TEUTOBURGER FOREST

The roughly 100 km long Teutoburger Forest Railway (TWE) Ibbenbüren – Lengerich – Gütersloh – Hövelhof was opened in stages between 1900 – 1903 for passenger and cargo transport. Licenced as a branch line, it was always a ‘group railway’ until recent times, the share majority of which was held by private railway construction and operation companies over the years. It was finally adapted for rail passenger transport in 1978. Initially, extremely active cargo transport persisted, partially also of an interregional nature. After several changes of ownership, TWE made its way into the ownership of the French State Railway (SNCF) at the end of 2009, which soon questioned the continuation of the northern section Versmold – Lengerich – Ibbenbüren/Hafen Ibbenbüren-Dörenthe, which was only travelled by a few trains. Continuous operation was stopped in the Summer of 2010 following railway embankment damage as a result of heavy rain and sights were set on the decommissioning of the track to the north of Versmold. On 2nd December 2015, LWS Lappwaldbahn Service GmbH (LWS) was able to acquire the affected section.

On 1st September 2016, a comprehensive upgrade of the roughly 50 km long track section began, which LWS would prepare for heavy cargo transport (route class D4) in the coming years. Continuous reinstatement can also benefit the long tradition of excursion transport, a branch line approved for a top speed of 50 km/h can be connected. Particular significance will be attributed to the Ibbenbüren-Dörenthe port on the Dortmund-Ems canal in the coming years, which is connected to the Brochterbeck train station via a spur track.