RHEIN-RUHR EXPRESS A new interurban rail system for the Ruhr

摘要

The Rhein-Ruhr-Express (RRX) project in Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) will create an enhanced network of fast regional services across the entire region, which is home to around 8 million people. Existing rail services on the principal routes comprise fast long-distance ICE/EC/IC services, semi fast Regional Express (RE) and all stations S-Bahn trains. As anyone who has tried to travel on these routes in peak hours will know, the trains are very busy - there are 2.4 million rail journeys daily in the region using regional rail services (including S-Bahn) and before the coronavirus pandemic this figure was growing annually. Having to stand on trains is commonplace at any time of day on the very busy RE 1 Hamm-Aachen route, especially on the core Koeln-Duesseldorf-Duisburg-Essen-Dortmund section. The region is also served by a dense motorway network but this is frequently at a standstill in rush hour as well, meaning the train is often much faster! The aim of RRX is to improve capacity and provide some motorists with a real alternative to driving; its promoters aspire to removing between 24 000 and 31 000 car journeys daily (representing around 418 million vehicle-km annually) as drivers switch to trains. The new RRX core network between Dortmund and Koeln via Duisburg/Duesseldorf will have between four and seven RRX services an hour once the full network is in operation, each formed of two 4-car semi-double-deck EMUs offering a total of 800 seats. In parallel with the introduction of the RRX network, changes are being made to the S-Bahn networks with more enhancements planned and the reopening of multiple regional lines connecting with RRX services. These will be described in the September issue.