The Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal is a 22 km long, wide pedestrian, bicycle and inline skating path on the former railway lines 2423 (Rheinische Strecke) and 2713 (Kohlenbahn). It runs on a west-east axis along the northern slope of the Wuppertal urban area. The Nordbahntrasse is considered 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 leads past numerous testimonies to Wuppertal's industrial and transport history, residential areas, monuments and geological features,[1] which are described on around 90 accompanying panels.
Wuppertal can be a challenge for cyclists due to its narrow valley and steep slopes. The continuous and mostly ground-level Nordbahntrasse was the first to create a spacious and urbanistically significant alternative route, with over 100,000 people living in the immediate catchment area of one kilometer on both sides of the route. Numerous schools and public institutions, including the city centers of Elberfeld and Barmen, are located in the vicinity of the route and can therefore be reached at any time via the footpath and cycle path.
The Nordbahntrasse connects Wuppertal to the supra-regional cycle path network (Korkenziehertrasse and Niederbergbahn in the west, Barmer Kohlenbahn in the east) and is part of the Bergisches Panorama cycle path.[2] The ten kilometers of the route that run through inner-city areas are six meters wide and illuminated at night. In the outer areas of the city, the route is three and a half to four meters wide.