South station was used only when required for occasions when the Hauptbahnhof could not be reached, such as when the bascule bridge over the Emden channel was impassable; it was soon never used. The track to the South station was eventually removed completely in 2005. Steam locomotives The Emsland track was the last stretch of the former Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railways), on which steam locomotives ran in normal operations. Until 1975, express passenger trains were hauled by class 01.10 locomotives, these operation were then taken over by class 220 diesel locomotives. In freight transport, class 042 and 043 locomotives were still used until the autumn of 1977. Best known among local railway enthusiasts were the operations of the Langer Heinrich, which hauled heavy ore trains from Emden to the Ruhr. In September 1977, steam locomotives were still occasionally used, especially for special trains such as the farewell tours of 23 October 1977, when two locomotives once again ran all the way from Rheine to Emden. On 26 October 1977, the last two locomotives ran on the line. A few days later, Deutsche Bundesbahn banned steam engines from the network. Eight years later, this ban was relaxed. The last decommissioned steam locomotive of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, 043196-5, has been displayed since 1978 in front of Salzbergen station. Upgrading Since 2005, Regional-Express services have operated over the line with new vehicles to the line’s maximum speed of 140 km/h, but with some sections of the line limited to much lower speeds. The current total travel time of about 2:07 h cannot be significantly reduced without major modifications. In June 2006, the Emden–Emden outer harbour line was electrified with overhead line, since then, the Emsland-Express connecting with the ferry service to Borkum runs from Emden station to Emden Außenhafen (outer harbour) station without passengers having to change trains. Operations The following regional services run on the Emsland line or sections of it: RE 15 Emsland-Express: Münster–Rheine–Leer–Emden–Emden Außenhafen RE 1: Hanover–Bremen–Oldenburg–Leer–Emden–Norddeich Mole RB 61 Wiehengebirgs-Bahn: Bad Bentheim–Salzbergen–Rheine–Herford–Bielefeld RB 57: Groningen (NL)–Nieuweschans–Weener-Leer The following InterCity services run on the line: IC 35: Luxembourg–Trier–Koblenz–Cologne–Duisburg– Oberhausen–Münster–Rheine–Leer–Emden–Norddeich Mole IC 56: Berlin/Leipzig–Hanover–Bremen–Oldenburg–Leer–Emden–Norddeich Mole IC 77: Berlin–Hanover–Osnabrück–Rheine–Salzbergen–Amsterdam Rolling stock After the timetable change of December 2005, Emsland-Express services were operated by double-decker carriages, hauled by class 111 electric locomotives. Passenger loadings increased by 15.5% on average to 6,400 passengers per day from 2005 to July 2009. Before 2005 the