Murg Valley Railway

		from Mannheim
		from Karlsruhe
	0.000	Rastatt	120 m
		to Basel
	0.519	Rastatt DB / AVG
	1.355	Rastatt Beinle
	4.400	Kuppenheim ( Bft )	125 m
		Bischweier Kronospan ( Awanst )
	5,970	Bischweier (Baden)	128 m
		Bad Rotenfels (Baden) Industriestammgl ( Awanst )
	8.008	Bad Rotenfels Castle ( Bft )
	8.600	Bad Rotenfels ( Bft )	136 m
	9.460	Bad Rotenfels Weinbrennerstrasse
	10.389	Gaggenau	142 m
	11,300	Gaggenau Mercedes Benz plant
	12,360	Ottenau
	13.100	Hörden-Ottenau
	13,300	Hörden-Ottenau
	13,700	Hörden -Ottenau (Hp) ( Bft )
	15,600	Gernsbach	160 m
	16.145	Gernsbach center ( Bft )
	18.228	Obertsrot (Murgtal)
		Obertsrot (Murgtal) Kast ( Awanst )
	19.065	Hilpertsau	183 m
	19,900	Weisenbach Reichentaler Strasse ( Awanst )
	20.000	Reichentaler Strasse (until 1921)
	20.656	Weisenbach	197 m
	21,840	Au in the Murgtal
	22.800	Au (Murgtal)
	22.900	Filling tunnel (215 m)
	23.300	Harttunnel (158 m)
	23.947	Langenbrand -Bermersbach
	24.400	Brachtunnel (160 m)
	24.800	Tennet Gorge Viaduct (183 m)
	25.300	Stealing tunnel (355 m)
	25.700	Rappentunnel (95 m)
	25.900	Hackentunnel (177 m)
	26,135	Gausbach
	26.400	Gausbacher Tunnel (180 m)
	26,824	Forbach (Black Forest)	303 m
	28.600	Haulertunnel (364 m)
	31,390	Raumünzach	391 m
	32.000	Spielrain tunnel (104 m)
	34,150	Cherry trees
	36,491	Schönmünzach	462 m
	37,850	Schwarzenberg	473 m
	38.200	Mähderbuck tunnel (215 m)
	39.864	Huzenbach	481 m
	43.014	Red	495 m
	45,200	Heselbach
	46.384	Klosterreichenbach	515 m
	48.930	Baiersbronn School
	49.712	Baiersbronn	547 m
	51.300	Friedrichstal / Württ.
	52.200	Friedrichstal
	52.400	Friedrichstal ironworks
	53.500	Christophstal Viaduct (108 m)
	55,405	Freudenstadt city	739 m
	56.170	Freudenstadt School Center / Panoramabad
	57,400	Freudenstadt industrial area / Schmid
	57.514	Freudenstadt AVG / DB
		from Eutingen im Gäu
	58.200	Freudenstadt Hbf	664 m
		to Schiltach

Swell:

The Murgtalbahn is a branch line in Baden-Württemberg . It runs from Rastatt through the Murg Valley to Freudenstadt .

The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) took over the route in 2000 and integrated it into the Karlsruhe light rail network . Electrified and expanded from 2000 to 2004 , continuous trains have been running every hour since then to the center of Karlsruhe , which has led to an increase in the number of passengers on the route previously threatened with closure.

After a long history of construction, it was possible to start operations continuously in 1928. It emerged from separate railway projects that were planned in the 19th century in the states of Baden and Württemberg . The stretch in the lower Murg Valley to Gernsbach was technically easy to build. It was built in 1868/69 in just nine months and connects to the Rheintalbahn in Rastatt .

The difference in altitude between Freudenstadt and the upper Murg Valley, on the other hand, posed a challenge. This marks the railway line that the Württemberg State Railways built from 1894. In order to cope with the steepest section between Friedrichstal and Freudenstadt Stadtbahnhof , a rack was installed there. This has now been removed. Today it is operated with vehicles that are approved for steep sections .

A gorge-like section of the valley between Gernsbach and Huzenbach made it necessary to build numerous tunnels and bridges . The gap between the Baden and Wuerttemberg lines agreed in 1908 could only be completed after the First World War.

history

Overview

60 years passed between the first groundbreaking and the completion of the railway line . This was due on the one hand to the difficult topography of the Murg Valley, which required numerous engineering structures , and on the other hand to the fact that the Lower Murg Valley belonged to the Grand Duchy of Baden , while the Upper Murg Valley belonged to the Kingdom of Württemberg . This gave rise to different interests in transport policy, which for a long time stood in the way of uniform planning. So it was initially local interests in the lower Murg Valley that led to the first steps in the construction of the Murg Valley Railway. In the course of several decades, two branch lines, starting from Rastatt and Freudenstadt, grew towards each other until the remaining gap across the border between Kirschbaumwasen and Schönmünzach was closed.

Murgthal Railway Company (1868-1894)

By the middle of the 19th century, the Murg Valley timber trade, which had been dependent on rafting for centuries, had increasingly switched to processing tree trunks into high-quality products that could not be transported as rafts , including railway sleepers . Road construction in the narrow Murgtal was particularly complex. Since the plans for the Enz and Nagold Valley Railway were already under way in neighboring Württemberg in the 1860s , there were fears that they would lose their competitiveness with the local timber industry.

The need arose for an efficient transport connection by means of its own railway. The Baden State Railways , however, had no interest in building such a line at the time, as their financial possibilities were tied up by the construction of important main lines. As a way out, the private Murgthal Railway Company was founded in 1867, mainly at the instigation of the Gernsbach timber industrialist Casimir Rudolf Katz, with the aim of building a railway branch line from Rastatt to Gernsbach . Reinhard Baumeister , professor at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic and specialist in railway construction, was won over to plan the demanding construction .

After receiving the concession, construction began on August 19, 1868. Nine months later, on May 31, 1869, the 15-kilometer route was opened. The Baden State Railways ran the business on behalf of the Murgthal Railway Company.

The construction of the railway line accelerated the industrial revolution in the lower Murg valley around the cities of Gaggenau and Gernsbach . From 1873 the Gaggenau iron works became the region's first large-scale industrial enterprise. Further up the river, a center for paper production developed in the 1880s with the settlement of several factories , benefiting from the forest and water-rich environment . Soon there was a call for industrial companies south of Gernsbach to have a railway connection. Initial considerations to build a horse-drawn tram failed due to a lack of funding. It was not until 1888 that a renewed initiative resulted in the concession and the railway facilities could be extended from Gernsbach to Weisenbach on May 1, 1894 . The owner was again the Murgthal Railway Company, and the operation was also taken over by the Baden State Railways.

Railway construction by the state railways of Württemberg and Baden (1894–1919)

Freudenstadt , located high above the upper Murg Valley, was connected to the Württemberg railway network in the direction of Stuttgart in 1879 by the Eutingen railway in Gäu – Schiltach . Because of the difficult topographical conditions, the station, today's main station , was located in a remote location south of the city. In order to improve the connection to Freudenstadt and to better develop the upper Murgtal, the state parliament of the Kingdom of Württemberg decided in 1898 to build a branch line from Freudenstadt main station via Baiersbronn to Klosterreichenbach .

Murg Bridge near Weisenbach under construction (1909)

Because of the great height differences between Freudenstadt and Baiersbronn, the section Freudenstadt Hauptbahnhof - Freudenstadt Stadt - Baiersbronn with a maximum gradient of up to 50 per thousand was laid out as a rack railway with a rack of the Riggenbach- Klose system. Various types of standardized, cost-effective Wuerttemberg standard stations were built as station buildings. The Royal Württemberg State Railways opened operations as far as Klosterreichenbach on November 20, 1901.

On July 1, 1904, the Grand Ducal Baden State Railways took over the lower Murgtalbahn from the Murgthal Railway Company, so that from now on, ownership and management were in one hand. With the decision of the Baden state parliament to complete the railway network in 1900, the basis for the further construction of the Murg Valley Railway from Weisenbach to the state border was created. However, the route of the route proved difficult due to the topographical conditions: the six-kilometer section from Weisenbach to Forbach alone required the construction of seven tunnels , three large bridges and considerable earthworks. On June 14, 1910, the Weisenbach – Forbach section was put into operation after a three-year construction period, followed by the section to Raumünzach on May 4, 1915 . The First World War prevented further construction to the state border .

The Deutsche Reichsbahn has closed the gap

While the wish for a continuous Murg Valley Railway from Rastatt to Freudenstadt in the state of Baden was expressed quite early on, the state of Württemberg acted rather negatively. It was feared that traffic would migrate from the northern Black Forest towards Karlsruhe , while until then goods and people had mainly to choose the route via Stuttgart. Only in the draft of a state treaty to complete the cross-border railway lines was Württemberg in 1908 ready to agree to a continuous Murg Valley Railway. The ratification of this treaty dragged on until 1912. Despite the contractual agreements to close the gap by 1916, there was no construction work on the Wuerttemberg section, also due to the First World War.

With the establishment of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920, the conflicts of interest between Baden and Württemberg could be overcome, so that the missing intermediate section Raumünzach - Klosterreichenbach finally went into operation on July 13, 1928. This made continuous trains from Rastatt to Freudenstadt possible, but the locomotive still had to be changed for the journey on the Freudenstadt steep stretch . Before that, on February 1, 1924, the Obertsrot stop had been abandoned.

During the construction of the Schwarzenbachtalsperre between 1922 and 1926, the Raumünzach train station also gained greater traffic importance, as a field railway took over the transport of the building materials from here .

Second World War

During the Second World War , the Murg Valley Railway was initially spared from damage. It was not until the advance of the front in September 1944 that multiple fighter-bomber and artillery attacks led to damage and route closures, with the Rastatt train station being particularly affected. With the attack on Freudenstadt from the end of 1944, the railway facilities at the southern end of the line were also severely damaged, and Freudenstadt city station was completely destroyed. The most serious damage, however, was not inflicted on the Murg Valley Railway by the Allies, but by the retreating German troops who destroyed the Murg bridges at Weisenbach, Langenbrand and Forbach and the Christophstal Viaduct in April 1945 .

After the end of the war, the reconstruction of the destroyed bridges and railway systems took over five years. Initially, the trains could only run between Rastatt and Weisenbach, from the end of 1945 a shuttle service was also set up between Raumünzach and Baiersbronn. After restoring the Murg bridges in Weisenbach and Langenbrand, traffic between Weisenbach and Forbach was resumed in July 1947, and in November 1947 the gap between Forbach and Raumünzach was closed. The Freudenstadt city station had been accessible from the south again since October 1948. After the restoration of the Christophstal Viaduct, the trains were able to use the Murg Valley Railway continuously again from May 14, 1950.

In operation by the Deutsche Bundesbahn after the Second World War

Push-pull train with class 218 near Gausbach (2001)

In 1966, the steam locomotives on the Murg Valley Railway were replaced by diesel locomotives suitable for steep sections . The journey times for the Rastatt – Freudenstadt route, when the steam locomotive was running, were shortened to around an hour and 20 minutes, from around two and a half hours.

The increasing economic pressure on the Deutsche Bundesbahn led to rationalization measures in the 1980s. Therefore, the less frequented stops at Friedrichstal , Kirschbaumwasen , Raumünzach and Au were abandoned and the crossroads in Hilpertsau, Raumünzach and Klosterreichenbach were dismantled. Above all, the parallel federal highway 462 made the Murg Valley Railway increasingly competitive.

From the end of the 1980s, in addition to the locomotive-hauled trains, diesel multiple units of the DB class 628 were used on the Murg Valley Railway, but they were not approved for steep routes and could therefore only run between Rastatt and Baiersbronn. The 627.0 series took over operation between Baiersbronn and Freudenstadt .

In 1995 the timetable was improved with an approximate hourly rate. The diesel multiple units were also largely replaced by locomotive-hauled trains. In addition, individual express trains ran until the mid-1990s , later Interregio , which mainly established the connections from the Ruhr area and Hamburg to the northern Black Forest , which are important for tourism .

Modernization and conversion to light rail operations

Initial considerations for integrating the Murg Valley Railway into the Karlsruhe light rail system were presented in the early 1990s. Since the Murg Valley Railway runs centrally in the settlement axis of the Murg Valley, great passenger potentials were attributed to it, which the existing railway operations were only inadequately tapped.

The construction of the catenary in the numerous tunnels required special technical solutions: overhead conductor rails between the steel tunnel and the Rappen tunnel.

With the political support of the Rastatt and Freudenstadt districts , the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) was able to lease the Murgtalbahn long-term from Deutsche Bahn AG in 2000 and expand it for light rail operations in the following years . For this purpose, the route was electrified with the traction current system 15 kilovolt alternating voltage with a frequency of 16.7 Hertz, two-track expanded between Kuppenheim and Bad Rotenfels , crossroads again created in Hörden, Hilpertsau, Langenbrand, Raumünzach and Heselbach, 14 new stops were built and the existing stops modernized, signal and safety technology replaced and bridges and tunnels renovated. During the electrification of the tunnel sections, an overhead conductor rail was installed on the open stretch for the first time in Germany . This resulted in an inclined voltage of the overhead conductor rail outside the tunnel, which significantly reduced the number of masts. A total of around 53 million euros was invested in the infrastructure of the Murg Valley Railway.

On June 15, 2002, light rail operations began in the lower Murg Valley between Rastatt and Raumünzach, and Raumünzach temporarily became a transfer station. The conversion of the section to Freudenstadt Stadt followed on December 14, 2003, the remaining section to Freudenstadt main station on May 20, 2004. The light rail traffic made it possible to increase the number of offers and reduce travel times. The rapid transit trains between Rastatt and Freudenstadt only need 67 minutes. In this way, the number of passengers could be increased significantly: Before the changeover, around 2,700 passengers took the Murgtalbahn trains on weekdays, in 2009 there were almost 13,000 passengers.

In the course of the conversion to light rail operations, the Murg Valley Railway was also integrated into the local transport associations . The tariff of the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV) applies between Rastatt and Kirschbaumwasen, and that of the Verkehrs -gemeinschaft Landkreis Freudenstadt (VGF) between Schönmünzach and Freudenstadt . In addition, there is a transitional tariff so that VGF tickets are recognized beyond the actual network border from and to Forbach. The KVV Regio-X ticket is also valid for the entire route .

Today the passenger traffic on the Murgtalbahn is operated by the AVG. The tram lines S81 ( Karlsruhe main station ) - Rastatt - Freudenstadt and S8 Karlsruhe city center - Rastatt - Freudenstadt (- Eutingen ) operate, whereby some of the trains on the S81 run as express trains and are therefore around 25 minutes faster. Two-system light rail cars of the type GT8-100C / 2S and GT8-100D / 2S-M are used . The trains run at least every hour, the express trains every two hours.

The freight leads the AVG with diesel locomotives through. Two “AVG Cargo” freight trains run from Karlsruhe via Rastatt into the Murg Valley every working day. In addition, the company 'Lang Recycling' makes several trips between Bad Rotenfels and Rastatt. In the double-track section from Kuppenheim to Bad Rotenfels there are two important sidings : at Bischweier the company "Kronospan" was supplied (production temporarily stopped), in Bad Rotenfels the companies "Lang Recycling" and "Lotter + Liebherr" are via the goods siding of Stadtwerke Gaggenau provided. These companies are the main customers in freight transport today.

Planned changeover to full rail vehicles

On the electrified route from Freudenstadt to Karlsruhe, the twin-system trams of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) were no longer to be used from 2017. In the course of the tendering of the regional rail transport services, “full-line” electric multiple units should be used in future, according to the planning of the Baden-Württemberg local transport company (NVBW). This would have had the advantage that the mainline trains between Rastatt and Karlsruhe would have been able to travel 160 km / h. The AVG light rail vehicles reach a maximum of 100 km / h, but in Karlsruhe they travel via the tram network to the city center. This would not have been possible in the future, the railroad multiple units could only have run to Karlsruhe Central Station . The travel time gain would have been countered by an obligation to change trains.

However, on December 9, 2015, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport announced that the local rail transport services would continue to be provided by AVG, and that nothing will change in terms of vehicles until 2022. This retention of the previous offer is primarily due to the strong protest of the neighboring communities and the Freudenstadt district against the originally planned operating concept with full-line trains.

At the end of July 2017, the Ministry of Transport announced that with the new tendering for networks 7a and 7b for the period from 2022, the trams should only run to Forbach and for the other stations a line with a few stops to Forbach (as with city express trains ) and a connection there the light rail system is to be introduced. The latter is to be driven with full-line vehicles to achieve a higher speed on the Rhine Valley Railway between Rastatt and Karlsruhe.

In the 2030 target timetable of the Germany cycle , every half hour with all stops is planned to Forbach and 3 trains every two hours to Freudenstadt. A train is tied to Herrenberg every two hours . In addition, an express train runs every two hours to Freudenstadt. In the destination timetable, an hourly express train and a tram with all stops are then provided, which are supported by another hourly journey to Forbach. A connection to the Karlsruhe city center is still planned.

Route description

course

The Murg Valley Railway runs through a Black Forest valley that is partially cut like a ravine , the middle section of which was hardly accessible for traffic until the 18th century . Sometimes there is very little space for the route between the Murg and the rock faces. With its ten tunnels , eight bridges and steep sections , the connection has a number of technically complex solutions.

Tennet gorge bridge between Langenbrand and Gausbach

The line begins at Rastatt train station and already turns east in the southern track apron to cross an industrial area north of the Murg . After about one and a half kilometers, it reaches the Rastatt Beinle stop, which was set up in 2002 . In the further course of the route it crosses the Upper Rhine Plain in an open field to the Kuppenheim stop . From here she leaves the plain and now drives in the actual Murgtal and passes the stops at Bischweier and Bad Rotenfels Castle .

The section from Kuppenheim to Bad Rotenfels station was expanded to two tracks to accommodate light rail traffic and operationally forms the Bischweier (Baden) station of the otherwise single-track Murg Valley Railway . From Bad Rotenfels, the Murg Valley Railway crosses the Gaggenau development , passes the Bad Rotenfels Weinbrennerstraße stop and the three-track Gaggenau train station. To the south of Gaggenau station, the train crosses the Daimler AG plant with the Mercedes-Benz plant , where a publicly accessible stopping point has been set up for employees in addition to a siding.

The line then follows the Murg Valley in a southerly direction, passes the Ottenau and Hörden stops and finally reaches Gernsbach station , which has several tracks for freight and passenger traffic . Between the Ottenau and Hörden stops, there is a double-track depot with a siding where delayed trains can cross .

South of Gernsbach there are the Gernsbach Mitte , Obertsrot and the Hilpertsau and then Weisenbach junction stations . The most scenic and technically demanding part of the Murg Valley Railway begins in Weisenbach. As far as Schönmünzach , the Murg valley narrows to a gorge, so that the railway line had to be led along the steep slopes of the valley. Nine tunnels and five viaducts were necessary in this section.

Murg bridge near Raumünzach

South of the Weisenbach train station, the train crosses the Murg on a 76-meter-long steel truss bridge and climbs up the western slope of the Murg valley. After passing the Au im Murgtal stop and crossing the Füllen and Hart tunnels, the train crosses the Murg again on a 127 meter long bridge. This was originally designed entirely as a brick arched bridge, was destroyed in the Second World War and was then given a steel middle section, while the bricked outer parts of the bridge were retained. Then the double-track Langenbrand station is reached.

The railway continues on the eastern slope of the Murg Valley, crosses a mountain spur in the Brachtunnel and reaches the imposing, 183 meter long and 27 meter high brick bridge over the Tennet Gorge. This is followed directly by the Stehlen Tunnel, the Rappentunnel and the Hackentunnel, before the Gausbach stop, which was set up in 2002 , is reached. After passing under the village church in the Gausbach tunnel, the Murgtalbahn reaches the AVG station in Forbach, which, in addition to the two continuous tracks, was given an additional stub track for trains ending here and a double-track railcar storage hall in 2002 . The AVG also set up a railway maintenance office in Forbach . From Weisenbach to Forbach, the route overcomes an altitude difference of 123.5 meters, which corresponds to an average gradient of 20 per thousand.

The station Freudenstadt city is the highest point of Murgtalbahn.

South of Forbach is a ten-kilometer section to Schönmünzach train station, which leads through almost unpopulated, wooded area. The Raumünzach train station and the Kirschbaumwasen stopping point serve almost exclusively as starting points for excursion traffic. The Raumünzach train station is also operationally important as a crossing station . The Murg Valley Railway crosses the Murg on a bridge south of Forbach and near Raumünzach. While the stone bridge (Holdereckbrücke) near Forbach was destroyed during the Second World War and was rebuilt as a steel framework construction, the bridge near Raumünzach is still a brick arched bridge today. Tunnels adjoin each of the two bridges to the south: the Haulertunnel, with a length of 364 meters, the longest tunnel on the Murg Valley Railway, and the Spielrain tunnel. The former Baden-Württemberg border crosses the Murg Valley between Kirschbaumwasen and Schönmünzach.

South of Schonmunzach follow the breakpoints Schwarzenberg , Huzenbach , Röt , the newly built railway junction Heselbach , the breakpoints Klosterreichenbach and Baiersbronn school and the Baiersbronn Station . To the south of Schwarzenberg, a rock ledge is crossed in the Mähderbuckeltunnel, south of Huzenbach and north of Heselbach the railway line crosses the Murg.

The last section of the Murg Valley Railway leads from Baiersbronn out of the Murg Valley to the culminating point of the route at Freudenstadt Stadt station , and then drops off to Freudenstadt main station . In order to be able to cope with these height differences, this section of the route was designed with a maximum gradient of 50 per thousand. Initially built as a rack railway , between 1924 and 1926 it was switched to friction operation and the rack was removed. Even today, special operating regulations apply in this section and only vehicles with special approval are allowed to drive on this section of the route. The 84-meter-long stone Christophstalbrücke and the Friedrichstal , Freudenstadt Schulzentrum / Panoramabad and Freudenstadt industrial area / Schmid stops are located within the steep section .

Infrastructure

Württemberg standard station in Baiersbronn

The newly built railcar hall in Forbach station

The route infrastructure has been maintained by AVG since 2000; DB Netz is responsible for the terminal stations in Rastatt and Freudenstadt . A railway maintenance office is located in Forbach. The route is electrified and equipped with light signals. It is controlled by the ESTW Gernsbach, whose operator station has only been used as an emergency operator station since it was connected to the central control center in Karlsruhe (ZeLeiKa) on December 5, 2013. With the exception of the double-track section between Kuppenheim and Bad Rotenfels, the line is single-track. Crossing stations are in Gaggenau, Hörden ( depot ), Gernsbach, Hilpertsau, Weisenbach, Langenbrand, Forbach, Raumünzach, Schönmünzach, Heselbach, Baiersbronn and Freudenstadt Stadt. The line is operated as a branch line; the line's maximum speed is between 50 and 100 km / h, depending on the section of the line. Special operating regulations apply to the steep section between Freudenstadt and Baiersbronn. The stops are equipped with platforms 120 meters long and 55 centimeters high , so that the trams can be boarded at ground level .

Sidings for freight consist of the companies Kronospan ( Bischweier ) Long Recycling ( Bad Rotenfels ) Hördener timber (at the depot Hörden), Mercedes-Benz ( Gaggenau ), Mayr-Melnhof ( Obertsrot ), Smurfit Kappa ( Weisenbach ) and Stora Enso ( long brandy ). Currently (as of 2016) only the Lang Recycling siding is regularly used, while the other siding are out of service, with the exception of the Kronospan connection, which is only operated irregularly due to a production break. In addition, until the beginning of the 1990s, there was a siding several kilometers long south of Weisenbach station, which ran east of the Murg to below the Füllentunnel. The railway's own loading tracks are available at the train stations in Kuppenheim , Gernsbach, Schönmünzach and Baiersbronn .

Vehicle use

Prussian T 16.1s replaced the rack-and-pinion locomotives in 1924

Class 627.0 railcars (Freudenstadt, 2004)

Light rail car of the type GT8-100C / 2S of the AVG

The vehicles for the lower section of the Murgtalbahn were always provided by the Karlsruhe depot . First steam locomotives of the Baden series V c and V b were used, which were replaced in 1914 by the series VI b and VI c . In 1953 (VI b) and 1961 (VI c) the use of these series in the Murg Valley ended and locomotives of the T 18 type took over the covering of passenger trains (1959–1966). Class 50 locomotives were used in freight traffic until 1970 .

The locomotives for operation on the Freudenstadt steep lines were located in the Freudenstadt depot. Until 1924, only rack-and-pinion locomotives of the Württemberg type Fz were used. After successful test drives with locomotives of the Prussian type T 16 ¹ , operation on the steep sections was converted to this type of construction. The cogwheel operation was therefore gradually abandoned until 1926. Six machines of this type were located in Freudenstadt. From 1955, two newly built class 82 locomotives were also used. Since the trailer load of the steam locomotives on the steep sections was only 160 tonnes (T 16 ¹ ) or 180 tonnes (82 series), many trains had to be pushed, i.e. the trains were driven with one locomotive each at the Zugspitze and one at the end of the train.

The age of diesel operation on the Murg Valley Railway began in 1956 with the delivery of four series VT 98.9 (later series 798) rail buses suitable for steep routes to the Karlsruhe depot. However, these four sets were not enough to run all trains, so steam-hauled trains continued to run. In 1966 the picture on the Murgtalbahn changed again when ten new locomotives of the class V 100 ²³ (V 100 2332 to 2341, later 213 332 to 341) delivered to the depot Karlsruhe took over the hauling of the trains in the Murgtal and thus the steam locomotives and the Replaced rail buses.

There was no need to change locomotives for steam-hauled trains. However, a single V 100 could only carry 150 tonnes of trailer load on the steep stretches, so that from Baiersbronn it was still necessary to drive in double or triple traction. This only changed with the commissioning of nine class 218 locomotives (218 160 to 168) that had been prepared for high-speed service and replaced the V 100 class in 1972. Thanks to a maximum trailer load of 225 tonnes on the steep stretches, there was almost no need for the forwarding services.

Since the end of the 1980s, diesel multiple units of the 628/928 series were partly used on the lower section to Baiersbronn . Since these are not permitted on the steep sections, they had to switch to class 627.0 railcars in Baiersbronn , which were also to be found in the Murg Valley from the 1980s.

With the start of light rail operations, passenger traffic was completely transferred to the Karlsruhe light rail vehicles of the type GT8-100D / 2S-M of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft, which were approved for the Freudenstadt steep sections. Since the summer of 2015, the ET 2010 type vehicles have also received approval for steep sections and can therefore be used on the Murg Valley Railway at any time. The railcars run partly in single, partly in double traction. At peak times or for transfer purposes, the trains also run in triple traction, in which case the third railcar is usually decoupled in Forbach and parked for later use. The somewhat older GT8-100C / 2S railcars are sometimes used between Rastatt and Forbach, but they are not approved for the steep section.

Several times a year in the summer months, the Ulm Railway Friends run special trips with steam trains between Karlsruhe and Baiersbronn, which are hauled by class 50 and 58 locomotives. In addition, the Stuttgart rail transport company temporarily used a historic ET 25 series electric multiple unit between Karlsruhe and Baiersbronn.

On Sundays and public holidays between May and October, the Deutsche Bahn offers the 3-Löwen-Takt-Radexpress "Murgtäler" , this is made up of an electric locomotive of the class 111 , two former half-baggage cars of the type Bduu 497 and two n-cars . It runs between Ludwigshafen (Rhein) Hauptbahnhof and Freudenstadt Hbf. From May 2021, the Radexpress will be part of the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn with Siemens Mireo and, due to the lack of steep sections, will only run to Baiersbronn.

literature

Klaus Bindewald: The Albtal Transport Company. Exemplary local transport system worldwide . regional culture publisher, Heidelberg u. a. 2007, ISBN 978-3-89735-475-3 .
Klaus Scherff: The Murgtalbahn: from the beginning until today: 75 years of continuous rail traffic from Rastatt to Freudenstadt . regional culture publisher, Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3-89735-231-1 .
Herbert Stemmler: Change in the Black Forest - When the Murg Valley Railway was still steaming . In: LOKMagazin . No. 11/2003 . GeraNova Verlag, ISSN 0458-1822 .
Hans-Wolfgang Scharf, Burkhard Wollny: The Railway in the Northern Black Forest, Volume 1: Historical Development and Railway Construction . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1995, ISBN 3-88255-763-X .
Hans-Wolfgang Scharf, Burkhard Wollny: The railway in the northern Black Forest. Volume 2: Design, Operation and Machine Service . EK-Verlag., Freiburg 1995, ISBN 3-88255-764-8 .

Web links

Commons : Murgtalbahn - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Excerpt from the course book from 1944
current course book tables
Murg Valley Railway in the Karlsruhe City Wiki
Historic steam trains on the Murgtalbahn

Individual evidence

↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
↑ The story of the Murgthalbahn. In: forbach-online.de. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009 ; accessed on May 14, 2016 .
^ Reichsbahndirektion in Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion in Mainz of February 9, 1924, No. 6. Announcement No. 148, p. 89, here incorrectly written "Oberstrot".
↑ Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, pp. 73–76
↑ Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, pp. 79–83
↑ Scherff, p. 75
↑ Scherff, p. 170
↑ Scherff, p. 82
↑ Scherff, p. 78f
↑ ^a ^b Scherff, p. 79
↑ Schwarzwälder Bote online (accessed on November 17, 2010)
↑ AVG is to be awarded the contract for “Stadtbahn Karlsruhe” (network 7 a / b). Retrieved July 20, 2016 .
↑ Good rail transport offers on the Middle Upper Rhine and in the North Black Forest secured. Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg, July 27, 2017, accessed on August 25, 2017 .
↑ https://eisenbahn-tunnelportale.de/lb/inhalt/tunnelportale/4240.html
↑ Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, p. 141
↑ Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, p. 190
↑ Radexpress Murgtäler on the website of the Karlsruhe Transport Association
↑ Network 6b profile. (PDF; 276 KiB) Appendix 1 to the press release on the tender for the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn. Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg, June 2, 2016, accessed on August 19, 2017 .

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on April 5, 2006 .

[1] DB Netze - Infrastructure Register

[2] Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .

[3] The story of the Murgthalbahn. In: forbach-online.de. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009 ; accessed on May 14, 2016 .

[4] Reichsbahndirektion in Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion in Mainz of February 9, 1924, No. 6. Announcement No. 148, p. 89, here incorrectly written "Oberstrot".

[5] Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, pp. 73–76

[6] Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, pp. 79–83

[7] Scherff, p. 75

[8] Scherff, p. 170

[9] Scherff, p. 82

[10] Scherff, p. 78f

[nus-11] Scherff, p. 79

[12] Schwarzwälder Bote online (accessed on November 17, 2010)

[13] AVG is to be awarded the contract for “Stadtbahn Karlsruhe” (network 7 a / b). Retrieved July 20, 2016 .

[14] Good rail transport offers on the Middle Upper Rhine and in the North Black Forest secured. Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg, July 27, 2017, accessed on August 25, 2017 .

[15] ttps://eisenbahn-tunnelportale.de/lb/inhalt/tunnelportale/4240.html

[16] Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, p. 141

[17] Scharf and Wollny, Vol. 2, p. 190

[18] Radexpress Murgtäler on the website of the Karlsruhe Transport Association

[19] Network 6b profile. (PDF; 276 KiB) Appendix 1 to the press release on the tender for the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn. Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg, June 2, 2016, accessed on August 19, 2017 .