Classic route
Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway
Oldenburg → Osnabrück · Germany
Across the Oldenburg moors and the Artland by Cloppenburg and Quakenbrück; opened as far as Quakenbrück in October 1875 and through to Osnabrück on 15 November 1876.
A single unelectrified track through Lower Saxony, built in two halves under two governments: the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways opened Oldenburg to Quakenbrück on 15 October 1875, and the section on through then-Prussian ground to Osnabrück-Eversburg followed on 30 June 1876. Long-distance trains survived here until the mid-1990s: a daily express from Koblenz and Cologne to Wilhelmshaven, and another from Mönchengladbach. From 2000 the line was rebuilt for 120 km/h and little-used stations were closed, which cut Oldenburg to Osnabrück by 22 minutes to 87. NordWestBahn has run it since November 2000.
Along the way
- Oldenburg
- Quakenbrück, where the two halves meet
- Osnabrück-Eversburg
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 2548857: the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 3 m from it
- Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line sits under 100 m from the shape of RE 18
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Questions and answers
How long is the Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway?
The Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway runs 108 km from Oldenburg to Osnabrück.
How long does the Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway take?
The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 1 h 29 min for the 108 km. That is an average of 73 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 120 km/h.
Who runs the Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway?
NordWestBahn, with RE 18, Regional-Express.
How old is the Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway?
The line has been in service since 1876. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
How often does the Oldenburg–Osnabrück railway run?
16 direct trains on a weekday (counted on 2 September 2026).
More classic routes
- LNER Azuma
The Flying Scotsman’s route since 1862, and where Mallard set the never-beaten steam record of 203 km/h in 1938.
Wikipedia ↗ - Alfa Pendular
A tilting Pendolino leaning through the curves of the 19th-century Linha do Norte between Portugal’s two great cities.
Wikipedia ↗ - EIP Pendolino
Rides Poland’s 1970s Central Main Line (CMK), engineered decades ahead of its time and now being upgraded to 250 km/h.
Wikipedia ↗ - Railjet
Follows the old Orient Express alignment down the Danube plain: centre to centre faster than any flight.
Wikipedia ↗
More train routes in Germany.