Modernization of a railway route and coordinated settlement development
(North-Rhine Westphalia)
Photography: I. Schütte
In the wake of reduced traffic on branch lines as well as insufficient investment in existing track infrastructures, fixed-track transport is losing its attractiveness. In return, road traffic continues to gain in importance. As a consequence the settlement development, particularly in rural areas, no longer occurs along the rail corridors.
One of the railway routes threatened by permanent closure because of antiquated and unprofitable line operation and falling passenger numbers was the route “Haller Willem” from Bielefeld to Osnabrück via Halle (Westphalia) and Dissen/Bad Rothenfelde.
Today, the redeveloped, regional railway line is operated by a cross-border cooperation of the transport authorities “VerkehrsVerbund OstWestfalenLippe (Nord Rhine-Westphalia)” and “Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen” (LNVG), who order the transport volume required from the transport company NodWestBahn (Lower Saxony).
Source: VerkehrsVerbund OWL
In the 1990s, the action group "Haller Willem", a common interest group of dedicated citizens, successfully managed to ensure the continued existence of the line. The programme „Haller Willem – Regional Stop Future“ (Haller Willem - Regionalstation Zukunft) pursued the development of a holistic approach to lending regional traffic greater attractiveness.
The „Haller Willem“ project demonstrates the shape and form public local traffic could take on in the future. Based on the three principles „innovative railway engineering“, „railway stations as customer service networks” and “housing and leisure – quality of life through track access”, the route from Bielefeld to Osnabrück via Halle (Westphalia) was successfully redeveloped and modernized. The cooperation between various transport operators and adjoining communities ensured that the extension of railway services could be combined with a settlement policy geared towards railway stops.
Besides a comprehensive modernization of platform and track facilities, the use of modern light railcars of the type “Talent” also helps improve the convenience of travel. Key elements in the promotion of track-bound regional transport include an up-to-date stop design with waiting and information areas, an extension of the services available at stations, and a targeted upgrade of station environments with comfortable bus transfer options as well as “Park and Ride”, “Bike and Ride” and “Kiss and Ride” facilities. The installation of new stops or, respectively, the displacement of former stops to settlement centres, as well as the upgrading of rural stops into so-called “nature stations” as starting points for regional walking and cycling tourists (for example the repeatedly prize-honoured railway-cycle-route “Teuto-Senne”) all underline the project’s comprehensive approach.
The route section in North-Rhine Westphalia had already been modernized on the occasion of the EXPO 2000. On the Lower Saxony route section Osnabrück – Dissen – Bad Rothenfelde, the operations run by regional transport authority SPNV’s had already been shut down and were reactivated in 2005. The opening of the line was celebrated with station festivals on June 12. All 19 stations are serviced by trains hourly and between Halle (Westph.) and Bielefeld, the interval is 30 minutes on weekdays. The regional train connection between Bielefeld and Osnabrück has by now become quite popular once again. It was possible to more than double daily passenger numbers from approximately 1.500 a year in 1995 to over 3.300 travellers in 2004.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1987 | First long-term preservation concept for the Bielefeld-Osnabrück railway line |
| 1991 | The action group "Initiative Haller Willem" (IHW) is established |
| 1996 | IHW proposes the project “Regional Station Future – more than a platform border” |
| 1999 | The project is accepted as a “registered project of the world fair" EXPO 2000 |
| 2000 | Completion of key project elements in North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 2005 | Completion of the Lower Saxony section |
Photography: Verkehrsverbund Ostwestfalen-Lippe
The combination of attractive regional rail transport means and settlement development along the railway line is convincing. The approach blends various objectives in the areas of spatial planning, urban planning and transport in an exemplary fashion with housing-, leisure- and tourism-oriented measures. The coordinated, inter-municipal and cross-border approach has model character and outlines perspectives for an integrated regional development. The success of the project is already evident in the positive development of passenger numbers.
Record inserted on 01.02.2003 by Lehrstuhl für Planungstheorie und Stadtplanung, RWTH Aachen and updated by theFederal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 13.09.2010
