Last days of Nijmegen-Kleve 1991

Nijmegen-Kleve has been an ancient connection by the Dutch HSM, seated in Amsterdam, to run it's trains from Amsterdam, by Amersfoort, Rhenen and Nijmegen into Germany, passing Kleve, Geldern, Krefeld and Grevenbroich to Cologne.
As such, it was a major international link, mostly double track.
Unfortunately, the other competitor was SS, seated in Utrecht, running trains from Amsterdam by Utrecht and Arnhem into Germany by Emmerich and Oberhausen. Such was the situation around 1920. However, a merger into state railways (NS) due 1924 put the HSM in a losing position, since SS meant railways funded by the state..
The first decline came at the end of WW II, with the Rhine bridge at Rhenen destroyed and never rebuilt. Since, all through traffic from Amsterdam to Nijmegen had to pass through Utrecht and reverse at Arnhem, a much longer route.

For many years afterwards, the border crossing line Nijmegen-Kleve, though singled, knew some international trains, even a night train to Austria, until 1986, when the fate of the line was decided. From 1987, only shuttle trains would run, with a compulsory change at Kleve, connections permitting. Also the fares were raised to compensate for the obligatory custom staff trains (they would be taken by a small bus, though...). Meanwhile the competing bus service was improved.
No surprise the traffic dropped sharply so that the service was ended by June 1st 1991. Freight transport was already banned from the line long ago, concentrating on the electrified border crossings in Venlo, Arnhem and Hengelo. Remarkably all former SS crossings... Sentiments?
By some military (NATO?) agreement, such border crossing railway lines enjoy special protection, so they must not be built over or dug out. Hence, the line still sleeps under overgrow, though parts are kept clear to play around on with railway bikes.
Voices sound for reopening, but priority is low and people living alongside like to live quietly without howling diesels that won't even stop to let them board. The only intermediate stop had been at Kranenburg, a very small German town with a big station, allowing for the many express mail and freight trains that took that route when their grandparents were young. But such is going on everywhere in Germany: Large railway facilities rusting over. Kleve station nowadays needs no more than a single end, for a small dmu from Krefeld, arriving only to return over the same single line.

What will be the future? Will a private company opt for a service with light dmu's to collect passengers living along the line?
Enjoy the view of the class 215 hauled trains. It may help to forget the view from elsewhere, where rows of these beautiful machines stand awaiting scrapping.

Видео Last days of Nijmegen-Kleve 1991 канала spoorus