The Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal is an approximately 22 km long, wide footpath, cycle path and inline skater path on the former railway lines 2423 (Rhenish line) and 2713 (coal railway). It runs on a west-east axis along the northern slope of the Wuppertal urban area. The Nordbahntrasse is the longest inner-city former railway line in the world. The route includes bridges and viaducts with a total length of one and a half kilometers and five tunnels with a total length of two kilometers. The route passes numerous testimonies to Wuppertal's industrial and transport history, residential areas, monuments and geological features,[1] which are described on around 90 accompanying boards.
Wuppertal can be challenging for cyclists because of its narrow valley and steep slopes. With the continuous and mostly level Nordbahn route, a spacious and significant alternative route in terms of urban development was created for the first time, in whose immediate catchment area of one kilometer on both sides of the route more than 100,000 people live. Numerous schools and public institutions are located in the vicinity of the route with the city centers of Elberfeld and Barmen and can therefore be reached at any time via the footpath and cycle path.
The Nordbahntrasse connects Wuppertal to the national network of cycle paths (corkscrew route and Niederbergbahn in the west, Barmer Kohlenbahn in the east) and is part of the Bergisch Panorama Cycle Path.[2] The ten kilometers of the route, which lead through inner-city areas, are six meters wide and illuminated at night. In the outskirts of the city, the route is three and a half to four meters wide.