West Rhine Railway

West Rhine Railway
West Rhine Railway
{{{TEXT_KARTE}}}
Route number: 470
Line number: 2630
Line length: 152 km (94.4 mi)
Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Voltage: 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC
Maximum incline: < 2  %
Maximum speed: 160 km/h (99.4 mph)
Legend
Straight track Straight track
Sieg Railway, HSL, East Rhine Railway
Junction from right Unknown BSicon "ABZgl+r" Track turning from right
Line from Köln-Mülheim (including S-Bahn)
Unknown BSicon "TSHSTo" Tower station on bridge over transverse track Track turning right
Köln Messe/Deutz Line from Köln-Mülheim
Bridge over water Bridge over water
Hohenzollernbrücke
Unknown BSicon "SBHF" Station on track
−2.0 Köln Hbf
Junction to right Junction to right Track turning from right
Line to Neuss
Track turning right Junction to right Junction from right
Lines to Mönchengladbach and Aachen
Track turning from left Unknown BSicon "STRr+l" Unknown BSicon "ABZ3rf"
0.4 Köln West Wf (station part) from Köln Bbf
Station on track Non-passenger station/depot on track
1.1 Köln West
Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Unknown BSicon "mKRZo"
Stadtbahn lines 1 & 7
Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Unknown BSicon "mKRZo"
Stadtbahn line 9
Station on track Small non-passenger station on track
3.2 Köln Süd / Köln Süd junction
Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Unknown BSicon "mKRZo"
Vorgebirge Railway (Stadtbahn line 18)
Straight track Straight track Unknown BSicon "exKBHFa"
3.0 Cöln-Pantaleon
Straight track Unknown BSicon "xABZfg" Unknown BSicon "eABZgf"
Original start of line
Track turning left Unknown BSicon "xKRZ+r" Unknown BSicon "ABZld"
Cologne freight railway bypass
Straight track Non-passenger station/depot on track
5.8 Köln Eifeltor freight station
Underbridge Underbridge
A 4
Straight track Non-passenger station/depot on track
8.0 Köln Eifeltor freight station
Station on track Non-passenger station/depot on track
9.4 Hürth-Kalscheuren
Junction to right Straight track
Eifel Railway to Euskirchen
Junction from left Track turning right
10.1 Hürth-Kalscheuren Südkopf junction
Non-passenger station/depot on track
12.9 Brühl freight station
Junction to right
Vorgebirge Railway to Vochem
Unknown BSicon "KRZu"
HGK-Cross Railway
Station on track
14.6 Brühl
Station on track
19.5 Sechtem
Station on track
25.8 Roisdorf
Unknown BSicon "mKRZo"
Vorgebirge Railway (Stadtbahn line 18)
Junction from right
Voreifel Railway from Euskirchen
Non-passenger station/depot on track
31.1 Bonn freight station
Station on track
31.9 Bonn Hbf
Unknown BSicon "eABZlf"
Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Bonn UN Campus (planned)
Non-passenger station/depot on track
37.2 Bonn-Bad Godesberg Nord
Station on track
39.0 Bonn-Bad Godesberg
Station on track
41.3 Bonn-Mehlem
Non-passenger station/depot on track
43.6 Bonn Neuer Weg
Unrestricted border on track
NRW/RLP border
Stop on track
45.9 Rolandseck
Stop on track
48.2 Oberwinter
Station on track
52.7 Remagen
Junction to right
Ahr Valley Railway to Ahrbrück
Unknown BSicon "eKRZu"
To former Ludendorff Bridge
Unknown BSicon "eABZrg"
From former Ludendorff Bridge
Station on track
56.7 Sinzig
Stop on track
62.5 Bad Breisig
Unknown BSicon "KRZu"
Brohl Valley Railway
Station on track
65.7 Brohl
Stop on track
69.2 Namedy
Station on track
73.2 Andernach
Junction to left Track turning from right
Eifelquer Railway to Kaisersesch
Unknown BSicon "KRZu" Track turning right
Station on track
76.9 Weißenthurm
Station on track
81.6 Urmitz
Track turning from left Unknown BSicon "KRZu" Unknown BSicon "ABZ3rg"
line form Neuwied, East Rhine line
Small non-passenger station on track Straight track Straight track
Koblenz substation (siding)
Straight track Straight track Junction to left
link to Koblenz Rhine port
BSicon eABZlg.svgBSicon ABZrg.svgBSicon STRrf.svg former line from Mayen
Non-passenger station/depot on track Non-passenger station/depot on track Steam train
87.0 Koblenz-Lützel Nord (DB Museum)
BSicon eABZlg.svgBSicon STR.svgBSicon .svg original route from Mayen
Non-passenger station/depot on track Station on track
89.4 Koblenz-Lützel
Bridge over water Bridge over water
Moselle railway bridge
BSicon eKRZo.svgBSicon eKRZo.svgBSicon .svg former port railway
BSicon eBHF.svgBSicon eBHF.svgBSicon .svg former Koblenz RhE station
Junction to right Straight track
freight line to Moselle line
Stop on track Stop on track
Koblenz-Stadtmitte
Straight track Unknown BSicon "eABZlf" Unknown BSicon "exWBRÜCKEq"
Pfaffendorf Bridge (now road bridge),
  formerly to East Rhine line
Junction from right Straight track
Moselle line from Trier
Station on track Station on track
91.2 Koblenz Hbf
Track turning left Unknown BSicon "KRZu" Unknown BSicon "WBRÜCKEq"
Horchheim Railway Bridge,
  Lahn Valley Railway, to East Rhine line
Non-passenger station/depot on track
94.3 Königsbach
Station on track
99.8 Rhens
Stop on track
103.3 Spay
Junction from right
Hunsrück Railway to Emmelshausen
Station on track
110.7 Boppard Hbf
Stop on track
115.6 Boppard-Bad Salzig
Stop on track
119.4 Boppard-Hirzenach
Non-passenger station/depot on track
122.4 Werlau
Stop on track
125.3 St. Goar
Enter and exit tunnel
Bank tunnel (367 m)
Track change
127.4 Urbar Nord
Enter and exit short tunnel
Bett tunnel (236 m)
Enter and exit short tunnel
Kammereck tunnel (289 m)
Track change
128.8 Urbar Süd
Station on track
132.1 Oberwesel
Station on track
138.5 Bacharach
Station on track
142.0 Niederheimbach
Station on track
146.6 Trechtingshausen
Non-passenger station/depot on track
150.6 Bingen Vorbf
Station on track
152.0 Bingen (Rhein) Hbf
Junction to right
Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrücken and
Alsenz Valley Railway to Kaiserslautern
Unknown BSicon "eGRENZE+WBRÜCKE"
152.4
0.0
Nahe (Route change),
  former Prussia / Hesse border
Station on track
1.0 Bingen (Rhein) Stadt
Unknown BSicon "eKRZu"
Nahe Valley Railway ↔ former Hindenburg Bridge
Junction to right
Rheinhessen Railway to Worms
Stop on track
4.6 Bingen-Gaulsheim
Unknown BSicon "ABZgxr+r"
line from Bad Kreuznach
Station on track
9.4 Gau Algesheim
BSicon .svgBSicon eKRZu.svgBSicon exSTRlg.svg former Selz Valley Railway from Jugenheim-Partenheim
Station on track Unknown BSicon "exBHF"
12.5 Ingelheim
BSicon .svgBSicon STR.svgBSicon exSTRlf.svg former Selz Valley Railway to Frei-Weinheim
Stop on track
17.5 Heidesheim (Rheinhessen)
Station on track
20.2 Uhlerborn
Station on track
23.1 Budenheim
Underbridge
Lenneberg viaduct
Station on track
27.3 Mainz-Mombach
Unknown BSicon "ABZld"
To Kaiserbrücke, freight bypass and Taunus line S8Frankfurt S8.svg
Junction from right
From Alzey
Unknown BSicon "S+BHF"
30.6 Mainz Hbf
Junction to left
Main Railway to Frankfurt S8Frankfurt S8.svg
Straight track
to Ludwigshafen

The West Rhine railway (German: Linke Rheinstrecke, literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It is situated close to the western (left) bank of the river Rhine and mostly aligned to allow 160 km/h operation between Cologne and Koblenz and between Bingen and Mainz. Line speed between Koblenz and Bingen is restricted by the meandering nature of the Rhine.

Contents

History

West Rhine railway, near Remagen
Map of railway lines in the Koblenz area
Hindenburg Bridge
Ludendorff Bridge on 17 March 1945 four hours before the collapse

The first section of the line opened on 15 February 1844, by the Bonn–Cologne Railway Company (Bonn-Cölner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) between the former station of Cologne St. Pantaleon Cologne and Bonn. It was extended on 21 January 1856, south to Rolandseck station and in 1859 north to the Cologne central station.[1]

After the takeover by the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft, RhE) on 1 January 1857 the line was extended in 1858 through Remagen and Andernach and crossed the Moselle to Koblenz via the Moselle railway bridge, opened on 11 November 1858. The particularly beautiful section of the line between Koblenz and Bingerbrück (now called Bingen Hbf), which runs close to the river through this winding section of the Rhine Valley was opened on 15 December 1859. Bingerbrück station was at the time on the border of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Here it connected with the Rhine-Main line of the Hessian Ludwig Railway (Hessische Ludwigsbahn), opened on 17 October 1859, from Mainz and the Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrücken.

In Koblenz, the Pfaffendorf Bridge over the Rhine was completed in 1864 to connect to the Right Rhine line to Niederlahnstein and Wiesbaden. With the construction of the Horchheim Bridge south of Koblenz, opened in 1879, and the Urmitz Bridge north of Koblenz, opened in 1918, this bridge was progressively given over to pedestrian, vehicular and, eventually, tram traffic and the last train used it at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.

From 1861 the Nassau State Railways established a train ferry between Bingen and Rüdesheim am Rhein; this was converted to a passenger ferry in 1900. From 1870 to 1914 another train ferry operated between Bonn and Oberkassel to transfer trains between the West Rhine line and the East Rhine railway.

During the First World War three strategic Rhine crossing was built at the request of the German generals in order to bring troops and war materials to the Western Front. The Bingen–Rüdesheim ferry was replaced by the Hindenburg Bridge, built between 1913 and 1915 and connecting the East Rhine line with the West Rhine railway and the Nahe Valley Railway. From 1916 to 1918, the Neuwied–Koblenz line, including the Crown Prince Wilhelm Bridge, was built between Urmitz and Neuwied-Engers. The Ludendorff Bridge between Erpel and Remagen was built from 1916 to 1919. It connected the East and West Rhine railway lines and the strategically important Ahr Valley Railway. The Hindenburg, Ludendorff and Kronprinz-Wilhelm Bridges were destroyed in World War II. Only the Crown Prince Wilhelm Bridge was rebuilt, as the Urmitz bridge, in 1954.

The line was electrified in 1959.

Current operations

Until the opening of the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line, the line was one of the busiest in Germany. The fastest trains connecting the Rhineland and southern Germany ran on the line. The importance of the line for long distance travel has diminished since the opening of the high-speed line. The line is now generally used by one InterCity or Intercity-Express service (stopping at Bonn, Koblenz and Mainz) each hour, one Regional-Express train each hour (the Rhein-Express) and one RegionalBahn (stopping) train each hour in each direction, as well as by freight trains. Before the opening of the high-speed line, freight trains were largely restricted to the Right Rhine line, but with the increased availability of train paths on the Left Rhine line many of them are now routed over it.

Notes

  1. ^ "Line 2630: Köln - Bingen" (in German). NRW Rail Archive. André Joost. http://home.arcor.de/nrwbahnarchiv/strecken/2630.htm. Retrieved 30 October 2011. 

References

  • Semmler, Horst (1994) (in German). 150 Jahre Eisenbahn Bonn-Köln [150 years of the Bonn-Cologne Railway]. Nordhorn Kenning. ISBN 9783927587236. OCLC 75399335. 
  • (in German) Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland [Railway Atlas of Germany] (2005/2006 ed.). Aachen: Schweers + Wall. 2005. ISBN 9783894941345. OCLC 190850467.  Also OCLC 71200092 and OCLC 217548594.
  • Kandler, Udo (2007). "Eisenbahn wie auf einer Ansichtskarte. Die Linke Rheinstrecke [A picture postcard railway: the left Rhine railway line]" (in German). Lok Magazin (GeraNova Zeitschriftenverlag) 46 (305): pp. 36–55. ISSN 0458-1822. 

Coordinates: 50°21′40″N 7°35′25″E / 50.36111°N 7.59028°E / 50.36111; 7.59028


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