Trains are running again between Leer in north-west Germany and Groningen in the Netherlands, after almost 11 years of interruption. The link had been cut since 2015, when a cargo ship struck and destroyed the Friesenbrücke railway bridge over the River Ems.
The new bridge is 335 metres long and is Europe’s largest lift-and-swing railway bridge: its 145-metre central section lifts and turns to let ships through. On reopening day, passengers queued at 5:30am at Groningen station to catch the first train.
The journey takes about 90 minutes and there are hourly trains, although for now most weekday journeys require a change at Winschoten. To mark the reopening, operator Arriva launched a temporary 10-euro day ticket.
The reopening is the first step of the “Wunderline”, a project to speed up the rail link between Bremen and Groningen, with the aim of completing the journey in under two and a half hours.
