Line S3 is a

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

in the

Rhein-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region () is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers an area of , entirely within the federa ...

network. It runs from

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

over

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

to Hattingen Mitte. It is operated at 30-minute intervals, using Stadler FLIRT 3XL units. Line S 3 mainly runs over three lines built or acquired by the

Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company The Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company (, BME), also referred to as the Berg-Mark Railway Company or, more rarely, as the Bergisch-Markische Railway Company, was a German railway company that together with the Cologne-Minden Railway (''Cöln-Min ...

: * from Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof to Essen-Steele Ost over the

Witten/Dortmund–Oberhausen/Duisburg railway The Witten/Dortmund, Oberhausen/Duisburg railway is one of the most important railways in Germany. It is the main axis of long distance and regional rail transport on the east–west axis of the Ruhr and is served by Intercity-Express, InterCi ...

, opened in 1862, * from Essen-Steele Ost to Bochum-Dahlhausen over the Essen-Überruhr–Bochum-Langendreer railway, which was a former coal railway that was converted to standard gauge in 1865 and taken over by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway in 1870, * from Bochum-Dahlhausen to

Hattingen Hattingen is a town in the northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 13 ...

over the

Ruhr Valley Railway The Ruhr Valley Railway () is a partly abandoned railway line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, running from Düsseldorf-Rath station, Düsseldorf-Rath via Old Kupferdreh station, Bochum-Dahlhausen station, Bochum-Dahlhausen, Witten-H ...

, opened in 1869. BF Hattingen-Mitte 01

Its last 1.2 km to Hattingen Mitte runs over the Wuppertal-Wichlinghausen–Hattingen railway opened by the

Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the state of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...

in 1884 and a short section of line opened by

Deutsche Bundesbahn Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...

in 1987, including a 100 metre long tunnel. S-Bahn services commenced between Oberhausen and Hattingen on 26 May 1974. Services were extended from Hattingen to Hattingen Mitte on 3 July 1987.

References

{{Reflist S03 1974 establishments in West Germany