Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway

Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway
Overview
Line number2200
LocaleNorth Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen and Hamburg, Germany
Service
Route number
  • 425 (Wanne-Eickel–Münster)
  • 385 (Münster–Bremen)
  • 120 (Bremen–Hamburg)
Technical
Line length355 km (221 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed200 km/h (124.3 mph) (maximum)
Route map

km
355.3
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
S-Bahn Hamburg-Altona link line
to Hammerbrook & Berliner Tor
Hamburg Klosterthor
Hauptbahnhof storage sidings
Oberbaum Bridge and Oberhafen Bridge
Hamburg Hanoverian
Hamburg Oberhafen
353.7
Hamburg Ericus junction
352.5
Hamburg Norderelbbrücke junction
352.5
Hamburg Elbbrücken (S-Bahn)
freight bypass
to Rothenburgsort
352.4
Hamburg Oberhafen junction
351.5
Hamburg-Veddel junction
Hamburg Port Railway
to Hamburg Süd
Spreehafen
350.9
Hamburg-Veddel
(S-Bahn)
Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg–Peute Port Railway
348.7
Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg junction
348.6
Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg
(S-Bahn)
Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg S-Bahn junction
Lower Elbe Railway
to Cuxhaven
343.3
Hamburg-Harburg
Hamburg-Harburg Süd
freight bypass
to Maschen
border
A7
334.5
Hittfeld
329.1
Klecken
323.2
Buchholz (Nordheide)
Heath Railway
to Soltau
Bremerhaven–Buxtehude railway
to Bremerhaven
318.5
Sprötze
311.7
Tostedt
Wilstedt-Zeven-Tostedt railway
305.1
Königsmoor
297.6
Lauenbrück
291.1
Scheeßel
282.8
282.5
Rotenburg (Wümme)
282.8
273.0
Sottrum
265.1
Ottersberg
257.5
Sagehorn
freight & ICE Sprinter bypass
border
Lower Saxony
Bremen
251.8
Bremen-Oberneuland
242.8
239.7
Bremen Hauptbahnhof
234.8
Bremen-Hastedt
233.4
Bremen-Hemelingen
232.1
Hemelinger Hafen
229.9
freight & ICE Sprinter bypass
Weser River (border)
228.6
Dreye
Bremen-Thedinghausen Railway
224.5
Kirchweyhe
220.0
Barrien
Verkehrsbetriebe Grafschaft Hoya
to Eystrup
216.5
Syke
210.8
Bramstedt bei Syke
206.8
Bassum
197.8
Twistringen
190.7
Drentwede
184.7
Barnstorf
177.9
Drebber
Nienburg–Diepholz railway
to Sulingen
170.3
Diepholz
161.0
Lembruch
153.9
Lemförde
152.6
border
148.5
Drohne
146.7
border
Wittlage District Railway
to Hunteburg
142.1
Bohmte
Wittlage District Railway
to Holzhausen
134.4
Ostercappeln
128.4
Vehrte
120.1
Osnabrück Central Station Vorbf
118.4
Klus junction
Löhne–Rheine railway to Rheine
117.7
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
(high level) Löhne–Rheine railway
114.3
Osnabrück-Hörne Bbf
A7 A30
Georgsmarienhütte–Hasbergen railway
to Georgsmarienhütte
109.1
Hasbergen
Perm Railway to Laggenbeck
border
Lower Saxony
North Rhine-Westphalia
106.6
Leeden
border
104.2
Natrup-Hagen
103.3
Lower Saxony
North Rhine-Westphalia
border
Lengerich Tunnel
(581 m)
98.8
Lengerich (West)
Teutoburg Forest Railway
94.1
Ringel
91.1
Kattenvenne
85.1
Ostbevern
78.9
Westbevern
76.4
72.2
Sudmühle
~70.9
Warendorf Railway to Rheda-Wiedenbrück
67.6
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Westphalian State Railway to Lippstadt
66.7
Münster Gbf
64.7
Geist
61.0
Mecklenbeck
57.7
Münster-Albachten
54.8
Bösensell
50.3
Nottuln-Appelhülsen
45.2
Buldern
38.6
Dülmen
33.0
Sythen Bbf
30.8
Sythen
26.0
Haltern am See
S9 terminus
22.4
Marl Lippe junction
Lippe branch
17.1
Marl-Sinsen
10.5
Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof
S2 terminusS9 terminus
4.5
Recklinghausen Süd
S2 to Herne
2.8
Baukau branch to Crange branch
0.3
Wanne-Eickel Hauptbahnhof
Source: German railway atlas

The Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Metropole Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany. The Route runs over the cities Münster (Westfalen), Osnabrück and Bremen.

It was built between 1870 and 1874 by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) based in Wanne-Eickel, and branched off their main (Cologne-)Deutz–Minden route as part of the Hamburg-Venlo railway. Today it is an electrified main line which has a minimum of two tracks throughout. Parts of the route are equipped with Linienzugbeeinflussung train control which enables speeds of up to 200 km/h to be attained.

Due to its constant use by goods and passenger trains rolling along the line, day and night, it has been given the nickname Rollbahn ("Rolling Line").