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Iron Rhine
Overview
Line number	2524
Service
Route number	485, 487
Technical
Line length	123.2 kilometres (76.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Route map Legend km Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway toMönchengladbach 0.0 Rheydt Köln–Mönchengladbach railway toKöln Krefeld–Rheydt railway toHelenabrunn Rheydt Yard 2.2 Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway toAachen 3.5 Wickrath 5.2 Mönchengladbach-Günhoven 7.4 Mönchengladbach-Rheindahlen 9.5 Mönchengladbach-Genhausen 12.8 Wegberg 16.1 Klinkum toSiemenstest center 18.1 Arsbeck 20.1 Dalheim Jülich–Dalheim railway toJülich 21.3 102.2 Germany Netherlands border 101.6 Vlodrop 94.6 Herkenbosch A 73 Maastricht–Venlo railway toMaastricht 88.6 Roermond Maastricht–Venlo railway toVenlo Meuse 81.3 Haelen 77.0 Baexem-Heythuysen 73.0 Kelpen Wessem-Nederweert Canal A 2 64.0 Weert Zuid-Willemsvaart Eindhoven–Weert railway toEindhoven 55.0 Budel 54.0 31.7 Netherlands Belgium border 30.9 Hamont 27.4 Sint-Huibrechts-Lille Winterslag–Eindhoven railway toEindhoven Bocholt-Herentals Canal 22.8 Neerpelt Winterslag–Eindhoven railway to Winterslag 21.5 Overpelt 18.6 Overpelt-Werkplaatsen 13.8 Lommel 10.7 Lommel-Werkplaatsen 8.7 Balen-Werkplaatsen 4.7 Balen-Wezel Dessel-Kwaadmechelen Canal 2.9 Gompel line 15 toHasselt 52.0 Mol 49.2 Millegem 42.8 Geel 39.8 Larum 36.7 Olen Bocholt-Herentals Canal toTurnhout 30.7 Herentals 29.1 Herentals-Canal Albert Canal Herentals–Aarschot railway toAarschot 26.8 Wolfstee A13 24.6 Bouwel 19.0 Nijlen 15.5 Kessel 13.8 Lisp Line 16 toAarschot Nete River 12.0 Lier toMechelen &Brussels 8.1 Boshoek 6.6 Vos 5.6 Boechout 4.5 Liersebaan 3.0 Krijgsbaan 2.3 Mortsel Line 25 toBrussels 0.0 Antwerpen-Berchem Line 25 toAntwerpen-Centraal km This diagram: view talk edit

TheIron Rhine orSteel Rhine (Dutch:IJzeren Rijn;German:Eiserner Rhein) is a partially operational freight rail corridor connecting the port ofAntwerp (Belgium) andMönchengladbach (Germany) by way ofNeerpelt and theDutch towns ofWeert andRoermond.

TheTreaty of London between the Netherlands and Belgium in 1839 recognised the independence of Belgium. As part of the treaty, Belgium had the right to build aroad orcanal fromSittard to thePrussian border over Dutch territory, with Belgium funding the construction. This right was further established in theIron Rhine Treaty of 1873. At first, Belgium planned to dig a canal, but in the end it opted for a railway.

In 1868, construction of the Iron Rhine started, and in 1879, the first trains used the railway. Initially, traffic was dense and frequent, but it decreased over time. Currently the railroad is used by some trains between Antwerp and the zinc factory inBudel, and between Budel andWeert. The line Weert -Roermond is part of the DutchInterCity network, and is used daily by many trains. Between Roermond and the German border, traffic has fully ceased since 1991.

Although the 160.3 kilometers (99.6 mi) Iron Rhine is not fully operational, 134.8 km (83.8 mi) of its tracks are in regular use. 85 km (53 mi) of the route is double tracked and 55 km (34 mi) is electrified. However, the 16.5 kilometers (Roermond-Dalheim) are not operational and a further 9 km (5.6 mi) (Budel-Weert) are used only rarely. 200 m (660 ft) of track in Dalheim, on the German side is fully overgrown.^{[citation needed]}

On the German section Mönchengladbach-DalheimRegionalBahn trains run alongside freight trains, long distance travel no longer takes place on the German section. On the Belgian and Dutch side of the track the route is used extensively byInterCity -Interregio -, local and freight trains.^{[citation needed]}

The Schwalm-Nette-Bahn (RB 34) traverses the line betweenMönchengladbach Hbf andDalheim, directly on the border with the Netherlands.It is operated on behalf ofDB Regio byRurtalbahn and runs during peak times every hour and off peak every two hours. The line runs through the territory of theAachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV) and theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR). The train stops only when needed at the Arsbeck and Mönchengladbach-Genhausen halts. The Rurtalbahn uses railcars of typeRegioSprinter on the line.A resumption of cross-border passenger traffic between Dalheim and Roermond (with aMeinewegstation) is the aim of the AVV by 2015.^[1]

Freight transportation is provided to a military base nearRheindahlen and to the connection for theTest- and Validationcenter Wegberg-Wildenrath near Arsbeck/Klinkum.

The Dutch section between Weert-Roermond, since the abandonment of the stations Buggenum, Baexem-Heythuysen, and Kelpen in the 1940s, sees no more regional trains. The stations Roermond and Weert are connected with each other, however, byInterCity trains of theNetherlands Railways. These trains linkAmsterdam andSchiphol with the South Limburgian citiesHeerlen andMaastricht up to every ten minutes. Double-deckerEMUs of typeDD IRM are mainly used.

Given its proximity to the large Belgian port city ofAntwerp, freight and passenger traffic between Antwerp,Lier andMol (the line branches here toHasselt andNeerpelt) has always been relatively dense. The section between Mol and Neerpelt (inoperational after the Second World War) was, because of political pressure from the municipalitiesLommel and Neerpelt, reactivated on 27 May 1978.

A long-distance inter-regional line (IRe) connects Hamont with Antwerp every hour. The trains start in Hamont, combine in Mol with a train partition from (or to) Hasselt, (or on the way back splits) and travels via Herentals and Lier toAntwerpen Centraal. In Herentals a branch line connects to the city ofTurnhout, which is served by two lines of theSNCB; theInterCity R and theInterregio g. The latter, hourly train, uses the same route Herentals–Lier–Antwerp as theInterregio e (Antwerp–Lier–Herentals–Mol–Hasselt/Neerpelt). TheInterCity R, which also travels hourly, however, leaves the Iron Rhine in Lier, and reachesBrussels-Midi viaMechelen. The section Antwerp-Lier is also used by theInterregio c (Antwerp-Lier-Aarschot-Liege) and by local trains on the route Antwerp-Lier-Aarschot-Leuven. The service offering is reinforced along the trunk route of the Iron Rhine, with hourly local trains on the route Antwerp-Lier-Herentals-Mol serving smaller intermediate stations. In addition, the only during peak travel time circulating P-Train (Piekuurtrein / Train d'heure de pointe come) will also use the route.On weekends and holidays, the traffic is modest and the route will be run only by theIR e, theIR candIR g at hourly intervals, whereas the IC-, P-, and L-trains do not run. Smaller stations will be serviced either by theIR gor not at all.

The rolling stock used by theIR e and P-and L-Trein are diesel trains of theNMBS Class 41.InterCity traffic useAM80 break-motor coaches and locomotive-hauled trains (HLE21/27) with M5 or M6Bilevel rail cars. TheIR g andIR c use AM80 Break-railcars and the L-Trein service Antwerp-Lier-Aarschot-Leuven use railcars of typeNMBS Class AM 86-89.

In 2004, Belgium requested a reopening of the Iron Rhine. The government stated it was the result of the increasing transport of goods between the port of Antwerp and the GermanRuhr Area. As part of the European policy ofmodal shift on the increasing traffic of goods, transport over railway lines and waterways is preferred over road transport.

Currently Belgium uses theMontzenroute [nl], south of the Iron Rhine, from Antwerp toAachen viaAarschot,Hasselt,Tongeren andMontzen, for transportation of goods to Germany. High passenger traffic on parts of this route causes a lack of capacity for goods, and a number of steep inclines over the route make it problematic for long and heavy trains.

The Belgian request is based on the treaty of 1839, and the Iron Rhine Treaty of 1873. Critics felt that Belgium could not invoke these treaties, as the 1873 treaty granted Belgium a concession of99 years on the Iron Rhine route, a period which ended in 1972. Furthermore, Belgium had sold the railroad to theDutch Government. The argument that carries most weight in the Netherlands is that the railroad runs through the nature reserve ofDe Meinweg, and nature activists fear the destruction of the localhabitat of several threatened species, whereas Belgian interests consider this to be a delaying tactic while the Netherlands completes theBetuwe line.

After a series of failed negotiations, the Belgian and Dutch governments agreed to take the issue to thePermanent Court of Arbitration and respect its ruling in the case. In its ruling of 24 May 2005, the court acknowledged both the Belgian rights under the cessation treaty of 1839 and the Dutch concerns for the nature reserve.^[2] The 1839 treaty still applies, the court found, giving Belgium the right to use and modernize the Iron Rhine. However, it has to finance the modernisation of the line, while the Netherlands have to fund the repairs and maintenance of the route. Both countries will split the costs of the construction of a tunnel beneath the nature reserve.

The reopening would allow heavier trains than on the Montzenroute (2000 tonnes in both directions compared to 800 and 1300 tonnes); and a shorter journey (162 km compared to 211 km); it would reopen some time after 2015.^[3] As of 2018, the Dutch and Belgian authorities remain discussing the route the Iron Rhine would take.^[4]

However on 11 May 2007, and again in 2013-2014, theWalloon Region opposed the project for fear of seeing employment go down in case of reduced traffic on the Montzenroute.^[5] Then end 2014 an alternative route has been proposed, using the existing lines Roermond – Venlo and Venlo – Mönchengladbach, which are in regular use, rather than clearing the historical route from its overgrown vegetation and protecting by tunnels and/or soundscreens the part of it crossing theMeinweg National Park. This alternative route would have the same advantages as the historical one but at half the cost. The need for the train to change direction in Roermond and again in Venlo could be solved easily, e.g. by temporarily adding an additional locomotive at its former "tail" end, to pull it on that part of the line.

• Frank Witlox (2006),"The Iron Rhine Railway Link: a Chronicle of Dutch-Flemish Geo-politics Based on Contextual History"(PDF),Journal of European Economic History,35 (1):149–173,ISSN 0391-5115^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Media related toIron Rhine at Wikimedia Commons

• Project IJzeren Rijn (inDutch)
• Iron Rhine Arbitration

• Railway lines in Flanders
• Railway lines in the Netherlands
• Railway lines in Limburg (Netherlands)
• Railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia
• Cross-border railway lines in Belgium
• Cross-border railway lines in Germany
• Cross-border railway lines in the Netherlands
• Railway lines opened in 1879
• Transport in Roermond
• Transport in Weert

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