Schaesberg–Simpelveld RailwaySchaesberg–Simpelveld Railway (Miljoenenlijn)The Schaesberg–Simpelveld railway, also called the Million Line, or in Dutch: Miljoenenlijn, is a 12.5 km long railway line opened in 1934 between Simpelveld and Schaesberg in what is now the municipality of Landgraaf in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands, connecting the Aachen–Maastricht railway line with the Sittard–Herzogenrath railway line. The name of the only mountain line in the Netherlands derives from the high construction costs, which totaled 12.5 million Dutch guilders, as the hilly landscape required extensive earthworks with deep cuttings and high embankments. In 1988, the section from Simpelveld to Kerkrade was initially closed, but reopened as a heritage railway in 1995 after being taken over by the Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij (ZLSM). Regular passenger traffic currently only takes place on the section between Landgraaf and Kerkrade-Centrum, which has been electrified since 1986. From 2007, this section was operated by the company Veolia Transport, which offered through trains every half hour from Kerkrade via Heerlen and Valkenburg to the Limburg provincial capital Maastricht. Since 2016, a train connection from Sittard to Kerkrade Centrum has been operated every half hour by the company Arriva. Series Train Type Route Particulars
The idea of building the Simpelveld–Schaesberg railway line arose from the need to install another coal mine railway to transport the coal from the mines in the Aachen-Limburg region to its destinations. After approval from the Dutch government, construction of the two-track line began in 1924. It was owned by the state-owned railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen through a subsidiary. Due to numerous geological and geographical obstacles on this line in South Limburg, also known as "Dutch Switzerland", the expansion was delayed until 1934 and the costs for the route, embankments and dams, bridges and tunnels rose to the aforementioned 12.5 million guilders. The existing section from Simpelveld via Spekholzerheide to Domaniale Mijn in Kerkrade, which had been in operation as a coal railway since 1871, was also integrated into the route. Finally, the Simpelveld–Schaesberg connection was ceremoniously opened on 15 June 1934. During the Second World War, one of the two tracks was closed and demolished, but after the war the remaining one was repaired for further operation. From 1949, the line was also opened for passenger traffic, as freight traffic became irrelevant as the mines closed down, at the latest with the closure of the Domaniale Mijn in 1969. Finally, in 1986, the section Landgraaf–Kerkrade Centrum was electrified. Two years later, on May 28, 1988, the million-dollar line from Schaesberg to Simpelveld finally came to an end and the railway line had to be closed. A few weeks earlier, on 24 March 1988, the "Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij" was founded with its headquarters in Simpelveld, which deals exclusively with the maintenance and operation of historic railway lines in South Limburg. After obtaining all the necessary permits, an agreement was signed on 28 July 1994 between the ZLSM and the Nederlandse Spoorwegen to set up a heritage railway on the route from Kerkrade-Centrum to Simpelveld, which was finally opened in 1995. In addition, the ZLSM also received permission to operate the section of the Aachen-Maastricht railway line, which has been closed since 1992, from Schin op Geul via Simpelveld to Vetschau, which is not part of the million-dollar line, as an independent heritage railway, thus creating a network of historic railway lines that are connected to regular railway lines and can be combined with one another. In 2007, a switch was reinstalled in Schin op Geul, so that through journeys to Valkenburg aan de Geul on the old railway line of the Aachen–Maastricht railway line are again possible, creating a further connection to the line that has existed since 1914 and was later electrified between Heerlen and Schin op Geul. Swedish steam locomotives and Uerdingen rail buses are used on the million-dollar line. After the ZLSM experienced liquidity problems in 2012, the province of Limburg and the four neighboring municipalities of Valkenburg, Simpelveld, Kerkrade and Gulpen-Wittem acquired the line on 12 December 2013 and ensured the preservation of the line by making the necessary investments in the costly maintenance of the infrastructure. Both the Dutch and German sides have been planning for some time to establish a new direct connection between Aachen and Maastricht, including the Campus West and the Avantis business park and possibly via Kerkrade-Centrum and from there via the old million-dollar line to Simpelveld. However, the ideas about the route and financing differ widely and will only be able to be implemented in the indefinite future - if at all. Since 2018, the Dutch side has favored the expansion of the Sittard–Herzogenrath railway line. Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Museum Railway Route Museum Railway of the South Limburg Steam Train Company In 1992, the Kerkrade Centrum – Simpelveld section was sold by the Dutch Railways to the Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij (ZLSM). Since 1995, the ZLSM has been operating tourist steam trains and rail buses from Simpelveld. Until 2004, the ZLSM ran as far as Kerkrade Centrum. Between 2004 and December 2006, the tourist trains ran on the Miljoenenlijn to Heerlen . With the takeover of the Kerkrade – Heerlen railway line (and further to Maastricht) by Veolia in December 2006, the number of regular train journeys on this connection was increased, meaning that there was no longer room for the steam train on the largely single-track route. The museum train journeys then ended in Kerkrade Centrum again for a few months. In January 2007, the connecting switch in Schin op Geul that had been removed in 1992 was replaced, and with effect from the summer timetable of April 2007, the steam trains ran to the tourist Valkenburg . This was temporarily discontinued from 2017. Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Overview Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Route Length: 12.5 km Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Track Width: 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Power System: Landgraaf–Kerkrade Centrum: 1.5 kV = Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Line Speed: Landgraaf–Kerkrade Centrum: 80 km/h Kerkrade Centrum–Simpelveld: 40 km/h Schaesberg–Simpelveld Railway Route Map line of Sittard 0.0 Landgraaf formerly Schaesberg 0.65 line to Herzogenrath 1.8 since 2016 2,1 Eygelshoven formerly Hopel 4.0 Chevremont 4.8 Tram line Heerlen - Kerkrade - Holz dismantled 5.6 Kerkrade Center from here museum railway 5.9 Kerkrade ZLSM end of electrification Domanial mine 6.7 since 2016 Willem-Sophia my 8.2 Spekholzerheide formerly Kerkrade West 9.0 Tram line Heerlen - Kerkrade - Locht dismantled Avantis line not constructed 11.3 Damien stop Vetschau line ( ZLSM ) 12.0 ZLSM Workshop 12.5 Simple field line to Maastricht ( ZLSM ) | |||||
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