Aachen Central Station

The Vennbahn (line 48) is a former railway line between Aachen and Ulflingen (French: Troisvierges) in Luxembourg via Monschau and St. Vith with connections to Stolberg (Rhineland), Eupen, Malmedy, Jünkerath and Prüm. As a result of the demarcation of borders and the cessions of territory after the First World War, the originally German route changed from German to Belgian territory in some sections of its course from Aachen to Ulflingen.

Aachen Hauptbahnhof is the largest of the three operational train stations in the city of Aachen, which also has two stops. The long-distance trains Thalys (from Dortmund via Liège and Brussels South to Paris North), ICE (Frankfurt (Main) Hbf - Cologne Hbf - Brussels South), the ÖBB nightjet (from Vienna to Brussels South), the FlixTrain from Dresden/Leipzig stop here via Berlin and an ICE from Bremen, which runs on to Berlin. The local trains of the lines RE 1 (NRW-Express), RE 4 (Wupper-Express), RE 9 (Rhein-Sieg-Express), RE 18 (LIMAX), RB 20 (Euregiobahn), RE 29 (euregioAIXpress) also stop here. and RB 33 (Rhein-Niers-Bahn). With the exception of the Euregiobahn, all of the local transport lines mentioned start and end at Aachen Central Station.

The era of the railway began in Aachen on September 1, 1841 with the opening of the line from Cologne to Aachen by the Rhenish Railway Company. With the extension of the line to Herbesthal on the Belgian border and the continuation to Antwerp, the first cross-border railway line went into operation on October 15, 1843. For this purpose, the Rhenish Railway built the Rhenish train station in the classicist style outside the city walls west of the Burtscheid viaduct. In 1853, the Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway line built by the Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway Company reached the city of Aachen. The end point of this line was the Aachen Marschierthor station, which had four platform tracks, a separate, 4½-storey reception building, several goods sheds and loading lanes and a workshop. The Aachen Marschierthor station was built next to the Marschiertor and immediately west of the Rhenish train station; there was a connecting track between the two stations.