Bocholt station

Bocholt is a railway station in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is now the terminus of Der Bocholter rail service. In the past trains ran in four directions, including to Winterswijk in the Netherlands.

Bocholt
Bf
Bocholt station
Location	Bocholt, Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Coordinates	51°50′05″N 6°37′14″E
Owned by	Deutsche Bahn
Operated by	DB Netz DB Station&Service
Line(s)	Bocholt-Wesel railway
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Other information
Station code	723[1]
DS100 code	EBCH[2]
IBNR	8000040
Category	6[1]
Fare zone	Westfalentarif: 57671[3]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	1 July 1878[4]
Services
Preceding station   Abellio Rail NRW   Following station Terminus RE 19a Der Bocholter Dingden toward Wesel
Location
Bocholt Location in North Rhine-Westphalia Bocholt Location in Germany Bocholt Location in Europe

History

The station was opened on 1 July 1878[4] by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME) together with the Bocholt–Wesel railway,[5] which branched off its Oberhausen–Arnhem railway (known as the Hollandstrecke–"Holland line") at Wesel.

Just over two years later, on 25 August 1880, the Niederländisch-Westfälische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (Dutch-Westphalian Railway Company) opened the Winterswijk–Bocholt railway[6] and the station became a through station.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Prussian state railways started building the Empel-Rees–Münster railway (Baumbergebahn). With the opening of the first section on 1 August 1901, Bocholt became a junction station and with the opening of the second section to Borken exactly one year later it was connected in four directions.[7]

Through traffic to Winterswijk ended after the First World War. Passenger traffic on the remaining part of this line to Barlo came to an end around 1952 and freight traffic was discontinued in 1989.[6]

Passenger traffic on the Empel-Rees–Münster railway ended in 1974 and freight traffic towards Empel-Rees ended in 1984. A section of the line is still preserved as a siding from the town of Bocholt to Mussum.[7] Freight traffic towards the east (Rhedebrügge) ended in 1991.[7] Since then Bocholt has been a terminus again.

In the mid-1990s, the town of Bocholt bought a Class 628 railcar and donated it to Deutsche Bahn, which at that time was operating passenger services on the line to Wesel, in order to ensure continued services on the line.

Railway facilities

Former station building

The preserved entrance building was built in 1904. It now houses the town library and the town gallery.

South of the former entrance building was a goods yard, where trains were loaded with goods on a loading track and ran towards the Ruhr area.

In the mid-1990s, the passenger station was completely rebuilt. One island platform was torn down and the other was converted into an interchange platform with buses on the other side. At the same time, a new, smaller entrance building was erected, which faces directly onto the remaining platform.

In the past there was a locomotive shed with a turntable at the station, where steam locomotives were located.

Rail services

The station is located on the Bocholt-Wesel railway and is served by Der Bocholter, which os operated by Abellio Rail NRW to Wesel. Although this stops at all stations, it is classified as a Regional-Express, the RE 19a, because it is intended to operate it as a portion of the Rhein-IJssel-Express to Düsseldorf when the line is electrified.[8]

The following service currently call at Bocholt:

Line	Line name	Route	Frequency
RE 19a	Der Bocholter	Bocholt – Dingden – Hamminkeln – Blumenkamp – Wesel	60 mins

References

1. "Stationspreisliste 2021" [Station price list 2021] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
2. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
3. "95 Rees - Haldern - Wertherbruch - Loikum - Mussum - Bocholt und zurück" (PDF). Niederrheinische Verkehrsbetriebe. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
4. Joost, André. "Bocholt station operations". NRW Rail Archive (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
5. Joost, André. "Line 2263: Wesel – Bocholt". NRW Rail Archive (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
6. Joost, André. "Line 2264: Bocholt (Grenze) – Bocholt". NRW Rail Archive (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
7. Joost, André. "Line 2265: Empel-Rees – Münster (Westf)". NRW Rail Archive (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
8. Joost, André. "Bocholt station". NRW rail archive (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2020.