Aachen West station
- Railway line Aachen -Mönchengladbach
- Montzenroute
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The Aachen West Station is a passenger and freight station in the city of Aachen in North Rhine -Westphalia. He is a separation station, belongs to the category 5 station and has a central platform with two platform tracks. In Aachen Westbahnhof the traveling only by freight Montzenroute branches off to Belgium on the railway line Aachen -Mönchengladbach.
History
On the grounds between Templergraben and Tower Road, which is now used for parking, the Institute building and the main auditorium of the RWTH Aachen, Aachen was formerly the Templerbend station. This was built in 1858 as a replacement for a previously existing in the same place temporary and served as a border station between Germany and the Netherlands. He was created as an island station and was originally used by both the Aachen- Dusseldorf - Ruhrorter Railway Company and from the Aachen- Maastricht railway company. On the eastern side of downtown drove trains to and from Mönchengladbach, on the west side of town located exclusively trains in the Netherlands about the millions line. A fence separated the Customs tracks from the other tracks. Only in 1872 was the later Montzenroute to Belgium, which led at that time by the Plombières Geulvallei and Montzen over after Welkenraedt, also connected to the Templerbend station. The building of the railway station Templerbend had with its two towers and battlements features a castle.
Since the RWTH Aachen expanded in the early 20th century and claimed the space occupied by Templerbend Station Square, the new station Aachen West was built in the neighborhood. The relocation of the station also made a relocation of the route between Mönchengladbach Aachen Templerbend and Richterich required. Previously this was from Templerbend station at Lousberg along parallel to the road Roermonder. The old course is still mostly visible on aerial photographs today. In Lauren Hill of old railway embankment is still used as the high promenade for the "White Way" in horse country park.
The freight station Aachen West was opened on October 1, 1910 along with the new route, the passenger station on October 30, 1910 one day after the closure of the station Templerbend and the closure of the old route. 1911 Templerbend station was finally demolished.
During the Second World War, the reception building from 1910 was destroyed after the war it was replaced by a simple construction. This has been used but only up to the 1990s as a reception building, then took up a nightclub in 2012 the building. In January 2013 it was finally demolished to make room for the new campus.
After the Second World War, Aachen West developed into the most important border crossing in European rail freight transport, where capacity was fully utilized ( in 1974 the one million mark in terms of dispatched goods wagons were reached). For this reason, began in 1974 to DM 22 million estimated conversion measures, provided a second for the period after 1980 and estimated at DM 100 million reconstruction work but was not realized due to changed circumstances. In the reorganization of the 1970s, the platforms of the passenger railway station from a central position in the track field before the dispatcher interlocking were more of the same south-west to the edge, adjacent to the site of the Institute of Rail Vehicles and Materials Handling at the RWTH Aachen, laid on Seffenter way.
The Aachen West Station is connected via the Aachen outer ring conveniently located and only minor disruption to the resident population to the nearby motorway. He therefore offered good conditions for combining shipments. On the part of the German Federal Railroad Aachen West but was closed in mid-1989 for combined transport, although freight forwarders and shippers in the region were in favor of a receipt of this loading point.
At 250,000 sq meters - about 40 % of the current area of the station - to be built, the campus west of the RWTH Aachen. The German railway sold for the area to the construction and property NRW. Therefore, a part of the station facilities must be built to maintain the functionality.
Capital equipment
The station building at the Republic Square was no longer used as such since the early 1990s. Access to the platforms was originally forth through the tunnel beneath the railway tracks from the reception building. This is still visible in the embankment behind the location of the reception building. After laying the platforms to the south-western edge of the site (see above) in the 1970s, the access is done through an accessible from the road underpass of Seffenter path of stairs. A disabled access, for example, an elevator, does not exist; weather protection for the travelers are several smaller shelters on the platform present.
In January 2013, the station building was demolished. Today is a temporary auditorium of the RWTH Aachen in its place.
The dispatcher interlocking Awf ( relay interlocking type Sp Dr S60 ) is continuous because of the busy even at night held freight to and from Belgium. In addition to the interlocking Awf is in the station nor the mechanical interlocking guards R2 busy at certain times, the mechanical interlockings also R1 and R3 are out of service.
Freight traffic
Aachen Aachen West was the main freight depot. The depot Aachen-West presented on the implementation of shunting and freight transport staff and locomotives. As a cargo train station it was closed in 1989. Until the national setting of the cargo traffic in 1998 the Cologne Eifeltor station took over this function. As a marshalling yard and border station for the freight it is still used because of the branching Montzenroute to Belgium, the depot is closed. Since the Montzenroute was not electrified until the end of 2008, had the station often the electric locomotives replaced by diesel locomotives, which has led to numerous shunting even for trains coming from or towards Mönchengladbach, which could pass through the station without changing direction. For the trip to the Montzenroute especially locomotives of the NMBS / SNCB number 55 came in addition to the series 225 and 241.8 of the Deutsche Bahn used. After completion of the electrification of the Montzenroute only take place a few diesel-powered rides on the route. The diesel locomotives mentioned have been replaced including through electric locomotives of NMBS / SNCB row 28.
Passenger
In passenger transport, the station is of great importance especially by the nearby RWTH Aachen. Within walking distance are the main building, the auditorium, the Kármán Auditorium, numerous institutions, dormitories and the Student Aachen. In addition, direct bus connections to other facilities of the university.
Railway lines
The train station is approached in rail passenger traffic from the following lines:
* 1: Only Mon-Fri morning two trips per direction.
At night also runs a ride of Wupper - Express first in the usual way to Dusseldorf main station and on to the train station Dusseldorf airport terminal where the train ends. Through this connection are early morning takeoff from Düsseldorf Airport Flights reachable.
Bus
At the train station connecting flights to destinations public bus routes to the city center, the University Hospital, the campus Melaten, by Lauren Berg and Belgium ( La Calamine ). There are four bus stops, two each on the Süsterfeldstraße on Republic Square and the Seffenter way to be approached depending on the route of the bus.
- Station Aachen - West
Former building of the Bw Aachen West
Tracks and hump in the western part of the station, right through the main tracks
Sculpture in front of the former station building
Parked electric locomotives at the train station, right the dispatcher interlocking Awf