Ems-Leine-Express

The Ems-Leine-Express (RE 60) is the name of a German Regional-Express service in North Rhine-Westphalia that has connected the Emsland city of Rheine, Lower Saxony, the regional centre of Osnabrück, the east Westphalian city of Minden and the Lower Saxony regional centres of Hanover and Braunschweig since 5 November 2000.[2]

RE 60 Ems-Leine-Express
Overview
LocaleNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Service
Route number310, 370, 375
Technical
Line length270.4 km (168.0 mi)
Operating speed160 km/h (99 mph) (maximum)
Route map

 Operating points and lines[1] 
 Rheine
 IC,RE,RB
 Hörstel
 RB
 Esch
 RB
 Ibbenbüren
 IC,RB
 Ibbenbüren-Laggenbeck
 RB
NRW / Lower Saxony state border
 Osnabrück Altstadt
 RB
 Osnabrück Hbf
 ICE,IC,RE,RB
 Melle
 RB
Lower Saxony / NRW state border
 Bünde
 IC,RB
 Kirchlengern
 RB
 Löhne (Westfalen)
 RE,RB
 Bad Oeynhausen
 IC,RE
 Porta Westfalica
 RE
 Minden (Westfalen)
 ICE,IC,RE,S
NRW / Lower Saxony state border
 Bückeburg
 RE,S
 Stadthagen
 RE,S
 Haste (Han)
 RE,S
 Wunstorf
 RE,S
 Hannover Hbf
 ICE,IC,RE,RB,S
 Lehrte
 RE,RB,S
 Hämelerwald
 RE
 Vöhrum
 RE
 Peine
 IC,RE
 Vechelde
 RE
 Brunswick Hbf
 ICE,IC,RE,RB

The Ems-Leine-Express is notable for crossing the state border between Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) three times at the following locations:

History and future

In 1998, the service began in Bad Bentheim and went via Osnabrück to Hanover. In 2000, the section west of Rheine was withdrawn and services were extended to Brunswick (Braunschweig).[2] The Bad Bentheim–Rheine route is now served only by the Wiehengebirgs-Bahn.[3] The Ems-Leine-Express services were initially operated by DB Regio Nord. New procedures for procuring future operations of the services were introduced In 2012. It is now operated by WestfalenBahn for 15 years from 2015.[2] The service is designated as RE 60 only in North Rhine-Westphalia. The service was named the Ems-Leine-Express with the introduction of the integrated regular-interval timetable in the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW-Takt) in 1998.[4]

Rail services

The service runs every two hours.[2] Together with the service designated as the Weser-Leine Express in NRW, which also runs every two hours to Bielefeld, an hourly service is provided between Braunschweig and Löhne.[5] The Wiehengebirgs-Bahn runs every hour between Kirchlengern and Rheine.[3] These services connect with the Weser-Leine-Express in Herford. In addition, the total route is served by Intercity services.

The service is operated with trains of five double-deck coaches hauled mostly by class 111, or occasionally class 146, locomotives. Since the line is operated with a double-deck driving trailer–pushed towards Rheine–the locomotive does not have to be switched around at the terminus. A dining service with a minibar is provided between Osnabrück and Hanover.

Fares

The Ems-Leine-Express passes through the territory of four regional transport associations with different fare systems:

  • between Rheine and Osnabrück, the Münsterlandtarif (Münsterland tariff) of the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Münsterland (transport community of Münsterland) applies;
  • between Bünde and Minden, the Der Sechser (“the six) fare of the Verkehrsverbund OstWestfalenLippe (transport association of OstWestfalenLippe) applies;
  • between Haste and Hämelerwald the fares of the Großraum-Verkehr Hannover (transport association of greater Hannover, GVH) apply;
  • between Hämelerwald and Brunswick the fares of the Verbundtarif Region Braunschweig (Brunswick fare alliance, VRB) apply.

Fares for the entire state of Lower Saxony (e.g. the Niedersachsen-Ticket) also apply to the North Rhine-Westphalian sections (Bückeburg–Melle and Osnabrück–Rheine). However, these tickets cannot be used for connections via Herford (for trains towards NRW the fare limit is Löhne or Kirchlengern). The NRW-Tarif (fare) applies between Rheine and Minden for all locations except Melle, while NRW holiday tickets apply to the whole route. The Osnabrück–Bünde section does not belong to the zones of any local fare system and so ordinary Deutsche Bahn fares apply. GVH fares apply for season tickets from Bückeburg.

Railways
Ems-Leine-Express hauled by class 111 locomotive towards Braunschweig in Bünde station
Sign in Bünde – Die Zigarrenstadt ("Bünde – the cigar city")

From west to east the Ems-Leine-Express uses the following lines:

Overall, the service between Rheine and Brunswick covers a distance of 270.4 kilometres. The scheduled time (including intermediate stops) between Rheine and Braunschweig is 3:03, resulting in an average cruising speed of about 90 km/h. Four train sets consisting of locomotive, double-deck carriages and driving trailers are used for the service.

See also

References
  1. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  2. "RE60: Ems-Leine-Express". NRW Rail Archive (in German). André Joost. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  3. "RB61: Wiehengebirgs-Bahn". NRW Rail Archive (in German). André Joost. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  4. Dieter E. Gellermann. "Verkehrsverbünde" (in German). Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  5. "RE70: Weser-Leine-Express". NRW Rail Archive (in German). André Joost. Retrieved 4 February 2014.

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