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Krefeld, Germany:
Streetcars (Trams) and Interurban Stadtbahn

Description

Krefeld has a population of about 220,000 and is located about 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Düsseldorf, at the western edge of the Rhein-Ruhr urban conglomeration. It has a four-route local meter-gauge streetcar (tram) system, operated by the Stadtwerke Krefeld (SWK), and a standard-gauge interurban Stadtbahn route to Düsseldorf, operated by the Rheinische Bahngesellschaft (Rheinbahn), which also operates local streetcar and Stadtbahn routes in Düsseldorf.

The first local routes began operation in 1883 using horse and steam power. They were converted to electric operation in 1898. Today the SWK operates about 38 kilometers of streetcar routes. About half of the 41-car fleet is the classic rounded-end Düwag type, built as six-axle articulated cars during 1964-72 and extended with a center section and two additional axles in 1977-78. The rest of the fleet is a somewhat more modern design, also built by Düwag in 1980-81. Düwag (now Siemens) has a plant in Krefeld's Uerdingen district, which is probably not a mere coincidence! For more details about this system, see the LRTA article that is linked at the bottom of this page.

The interurban route from Düsseldorf (about 25 km in length) arrived in 1898, the same year that the local routes were electrified. For many years, it was designated as route K, and many people still call it the K-Bahn, even though the official designation is now U76 (with some U70 express trains). This route is noteworthy for its café cars on some trains (the Rheinbahn-Bistro), and for the semi-rural scenery between Krefeld and Düsseldorf.

The meter-gauge local cars and the standard-gauge interurban cars share tracks in central Krefeld, using four-rail dual-gauge track, with the meter-gauge rails laid inside the standard-gauge ones.

Although the local routes and the interurban route are operated by different companies, they use the same tickets and fare structure, under the coordination of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), which covers the urban agglomeration that extends from the Düsseldorf area northward and eastward to the Dortmund area.

A map of Krefeld's rail transit routes
[front] | [back] VRR day ticket for price stage B, purchased from a Deutsche Bahn vending machine in the Krefeld main railway station; good for unlimited travel for one day in the Krefeld / Düsseldorf area.

Pictures

These pictures were taken on 29 June 2004.

Along Ostwall

The heart of Krefeld's streetcar system is Ostwall, a boulevard that runs between the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) and the intersection of Rheinstraße. All four local streetcar routes and the interurban to Düsseldorf share tracks that run on opposite sides of a broad parklike promenade.

[picture] A route U76 interurban from Düsseldorf lays over at its terminal in a pocket track at Rheinstraße, as a local route 042 streetcar stops next to it. The logo next to the U76's destination sign [closeup] indicates that this train carries a cafe (Rheinbahn-Bistro).

[picture] A southbound U76 train eases through traffic on Ostwall, just after leaving Rheinstraße. Note the dual-gauge track which accommodates both meter-gauge and standard-gauge equipment.

[picture] A northbound streetcar on Ostwall, viewed from the other side of the promenade.

[picture] As we stand at the south end of the Ostwall promenade, looking towards the Hauptbahnhof, a route 043 streetcar heading for Uerdingen crosses from right to left in front of us as it turns north onto Ostwall.

[picture] A few minutes later at the same location, a route 044 car coming from the left turns north onto Ostwall, on its way to Hüls.

[picture] A view of another route 044 car from in front of the Hauptbahnhof, looking towards the vantage point of the preceding picture.

Other Locations

[picture] A route 041 car turns onto Krefelder Straße in St. Tönis, just after leaving its terminal to begin its run to downtown and Fischeln. The street that it is coming out of is so narrow that the tracks have to overlap the tracks going in the other direction as they make the turn. At the right, traffic signals prevent interference from oncoming streetcars (upper signal) and motor vehicles (lower signal).

[picture] A route 041 car starts its run down Kölner Straße towards Fischeln after passing underneath the railroad tracks near the Hauptbahnhof.

[picture] A few stops further along Kölner Straße, another route 041 car passes the stop at Von-Ketteler-Straße.

[picture] An interurban U76 train, running on private right-of-way, stops at Fischeln on its way to Düsseldorf. The former station building is now a restaurant.

Other Sites

The Stadtwerke Krefeld AG (SWK), which operates Krefeld's local streetcar and bus system.
The Rheinische Bahngesellschaft AG (Rheinbahn), which operates streetcars and Stadtbahn in Düsseldorf, including interurban lines to Krefeld and Duisburg.
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr GmbH (VRR), which coordinates streetcars, Stadtbahn, buses and local trains in the Düsseldorf / Essen / Dortmund region.
Krefeld: Metre-gauge surprise, an article from the April 2000 issue of Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, published by the Light Rail Transit Association.

This page was last updated on 28 January 2005, and reviewed on 21 May 2005.