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Archive picture of the Ahr Valley Railway
Photo:
rech / imago / rech
Houses, streets - and also the railway line were badly damaged by the flood disaster in the summer.
Almost four months later, a first section of the Ahr Valley Railway is due to reopen in the afternoon.
A festive first train ride from Remagen to Ahrweiler and a ceremony at Ahrweiler train station are planned.
Helpers and employees are to be honored for their achievements in the reconstruction.
It is still unclear when the rest of the destroyed route to Ahrbrück will be finished.
Heavy rains had triggered catastrophic flooding on rivers in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia in mid-July.
Many communities, especially in the Ahr Valley, were devastated.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, 134 people were killed in connection with the flood.
There were 48 deaths in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Houses, cars and people were swept away by the masses of water.
Several railway bridges also gave way, many kilometers of rail were washed away.
The first regular regional train on the now rebuilt route was apparently already on the way in the early hours of the morning, as the broadcaster SWR reported, referring to the timetable.
Accordingly, the trains could at least run to Walporzheim again by the end of the year.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) and the still incumbent Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) will take part in the ceremony in the afternoon.
apr / AFP
