The railway line Winterswijk – Bocholt, also known as the Bocholt Line, was an international railway line between Winterswijk and the German town of Bocholt. The German part was managed under railway line 2264 by DB Netze.
The line was opened on August 2, 1880, and was owned by the Netherlands Westphalian Railway Company (NWS). Initially, it was not intended for the Bocholt line to be built. However, when the NWS wanted to construct a railway line from Winterswijk to Borken, the Prussian government would only issue a permit if a branch line from Winterswijk to Bocholt (Germany) was also included.
The line was never really busy, the traffic between Winterswijk and Barlo (German border town) was stopped in 1916 due to World War I. The freight service returned around 1923, but regular passenger transport was never resumed. Freight traffic on the Bocholt line became very important again. It was a good connection from Wesel to Twente. In the 1920s, traffic even surpassed that of the Winterswijk – Gelsenkirchen railway for some time. The economic crisis of 1929 brought an end to freight transport. In 1931, the Bocholt line was closed. Until 1936, pilgrimage trains still ran twice a year from Winterswijk via Bocholt and Wesel to Kevelaer. In that year, the NS, which had nationalized the NWS (forced takeover), broke the line between Winterswijk and Barlo. Freight traffic from Bocholt to Barlo continued to exist for a considerable time.
At the end of World War II, the Germans wanted to rebuild the railway line for military use. This was never completed. At that time, there were several wagons loaded with ammunition on the Dutch side of the border that were shelled by British and American planes and subsequently exploded. As a result, residents continued to find unexploded ammunition until the 1970s.
The railway line was dismantled after the war. Only the section Bocholt – Barlo was still used by freight trains until 1995. The transport from Winterswijk to Barlo is provided by a shared taxi.
Currently, there is a bike and walking path along the route from Winterswijk to the border and between Barlo and Bocholt.In some sections, rails are still present. As seen in the drone video up to the border.
Along the route, there are two former signal houses south of Winterswijk: one at the corner of Oude Bocholtsebaan / De Slingeweg and one at the corner of Oude Bocholtsebaan / Meester Brouwerlaan.