Railway line Dessau – Köthen
| Dessau Hbf – Köthen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route number (DB) : | 6419 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course book section (DB) : | 334 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 21.2 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed: | 100 km / h | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dessau – Köthen railway connects the cities of Dessau-Roßlau and Köthen in Saxony-Anhalt . It is one of the oldest railway lines in Germany and forms the western end of the main line of the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company (BAE). The line is a single-track, non-electrified main line . In passenger transport, it is only served by local trains.
history
The railway line is part of the Berlin-Anhalter Bahn, which opened in 1840. In 1841 the line to Köthen was completed. Long-distance traffic to Berlin was regularly driven from Koethen. Two trains ran daily between Dessau and Köthen. With the opening of the direct connections Dessau – Leipzig and Wittenberg – Halle (Saale) , the route became increasingly less important. The importance of the route also waned in freight traffic, also due to the opening of the Kanonenbahn past Köthen.
In 1870/71 a new station building was built on Köthener Georgstrasse, which was used jointly by BAE and the Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft , which had bought the Bernburger Bahn, which had been in service since 1846, but not by the Magdeburg-Leipziger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft . It was called Berlin-Halberstädter Bahnhof . In 1916, a new central station building for all railway lines was laid out in Köthen, only slightly to the east of the old station, so that hardly any track relocations were necessary. Most of the overpasses in the city area of Köthen also date from this time, so that there is no longer a level crossing with road traffic. During this time the still preserved water tower was built east of the station area. In the 1880s, the line was nationalized under the umbrella of the Prussian State Railways .
In the 1920s there were efforts to electrify the line as well as the Magdeburg – Leipzig line, but there was always a lack of money.
As part of the reparations payments to the Soviet Union as a result of World War II , the second track was also removed from the Dessau – Köthen line and, in contrast to the lines to Bernburg, Magdeburg and Leipzig, it was never rebuilt. However, in some places, for example at Elsnigk , the widened route can still be seen. In 1992, the Reichsbahn also aimed to rebuild the second track and electrification with the Bernburg Railway, as this was inherently important for freight traffic. However, freight traffic also dwindled in the course of the post-reunification years , so that electrification and the installation of a second track were dropped.
On May 31, 2018, the two mechanical interlockings B1 and W2 of the Dessau-Alten train station went out of operation, and this operating point has been a stop ever since . Train encounters were no longer possible before. A new platform was built on the side facing the town. On April 29, 2019, the mechanical interlockings B2 and W1 at Elsnigk (Anh) station went out of operation and were replaced by an electronic interlocking (ESTW). The former island platform was prepared as a central platform and received a new approach from the level crossing. The old station building is still to be demolished. At the Dessau-Mosigkau train station, the B2 and W1 mechanical interlockings went out of service on May 6, 2019 and were replaced by an ESTW. A new outside platform will be built at the station to replace the previous intermediate platform. Until its completion, access to the intermediate platform will be secured by a passenger security guard.
Route description
The route begins in Dessau's main train station . There is a connection to regional trains to Magdeburg , Lutherstadt Wittenberg , Halle (Saale) and Leipzig , as well as regional express trains to Berlin . The regional trains in the direction of Köthen usually leave from platform 7. After a few meters, the line separates from the main line to Bitterfeld . In Dessau, Kühnauer Strasse and Brauereistrasse are crossed at the same level . In this section there are still some mostly unused industrial sidings. The Hermann-Köhl-Straße is then crossed under with the branch to the former Polysius AG. The Alten district is reached. On the right is the landing area of the former Junkers factory in Dessau. Shortly after the intersection with Hünefeldstraße you will reach Alten train station. Junkerspark, an industrial and commercial center, has also been built on the left, but without sidings. After a few kilometers of driving through open countryside, the train station in the Dessau district of Mosigkau is reached. This is where Erich-Weinert-Strasse crosses. After the interrupted Chörauer Straße, the urban area of Dessau-Roßlau is left.
The next one is the Elsnigk train station , which now seems much too big for the modest number of passengers. Here there is still the loading line of a factory that has since been demolished. It continues into the flat, undulating area around Köthen. The Osterienburg stop in the Sibbesdorf district is reached partly on landfills . The journey continues through the poorly forested and fertile Köthen plain. Shortly before Köthen is the intersection with the federal road 187a to Aken, one of the few modernized level crossings . A little later, the Aken line joins this line from the north , but following on its own track to Köthen. Shortly before Köthen, the Elsdorfer Weg is crossed, as is the main Magdeburg – Halle (Saale) line a little later through the “Berliner Loch”. Now turning south and rising to the level of the previously crossed Magdeburg – Halle (Saale) line, Dessauer Strasse, Friedrichstrasse and Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse are crossed in Köthen. Immediately afterwards, you will reach Köthen train station. The trains stop at tracks 1, 2 and 3. There is a connection to Intercity trains in the direction of Leipzig and Magdeburg (further to Oldenburg (Oldb) or Cologne every hour), as well as regional trains to Halle (Saale) and Magdeburg.
service
After the Elbe-Saale-Bahn , a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, won the tender for the Altmark-Börde-Anhalt network, since 2004 diesel multiple units of the 642 series ( Siemens Desiro Classic ) have been running hourly on the route exclusively as regional trains and were partially up to Aschersleben tied through. Previously, the route was served by class 218 with y-cars , partly as a regional express. Amplifier trains have been on the route since the 2010 timetable to better connect Dessau to the long-distance DB service. Since then, the stops on the way have alternately not been approached. The route is only rarely used for freight traffic; for this purpose, locomotives of the 294 series are used from Köthen.
With the timetable change in December 2018, Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland took over the regional rail services in the previous scope. Are used LINT-41 railcar , usually in single traction.
Web links
- Information on the history of rail traffic in Anhalt ( memento from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )