schiphol/The Hague/Rotterdam - Enschede service between Almelo and Hengelo
- NS Sprinter on the Apeldoorn - Enschede service between Almelo and Hengelo
- NS Buffel on the Zwolle - Enschede service between Almelo and Hengelo
- Syntus Buffel on the Hengelo - Bad Bentheim service between Hengelo and Bad Bentheim
- Syntus Lint41 on the Zutphen - Oldenzaal service between Hengelo and Oldenzaal
- WestfalenBahn Stadler Flirt on the Bad Bentheim - Bielefeld service between Bad Bentheim and Salzbergen
There are also large number of freight trains operating along the line.
Gallery
Almelo railway station
An International train passing the Almelo Verdiept project
Borne railway station
Hengelo railway station
Hengelo railway station
Bad Bentheim railway station
The steam train at Salzbergen