West Rhine Railway

West Rhine Railway
Overview
Other name(s)	Left Rhine Railway
Native name	Linke Rheinstrecke
Line number	2630
Locale	North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, Germany
Termini	Cologne Mainz
Service
Route number	470
Technical
Line length	152 km (94 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead catenary
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph) (max)
Maximum incline	< 0.02%
Route map Legend Sieg Railway, HSL, East Rhine Railway Line from Köln-Mülheim (including S-Bahn) Köln Messe/Deutz Line from Köln-Mülheim Hohenzollernbrücke −2.0 Köln Hbf Line to Neuss Lines to Mönchengladbach and Aachen 0.4 Köln West Wf (station part) from Köln Bbf 1.1 Köln West Stadtbahn lines 1 & 7 Stadtbahn line 9 3.2 Köln Süd / Köln Süd junction Vorgebirge Railway (Stadtbahn line 18) 3.0 Cöln-Pantaleon Original start of line Cologne freight railway bypass 5.8 Köln Eifeltor freight station A 4 8.0 Köln Eifeltor freight station 9.4 Hürth-Kalscheuren Eifel Railway to Euskirchen 10.1 Hürth-Kalscheuren Südkopf junction 12.9 Brühl freight station Vorgebirge Railway to Vochem HGK-Cross Railway 14.6 Brühl 19.5 Sechtem 25.8 Roisdorf Vorgebirge Railway (Stadtbahn line 18) Voreifel Railway from Euskirchen 31.1 Bonn freight station 31.9 Bonn Hbf Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry Bonn UN Campus 37.2 Bonn-Bad Godesberg Nord 39.0 Bonn-Bad Godesberg 41.3 Bonn-Mehlem 43.6 Bonn Neuer Weg NRW/RLP border 45.9 Rolandseck 48.2 Oberwinter 52.7 Remagen Ahr Valley Railway to Ahrbrück To former Ludendorff Bridge From former Ludendorff Bridge 56.7 Sinzig 62.5 Bad Breisig Brohl Valley Railway 65.7 Brohl 69.2 Namedy 73.2 Andernach Cross Eifel Railway to Kaisersesch 76.9 Weißenthurm 81.6 Urmitz line form Neuwied, East Rhine line Koblenz substation (siding) link to Koblenz Rhine port former line from Mayen 87.0 Koblenz-Lützel Nord (DB Museum) original route from Mayen 89.4 Koblenz-Lützel Moselle railway bridge former port railway former Koblenz RhE station freight line to Moselle line Koblenz-Stadtmitte Pfaffendorf Bridge (now road bridge), formerly to East Rhine line Moselle line from Trier 91.2 Koblenz Hbf Horchheim Railway Bridge, Lahntal railway, to East Rhine line 94.3 Königsbach 99.8 Rhens 103.3 Spay Hunsrück Railway to Emmelshausen 110.7 Boppard Hbf 115.6 Boppard-Bad Salzig 119.4 Boppard-Hirzenach 122.4 Werlau 125.3 St. Goar Bank tunnel (367 m) 127.4 Urbar Nord Bett tunnel (236 m) Kammereck tunnel (289 m) 128.8 Urbar Süd 132.1 Oberwesel 138.5 Bacharach 142.0 Niederheimbach 146.6 Trechtingshausen 150.6 Bingen Vorbf 152.0 Bingen (Rhein) Hbf Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrücken and Alsenz Valley Railway to Kaiserslautern 152.4 0.0 Nahe (route change), former Prussia / Hesse border 1.0 Bingen (Rhein) Stadt Nahe Valley Railway former Hindenburg Bridge Rheinhessen Railway to Worms 4.6 Bingen-Gaulsheim line from Bad Kreuznach 9.4 Gau Algesheim former Selz Valley Railway from Jugenheim-Partenheim 12.5 Ingelheim former Selz Valley Railway to Frei-Weinheim 17.5 Heidesheim (Rheinhessen) 20.2 Uhlerborn 23.1 Budenheim Lenneberg viaduct 27.3 Mainz-Mombach To Emperor Bridge, freight bypass and Taunus line From Alzey 30.6 Mainz Hbf Main Railway to Frankfurt to Ludwigshafen Source: German railway atlas[1]

The West Rhine railway (German: Linke Rheinstrecke, literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It is situated close to the western (left) bank of the river Rhine and mostly aligned to allow 160 km/h operation between Cologne and Koblenz and between Bingen and Mainz. Line speed between Koblenz and Bingen is restricted by the meandering nature of the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.