German Line

The railway line Boxtel - Wesel, also known as the German line (in Germany: Boxteler Bahn), is a former railway line of the North Brabant-German Railway Company (NBDS). The line connected the German Wesel with the Dutch Boxtel via Goch, Gennep, Uden, Veghel, and Schijndel. After 1925, the management of the Dutch section of the line came into the hands of the State Railways, while the German section of the line came under the administration of the DRG (as DB 2515).

The route was opened in 1878, so it could become part of the fastest connection between London – Berlin – Saint Petersburg. From May 15, 1881, D-trains (international express trains) ran over this line, allowing passengers to travel from London to Berlin via Vlissingen without transfers. Due to this convenience, many diplomats and rulers, including the Russian tsars, used this route during their European travels. The German border station was Goch station, while the Dutch station was Gennep station.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the German section was closed and dismantled in phases. Before that, the section between Xanten and Uedem had already been damaged so often by sabotage during World War II that it was never restored. A road was built on the track between Goch and Uedem.

In 1950, the NS ended the last portion of passenger traffic on the Boxtel – Uden line. In 1972, freight transport on the segment between Mill and Gennep was terminated. Meanwhile, a traffic bridge had been built next to the railway bridge at Gennep. The last train was the so-called leutexpres during the carnival of 1971, after which the railway bridge was dismantled. On May 1, 1982, a railway monument was unveiled near the former Gennep station, Loc 94, a restored Prussian steam locomotive from 1924.

In 1978, freight transport between Uden and Mill also disappeared, and in 1983 between Veghel and Uden, after which the tracks were dismantled.

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