Another port station - Eemshaven 20230801--010
Arriva Personenvervoer Nederland BV Stadler GTW2/8 DMU 325 stands at Eemshaven, while working route RS4. It had arrived as 13.22 from Groningen, and would depart back at 14.18. The turnround time here was booked to be five minutes, although I think it arrived early - but it was still a quick dash off the station to get a record shot from the sunny side.
These DMUs were first built in 2006, initially with two passenger sections plus the short "power pack" and numbered upwards from 201. Longer units were subsequently built (three passenger sections plus the "power pack"), numbered in the 3xx series, but with the last two digits following on from those in the 2xx series; in addition, some of the 2xx units were lengthened and were renumbered 3xx by changing just the first digit of the set number. Arriva originally branded them "Spurt".
Each section was labelled using the unit number prefixed 10 and followed by a letter, the driving sections being A and B, the "power pack" being C, and the middle passenger section (if applicable) being D. So this train was made up of sections labelled (in order, from this end) 10325B, 10325C, 10325D and 10325A. More recently, European Vehicle Numbers have also been applied, all taking the form 95 84 501x yyy-z NL-AN, where x is a digit giving the vehicle type (1 for the "A" driving section, 2 for the "B" driving section, 0 for the "C" section / "power pack", and 5 for the "D" / middle passenger section), yyy is the three-digit set number (325 in this example), and z is the check digit.
Eemshaven station opened on 28th March 2018, when passenger services were extended beyond the line's previous passenger limit of Roodeschool, the single-platform being at the end of a new 3km single-track line which branches off the freight line into the docks (although the passenger line actually continues straight ahead, with the freight line curving off). The station is situated close to the terminal for the ferry to the German island of Borkum, and for several years trains only ran to connect with the ferries - and that was the case at the time of this visit.
I was travelling from Hamburg to Rotterdam, on my way home after the IBSE charter trains the previous weekend. Today was Tuesday, and I'd spent Monday morning travelling from Neumünster to my hotel in the Harburg district of Hamburg (albeit not directly, as you'd expect!), before heading off to the 1.9km long 600mm gauge Kleinbahn Deinste where a private charter had been organised for a small group on a cost-sharing basis for late in the afternoon (see this photo, this photo and this photo).
On Tuesday morning (1st August so the day I'd have to renew my 49 Euro Deutschland Ticket - but I didn't bother) I used a DB Super Sparpreis EU advanced purchase ticket to leave Germany, which I'd booked from Hamburg-Harburg to Rotterdam for EUR27.90. This was via the Leer (Ostfriesland) to Groningen cross-border route, closed since December 2015 when a ship collided with and destroyed the lifting span of the bridge over the River Ems (a new bridge is due to open in summer 2025). However, there were replacement buses, with coaches running non-stop between Leer and Groningen and local buses between Leer and the first station west of the Ems bridge, Weener (which is still in Germany), and rail tickets were valid on both.
My original plan for today was to head directly to Rotterdam (where I was staying two nights), but then I realised I'd not been to Eemshaven (nor even as far as Roodeschool). Since the branch is in the far north-east of the Netherlands, as far from Rotterdam as you can go, I realised it would be very sensible to do the branch - the last I thought I required in this area (although I've since realised I've not done the short branch to Veendam) - while I was passing; the times worked well. Unfortunately, the journey didn't: having found the bus stop at Leer (with a little difficulty - the route numbers on the stop didn't match that in the journey planner), the coach eventually arrived (slightly late), and everyone surged forward and tried to board. By the time I'd put my case in the luggage hold and boarded the bus, the last seat had just been taken. The driver refused to let anyone stay on board who didn't have a proper seat, so I had to remove my case and was one of a significant number who were left behind. He did tell us to get on the bus behind, which was the local bus to Weener, but I think I might have been the only one to do so.
There was plenty of time at Weener before the Dutch Arriva DMU arrived. Although I had a valid ticket to get me all the way to Rotterdam, I did not have one to go to Eemshaven, and I'd decided to buy another Off-Peak Holland Travel (day) Ticket, which would also allow me to take a less direct route across to Rotterdam as well as get me to my hotel once I got there. I tried to buy one from the ticket machine at Weener, but I'd not realised the Arriva machines at each station were only for topping up smartcards and I assumed the DB one wouldn't sell me a Dutch ticket - so I failed to get a ticket, and would have to do it at Groningen. Unfortunately, when I checked train times, I realised I now had a fairly tight connection onto the last of a series of Eemshaven trains for a few hours (my intended train had been the one half an hour earlier, which had a connection off the coach of approaching half an hour)... and that was made worse when the train I was on lost a few minutes waiting to pass the next train coming the other way (which was a few minutes late).
At Groningen, I realised only the NS ticket machines would sell me a ticket (rather than top up a smartcard), and they were located at the station entrance. Having arrived in a bay platform at the east end of the station, which was a building site, the Eemshaven train was departing from a bay at the west end - and I made it onto the train with only a minute to spare (I walked through to the front and had just sat down when the doors closed and we set off).
Eemshaven was the sixth port station I'd visited during this trip: Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay) in the UK, Hoek van Holland and Harlingen Haven (see this photo) in the Netherlands, Norddeich Mole and Emden-Außenhafen in Germany, and then here. In addition, the IBSE tour had visited various non-passenger port branches in Kiel.
Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.
Another port station - Eemshaven 20230801--010
Arriva Personenvervoer Nederland BV Stadler GTW2/8 DMU 325 stands at Eemshaven, while working route RS4. It had arrived as 13.22 from Groningen, and would depart back at 14.18. The turnround time here was booked to be five minutes, although I think it arrived early - but it was still a quick dash off the station to get a record shot from the sunny side.
These DMUs were first built in 2006, initially with two passenger sections plus the short "power pack" and numbered upwards from 201. Longer units were subsequently built (three passenger sections plus the "power pack"), numbered in the 3xx series, but with the last two digits following on from those in the 2xx series; in addition, some of the 2xx units were lengthened and were renumbered 3xx by changing just the first digit of the set number. Arriva originally branded them "Spurt".
Each section was labelled using the unit number prefixed 10 and followed by a letter, the driving sections being A and B, the "power pack" being C, and the middle passenger section (if applicable) being D. So this train was made up of sections labelled (in order, from this end) 10325B, 10325C, 10325D and 10325A. More recently, European Vehicle Numbers have also been applied, all taking the form 95 84 501x yyy-z NL-AN, where x is a digit giving the vehicle type (1 for the "A" driving section, 2 for the "B" driving section, 0 for the "C" section / "power pack", and 5 for the "D" / middle passenger section), yyy is the three-digit set number (325 in this example), and z is the check digit.
Eemshaven station opened on 28th March 2018, when passenger services were extended beyond the line's previous passenger limit of Roodeschool, the single-platform being at the end of a new 3km single-track line which branches off the freight line into the docks (although the passenger line actually continues straight ahead, with the freight line curving off). The station is situated close to the terminal for the ferry to the German island of Borkum, and for several years trains only ran to connect with the ferries - and that was the case at the time of this visit.
I was travelling from Hamburg to Rotterdam, on my way home after the IBSE charter trains the previous weekend. Today was Tuesday, and I'd spent Monday morning travelling from Neumünster to my hotel in the Harburg district of Hamburg (albeit not directly, as you'd expect!), before heading off to the 1.9km long 600mm gauge Kleinbahn Deinste where a private charter had been organised for a small group on a cost-sharing basis for late in the afternoon (see this photo, this photo and this photo).
On Tuesday morning (1st August so the day I'd have to renew my 49 Euro Deutschland Ticket - but I didn't bother) I used a DB Super Sparpreis EU advanced purchase ticket to leave Germany, which I'd booked from Hamburg-Harburg to Rotterdam for EUR27.90. This was via the Leer (Ostfriesland) to Groningen cross-border route, closed since December 2015 when a ship collided with and destroyed the lifting span of the bridge over the River Ems (a new bridge is due to open in summer 2025). However, there were replacement buses, with coaches running non-stop between Leer and Groningen and local buses between Leer and the first station west of the Ems bridge, Weener (which is still in Germany), and rail tickets were valid on both.
My original plan for today was to head directly to Rotterdam (where I was staying two nights), but then I realised I'd not been to Eemshaven (nor even as far as Roodeschool). Since the branch is in the far north-east of the Netherlands, as far from Rotterdam as you can go, I realised it would be very sensible to do the branch - the last I thought I required in this area (although I've since realised I've not done the short branch to Veendam) - while I was passing; the times worked well. Unfortunately, the journey didn't: having found the bus stop at Leer (with a little difficulty - the route numbers on the stop didn't match that in the journey planner), the coach eventually arrived (slightly late), and everyone surged forward and tried to board. By the time I'd put my case in the luggage hold and boarded the bus, the last seat had just been taken. The driver refused to let anyone stay on board who didn't have a proper seat, so I had to remove my case and was one of a significant number who were left behind. He did tell us to get on the bus behind, which was the local bus to Weener, but I think I might have been the only one to do so.
There was plenty of time at Weener before the Dutch Arriva DMU arrived. Although I had a valid ticket to get me all the way to Rotterdam, I did not have one to go to Eemshaven, and I'd decided to buy another Off-Peak Holland Travel (day) Ticket, which would also allow me to take a less direct route across to Rotterdam as well as get me to my hotel once I got there. I tried to buy one from the ticket machine at Weener, but I'd not realised the Arriva machines at each station were only for topping up smartcards and I assumed the DB one wouldn't sell me a Dutch ticket - so I failed to get a ticket, and would have to do it at Groningen. Unfortunately, when I checked train times, I realised I now had a fairly tight connection onto the last of a series of Eemshaven trains for a few hours (my intended train had been the one half an hour earlier, which had a connection off the coach of approaching half an hour)... and that was made worse when the train I was on lost a few minutes waiting to pass the next train coming the other way (which was a few minutes late).
At Groningen, I realised only the NS ticket machines would sell me a ticket (rather than top up a smartcard), and they were located at the station entrance. Having arrived in a bay platform at the east end of the station, which was a building site, the Eemshaven train was departing from a bay at the west end - and I made it onto the train with only a minute to spare (I walked through to the front and had just sat down when the doors closed and we set off).
Eemshaven was the sixth port station I'd visited during this trip: Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay) in the UK, Hoek van Holland and Harlingen Haven (see this photo) in the Netherlands, Norddeich Mole and Emden-Außenhafen in Germany, and then here. In addition, the IBSE tour had visited various non-passenger port branches in Kiel.
Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.