In September 1939 the last passenger train left Coevorden for Bad Bentheim. The regional railway line to Bad Bentheim also saw less and less traffic on German territory. In 1974, passenger transport disappeared there. Buses became better and more comfortable, were faster and their infrastructure was less expensive.
Many regional railway lines in Germany were closed or only low-speed freight transport remained. This also applies to the railway line from Coevorden to Bad Bentheim.
But that changed about ten years ago. Road traffic increased and public transport became so busy that maximum capacity was in sight. Add to this the higher emissions and nuisance from road traffic. All this made Germany think about putting the closed railway lines back into use. This also applies to Bad Bentheim-Coevorden.
The trains on the Bad Bentheim-Neuenhaus section have been running again since 2019, with success. Not the expected 1,700, but 2,200 to 2,500 travelers use it per day. It is expected that continuing to Coevorden will generate an additional 900 to 1,000 travelers per day.
The railway lines from Neuenhaus to Coevorden will be renovated and better secured in the near future. For this purpose, almost 28 million euros will be invested on the Dutch side, the rest of the 65 million euros needed will come from Germany.