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raids in the Second World War. A path runs along the old railway line from the west entrance of the
Silberberg tunnel to the Kuxberg tunnel. The old portals of the Kuxberg tunnels and Trotzenberg tunnel were replaced by backup systems for the government bunker. The former eastern portal of Kuxberg tunnel is now the entrance to the documentation site. In the photograph below it is obscured by trees.
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192:, France prevented its completion in 1924. An embankment, including bridges for crossing over transport routes, had been completed over a length of about 13 km between Holzheim and Rommerskirchen. The line from Rommerskirchen via Niederaussem to Liblar was already traffickable and the Bergheim District railway (
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Between Ringen and the
Silberberg tunnel, the line would have crossed the Adenbach valley. Only the pillars of the viaduct were built. The eastern portal of the Silberberg tunnel remains. A memorial has been established to commemorate the protection provided to the inhabitants of Ahrweiler during air
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Today two sections of this railway project are still used. The line between
Rommerskirchen and Niederaussem is used only by freight trains and is used primarily to connect to the power station in Niederaussem. The only portion that is used by passenger trains is between Bergheim Martinswerk (formerly
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In 1918, construction began of the section from Ringen to the planned
Nierendorf station between Nierendorf and Leimersdorf. The trackbed of the Ringen–Nierendorf section was completed in the autumn of 1926. Construction then stopped. Disputes over the route of the lines, the expected high costs due
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Southeast of the proposed Ringen station, the route to Rech and Bad-Bodendorf branches from the
Strategic Railway Embankment. The line of the Ringen–Bad Bodendorf section would have initially run via Bengen to Nierendorf, then run around Birresdorf on a long curve and into an s-shaped curve through
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Further south, the line ran to the
Sonderberg tunnel. It is now used for storage. A few metres away from the north portal, the line is protected by old towering brick arches, not seen in the photograph. The top image shows the south portal. The embankment has been removed, but vestiges of a former
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area (such as embankments and cuttings) and flyovers and a railway tunnel at
Ahrweiler. Piers were built for the viaduct over the Adenbach valley near Ahrweiler. When construction was stopped, scaffolding had already been prepared for pouring concrete for the arches. Rails had not yet been laid.
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The section of the strategic railway between Neuss and
Rommerskirchen is now used as a foot and bridle path and is a heritage site. Streets and lanes were built over bridges to avoid intersections. These structures like the railway embankment have been largely unused for about 80 years. The
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Tracks have never been laid on the Ringen–Bad
Bodendorf section of the line. Part of the A 61 autobahn is now built on the route to Nierendorf station, but the line is still visible in many places. The site of the proposed Nierendorf station is now used as a sports field.
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Intermediate stations were also planned at
Nierendorf, Kirchdaun and Gimmigen. The planning of the descent of the line down the Ahr valley was a major challenge, as the line would have fallen about 130 metres in altitude from Grafschaft to Bad Bodendorf.
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road underpass enclose a small vineyard. The line would have reached the Ahr Valley Railway near Rech. The embankment is still visible, as is the left retaining wall at the former access to the Herrenberg tunnel. The tunnel entrance has been blown up.
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At the beginning of the 20th century, railways were increasingly involved in the strategic considerations of the military, particularly for the rapid deployment of German troops against France. Under the influence of the Chief of the
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and past Nierendorf again, running not far from Kirchdaun via Gimmigen to Bad Bodendorf, where there would have been a junction with the Ahr Valley Railway. The total length of the line would have been 15 km.
328:. A viaduct and five railway tunnels were required at Ahrweiler for the line to descend the 100 metres down to the Ahr Valley Railway. Some tunnels have been blown up or now serve to store material.
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Individual station buildings had been erected. For example, the station building at Altendorf near Meckenheim was built in 1920 and served as a residence until it was demolished in 1968/69 for
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and the south-western border of Germany, which was never finished. This name is derived from the section of this line that runs over a railway embankment between
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The imperial government determined that the strategic railway would be double track from its junctions with the railways of the
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to the necessary bridges and tunnels, and not least the declining strategic importance of the lines meant that work stopped.
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and partly built. The Strategic Railway Embankment (or "Ruhr–Moselle relief line") was one of them.
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The line between Niederaussem and Martinswerk was demolished for the Bergheim open cut
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The route between Liblar and Ringen was used for the construction of the
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432:"The Strategic Railway Embankment in Grafschaft and in the Ahr valley"
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Strategic Railway Embankment towards the north-west behind
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a junction, still a point where the chainage changes) and
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Sections of the line were also completed in the Rheinbach/
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On the embankment near MĂĽnchrath, view from the south
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Construction of the line started in 1904. After the
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449:"Photographs of remaining the tunnel portals"
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196:) had operated over it for several years.
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490:Railway lines in North Rhine-Westphalia
258:Road bridge over the strategic railway.
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124:and bypass the railway bottlenecks of
495:Railway lines in Rhineland-Palatinate
345:Dokumentationsstätte Regierungsbunker
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416:"The Strategic Railway Embankment"
399:"The Strategic Railway Embankment"
331:Between 1960 and 1972, during the
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152:. Trains would then run via the
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61:The Strategic Railway Embankment
347:) museum is now housed there.
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288:Rommerskirchen–Horrem section
366:Ringen–Bad Bodendorf section
217:Neuss–Rommerskirchen section
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451:(in German). Tunnelportale
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270:Underpass near MĂĽnchrath.
238:The strategic railway in
465:"History of Nierendorf"
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224:Museum Insel Hombroich
74:Strategischer Bahndamm
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106:Alfred von Schlieffen
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418:(in German). Wisoveg
194:Bergheimer Kreisbahn
102:German General Staff
414:Helmut Weingarten.
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320:Ahrweiler–Rech line
312:Liblar–Rech section
174:East Rhine Railways
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180:railway junction.
154:Ahr Valley Railway
110:strategic railways
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34:51.0789°N 6.7083°E
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373:Grafschaft
201:Meckenheim
176:) and the
150:Ahr valley
126:DĂĽsseldorf
22:51°04′44″N
244:HĂĽlchrath
142:Rheinbach
66:‹See Tfd›
54:HĂĽlchrath
25:6°42′30″E
333:Cold War
242:between
212:Sections
206:Autobahn
166:Lorraine
162:Saarland
156:and the
99:Imperial
471:13 June
455:13 June
438:13 June
422:13 June
405:13 June
306:lignite
178:Remagen
160:to the
148:in the
130:Cologne
92:History
138:Horrem
70:German
116:Route
82:Neuss
473:2013
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440:2013
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172:and
170:West
164:and
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128:and
122:Ruhr
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