Zwolle–Emmen Railway

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway

The Zwolle - Stadskanaal railway line is the railway line between Zwolle station and Stadskanaal station, opened between 1903 and 1905. The railway line was part of the network of railways of the Noordoosterlocaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (NOLS) that opened up the northeast of the Netherlands and connected Twente with the port of Delfzijl. After a phased closure of various parts of the line, only the Zwolle - Emmen section is still in use.

The train service over the line is decentralised, and falls under the management of the provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe and the region of Twente. The carrier, after a tender, has been Arriva since 9 December 2012, which has renamed this railway line together with the railway line Mariënberg - Almelo for commercial purposes to Vechtdallijnen.

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway History

The railway line from Zwolle to Stadskanaal was built by the NOLS at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the same period, the company also built the connecting railway lines from Mariënberg to Almelo and from Gasselternijveen to Assen. A few years later, the NOLS built the railway line from Stadskanaal to Zuidbroek, followed by the Zuidbroek - Delfzijl railway line.

In connection with the NOLS network, the Overijsselsche Lokaalspoorweg-Maatschappij Deventer - Ommen constructed the Deventer - Ommen railway line in 1910. The NOLS and OLDO railway lines were operated by the State Railways. The arrival of the bus and truck led to a decline in rail transport in sparsely populated areas. In 1934, less than 25 years after the opening of the last railway line, the first sections of the NOLS network were closed for passenger transport.

The Emmen - Gasselternijveen section along the Drentsche Hondsrug was completely closed in 1938, the Gasselternijveen - Stadskanaal section followed a year later. This section remained open for freight transport. Due to fuel shortages during and immediately after the Second World War, the railway line was reopened. The Emmen - Gasselternijveen section was opened for passenger transport for a few months in 1940 and 1945. In 1940, 1941 and 1945 the section was open for freight transport. In 1946 the section between Weerdinge and Buinen was finally closed and dismantled. Freight transport continued for a few years on the two remaining sections.

Passenger transport took place on the railway line between Gasselternijveen and Stadskanaal between June 1940 and May 1947. Passenger transport between the two places was discontinued on 4 May 1947, because NS had a shortage of trains. All available equipment was used to maintain a two-hour service on primary lines. As a result, there was no equipment available for some secondary lines. The service was initially temporarily replaced by a bus service, although there were fears of a decline in quality due to the poor condition of the roads.

Because the bus could reach more places, it was later deemed unnecessary to restore passenger transport by train. After this, the railway line remained open for freight transport. In 1964, freight transport on the Gasselternijveen - Buinen railway line was discontinued. Eight years later, the Emmen - Weerdinge and Gasselternijveen - Stadskanaal routes followed. The tracks were subsequently removed on the entire section of track from Emmen to Stadskanaal, but the track bed is still clearly visible in the landscape in many places, albeit sometimes as a road or cycle path.

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Modernisation

The Zwolle - Emmen section, also known as the Emmerlijn, has always remained in use. The route was completely renovated and modernised between 1985 and 1987. The route was fully electrified and partly double-tracked, namely between Zwolle - Dalfsen and Mariënberg - Gramsbergen. This reconstruction made a half-hourly service possible.

Takeover of Railway Line by Local Government

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Takeover

In December 2007, the provinces of Drenthe and Overijssel took over the train service between Zwolle and Emmen from the central government. It was agreed that the NS would provide the train service for another three years. A number of adjustments were made during this period. Of the accelerated Plan-V trainsets, 14 sets were provided with the logos of both provinces on the outside, and on the inside the partition walls were provided with photos of the area around the Emmerlijn. Because a number of permanent trainsets were assigned to the service on the route, boarding markings were used. On the platforms along the route, two colours were used to indicate where the doors of the trains are located. Blue for 1st class and yellow for 2nd class. After renovation of the platform edge, the markings disappeared again.

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Tender 2010

The Zwolle - Emmen and Almelo - Mariënberg railway lines were jointly publicly tendered in 2010 under the name Vechtdallijnen. Arriva, Syntus, Veolia and Pollarisrail submitted tenders for the concession. On 11 May 2010 it was announced that Arriva had won the concession, which runs from December 2012 to December 2027. Arriva took over the train service from NS on 9 December 2012.

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Stations and Buildings

The NOLS, like most other railway companies, used a number of standard designs for the station buildings along the railway lines. The company's buildings were designed by Eduard Cuypers and were relatively large and beautifully executed. The place names, for example, were executed in elegant mosaics in which gold was used, among other things.

In Coevorden the only building of the first class type appeared along the railway line. In Dalfsen, Ommen, Mariënberg, Hardenberg, Nieuw Amsterdam, Emmen, Gasselternijveen and Stadskanaal the second class type was built in various versions. Gramsbergen, Dalen and Buinen got a building of the third class type. The station building type was used in Vilsteren, Bergentheim, Dalerveen, Zuidbarge, Weerdinge, Valthe and Exloo.

The stations of Vilsteren, Junne, Dalen and Dalerveen and the stations along the Emmen - Stadskanaal route were already closed before the Second World War. With the temporary reopening of this section of track during and after the war, the stations were also reopened. Dalen station was also in use between 1940 and 1950. Stadskanaal station was used for passenger transport to Groningen until 1953. The Dalerveen station building was demolished almost immediately after the closure. The Junne building was demolished in 1963, the Dalen and Buinen buildings followed in 1970. The former Stadskanaal station building was demolished in 1979, the demolition of Vilsteren station building followed a year later.

The station buildings of Weerdinge, Valthe and Exloo have remained in existence and are used as residential buildings, despite the fact that the associated track has been dismantled.

Although the NS replaced many old station buildings with smaller and more efficient structures in the 1960s and 1970s, a remarkably large number of stations along the Emmerlijn were spared the demolition hammer. The Emmen station building was replaced in 1965 by a striking and larger structure. The town expanded considerably in the course of the 1950s and 1960s and the old station building became too small and was also in poor condition. The new building was given a station restaurant, among other things. The Coevorden station building was replaced in 1976 by a transit building with service areas on both sides. The waiting room was situated on the platform.

A year earlier, the suburban stop Emmen Bargeres was opened. The stop only had a shelter. At the same time, Bergentheim station was closed. In 1987, Dalen station was reopened. Here too, only a shelter appeared. In 1993, the former station building of Bergentheim was demolished. The station building of Nieuw Amsterdam also fell victim to the wrecking ball that year, despite the efforts of the municipality.

Railway line Zwolle - Stadskanaal Overview

Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Total Length: 106.7 km
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Track Gauge: standard gauge 1435 mm
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Created By: NOLS
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Opened:
Zwolle - Ommen: January 15, 1903
Ommen - Hardenberg: February 1, 1905
Hardenberg - Coevorden: July 1, 1905
Coevorden - Gasselternijveen: November 1, 1905
Gasselternijveen - Stadskanaal: June 15, 1905
New Amsterdam - Schoonebeek: December 20, 1946
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Closed:
Emmen - Weerdinge: May 28, 1972
Weerdinge - Buinen: July 9, 1946
Buinen - Gasselternijveen: January 1, 1964
Gasselternijveen - Stadskanaal: May 28, 1972
New Amsterdam - Schoonebeek: May 28, 2000
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Current Status:
Zwolle - Emmen: in use
Emmen - Stadskanaal: broken up
Nw. A'dam - Schoonebeek: broken up
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Electrified:
Zwolle - Emmen: 1987
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Number of Tracks:
Zwolle - Dalfsen: 2
Dalfsen - Marienberg: 1
Marienberg - Gramsbergen: 2
Gramsbergen - Emmen: 1
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Track Section Speed:
Zwolle - Marienberg: 140
Marienberg - Emmen: 130
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Security or Train Control: ATB EG
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Bounding Profile: OPS-NL / G2
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Loading Class:
D2 (at 80 km/h) on Zwolle - Coevorden
D4 (at 80 km/h) on Coevorden - Emmen
Zwolle–Stadskanaal Railway Train Service Through: Arriva (Blauwnet)