ZLSM - Zuid Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij
The Z.L.S.M. runs services between Schin op Geul and Kerkrade on a line of more than 16 kilometer length and between Simpelveld and Vetschau, just across the German border, a line of approximately 6 kilometer. On October 23rd 1853 the line Maastricht-Aken is taken into use and becomes the first border crossing railway line of the Netherlands. The line goes via Valkenburg, Schin op Geul, Wijlre, Eijs, Simpelveld and Bocholtz to Richterich and Aachen in Germany.
On April 20th 1896 the line Sittard - Herzogenrath is opened. With this new line the poor connections of this region to the rest of the country are improved considerably. Years later, on June 15th 1934 the line from Schaesberg via Kerkrade-Centrum to Simpelveld is opened for service. But that was not realised without problems. In 1919, after 12 years of lobbying and political pressure from Kerkrade, the approval is given for the cobstruction of the line. However no work was started until 1925. In spite of the short distance of only 12½ km, the construction costed more than 12 million guilders. This is approximately 1 million guilders per kilometer, for those times a huge ammount of money!! The line therefor obtained the nickname 'het Miljoenenlijntje' (million-line). Tunnels, divers and bridges had to be built. Because of the mining activities in the region there was always the threat of caving in, which required high demands to the construction. In total, approximately 3,5 million cubic metres of earth had to be moved to cover the differences in altitude. At the Anstellerbeek valley an elevation of 32 metres has been realised! The most drastic earth displacement ever taken place in the Netherlands.
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