Raeren station, meanwhile disused, is for the most part still preserved in its original condition as far as the technical installations go. It was commissioned in 1885 when, with the Vennbahn, a line was opened running from Aachen and Stolberg via Monschau and Sankt Vith all the way through to Luxembourg. In 1887, the station was also connected to the important railway line Aachen-Liège. When the Treaty of Versailles came into force in February 1921, Raeren station became the border station between Germany and Belgium. It served in the handling of both cross-border passenger services and goods traffic. After the Second World War, however, passenger transport was not resumed. Goods traffic too declined continuously after the Second World War and finally ceased altogether in the 1990s. Today, the 125-kilometre Vennbahn cycle path (www.vennbahn.eu) goes past Raeren station on the former railway line between Aachen and Troisvierges. It is one of Europe's longest railway line cycle paths. The Café Pavillon at the control cabin invites cyclists and walkers to stop off for a rest in a historical setting: they can visit the railway signal boxes, which date from 1885, and a turntable for locomotives which is also over 100 years old. The historical ensemble is garnished with numerous sets of signals.
