Brügge station

Brügge station is on the Hagen–Dieringhausen railway from Hagen Hauptbahnhof to Dieringhausen station in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 7 station. Because of the branch line to Lüdenscheid, it is classified as a separation station. The station is located on the edge of the Lüdenscheid hamlet of Brügge. The only platform connects with the bus stop and is at ground level. The station is known nationally for its elevated signalbox.HistoryThe Hagen–Dieringhausen railway from Hagen was opened to Dieringhausen in stages between 1871 and 1893. Numerous apartments for the railwaymen were built around the station area because Brügge was a busy station and many residents were employed in the station’s operation. During this period the signalbox, a roundhouse with a turntable and a water tower were built on the site. Until 1986, there was a direct passenger service to Cologne, which is expected to be reopened between Marienheide and Meinerzhagen in 2013 and later to Brügge . In 2009, the former art nouveau style station building was demolished because it was in danger of collapse as there had been no restoration to the old building in recent years. The platform area of Brügge station still partly exists, but parts have been dismantled. Previously, the platforms for the line to Dieringhausen and Cologne were connected via an underground passage to the station forecourt. The freight operations in Brügge is limited to the line from Krummenerl, which is used by freight trains from the local quarry, which continue on the Volme Valley Railway through Brügge to the north. According to the Lüdenscheid city council and mayor Dieter Dzewas, it is planned to build an island platform with two platform tracks in Brügge, which would be at ground level. However, this plan will only be implemented when services on the Volme Valley Railway have been extended from Marienheide to Meinerzhagen and Brügge. The facade and roof of the old signal box at Brügge station, which dates back to 1927, are currently being renovated.