Eichstätt – Beilngries railway line

Eichstätt train station – Beilngries
Route number (DB) :	5323 (Eichstätt – Kinding)
Course book section (DB) :	991
Route length:	46.4 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	D4
Top speed:	50 km / h
Legend from Ingolstadt 0.000 Eichstätt train station 425 m to Treuchtlingen 0.173 Schneckenberg Tunnel (232 m) 0.825 Wasserzell (b Eichstätt) 3,000 Rebdorf- Hofmühle 3.500 Hofmühle 3.900 Impact bridge (from 1885 to October 1922 Hp) 4,966 Eichstätt City (formerly Bf) 389 m 7.500 Pietenfeld 10.000 Landershofen 12.500 Puddle 13.700 Inching 17.200 Walting 20.100 Pfalzpaint 22.000 Gungolding 24.100 Arnsberg (Bay) 27.300 Boehming 29.400 Kipfenberg Altmuehl 33.300 Ilbling Ingolstadt – Nuremberg (high-speed line) 35.200 Kinding 375 m Federal motorway 9 Schwarzach 40.200 Unteremmendorf 41.500 Pfraundorf 42.900 Badanhausen from Neumarkt 46.300 Beilngries to Dietfurt Swell:

The Eichstätt – Beilngries railway line , from which the Eichstätt station – Eichstätt city section is still operated today, is a single-track branch line in Upper Bavaria . The largely disused and dismantled route was also known as the Altmühlbahn , as it ran entirely in the Altmühl valley with the exception of the Schneckenberg tunnel. In July 2020, the Neumarkt – Beilngries – Kinding railway lines (connection to the high-speed railway line) were included in the VDV's position paper as railway lines to be reactivated.

history

The initially narrow-gauge line in meter gauge (1000 millimeter gauge) was built in several sections. First, the route of Eichstaett Bahnhof Eichstätt city was opened on 15 September 1885 the extension to Kinding followed on November 7, 1898. On November 5, 1929, from the outset was standard gauge (1435 mm gauge) built track between Kinding and Beilngries opened for freight traffic and on May 15, 1930 passenger traffic was also started. By October 4, 1934, the narrow-gauge railway between Eichstätt station and Kinding was re- gauged and re-routed between the two Eichstätt stations. The 189 meter long Schneckenberg tunnel was created immediately after the exit from Eichstätt train station.

In the 1950s, private motorized traffic increased noticeably. As a result, rail-bound passenger traffic was discontinued on October 2, 1955 on the section between Kipfenberg and Beilngries and on May 29, 1960 between Eichstätt Stadt and Kipfenberg. Freight traffic was also reduced and on June 2, 1973, on the section of the route down the valley from Eichstätt Stadt, it was completely abandoned. The partial suspension of the entire traffic was ultimately followed by the dismantling of the railway systems. In 1996 the still existing freight traffic on the remaining route from Eichstätt Bahnhof to Eichstätt Stadt was discontinued.

Route description

Former Kinding train station

As the name suggests, the Altmühltalbahn always followed the course of the Altmühl on its way from Eichstätt to Beilngries. The Eichstätt Bahnhof – Eichstätt Stadt section is still in operation today as the 991 route book; on this section there are feeder trips between Eichstätt city ​​and Eichstätt train station on the main line (Munich–) Ingolstadt – Treuchtlingen (timetable route 990).

Today's condition and operation

Rebdorf-Hofmühle stop

The section from Eichstätt Bahnhof – Eichstätt Stadt, which is still in operation, was served by the Deutsche Bundesbahn with class 798 rail buses (including class 998 control cars) until the early 1980s , and then with class 628 and class 642 diesel multiple units . Most recently, DB Regio Oberbayern operated passenger traffic here every hour, and in rush hour it was compressed to half-hourly intervals.

In 2001 the line was renovated and completely equipped with new tracks. The former freight yard in Eichstätt Stadt was closed. The site is now being developed and built on as part of an urban reorganization. Of the once extensive track system, there is only a single track in the "Stadtbahnhof", so that Eichstätt Stadt is only a stopping point.

In Eichstätt in 2007 the Pro Bahn district group Eichstätt proposed to extend the route back to the industrial area.

In December 2009, the Bayerische Regiobahn took over traffic on the route with Alstom Coradia LINT 41 multiple units initially until December 2019 and in December 2018 extended the contract in a tender until at least December 2029.

The route from Eichstätt Stadt to Beilngries is partly used for the Altmühltal cycle path , but elsewhere it has completely disappeared due to the construction of the Main-Danube Canal and the high-speed line Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich . A reactivation between Eichstätt and Kinding or a link to the new Kinding station on the high-speed route is therefore not possible.

At the Eichstätt Stadt stop , DB Station & Service replaced the 22 centimeter high platform at the time with a new one that was 90 meters long and 55 centimeters high . The construction project, which cost 850,000 euros, enables barrier-free access.

Future prospects

According to the concept of the Bavarian State Government for more electromobility on the rails in Bavaria, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has proposed the Eichstätt Bahnhof - Eichstätt Stadt route from a Bavarian perspective as a pilot project for operation with LOHC technology (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers).

Web links

• Route, operating points and permissible speeds on the OpenRailwayMap
• Website with details about the history and numerous photos (private)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
3. ↑ Information and pictures about the tunnels on route 5323 on eisenbahn-tunnelportale.de by Lothar Brill
4. ^ VDV: reactivation of railway lines. Retrieved August 5, 2020 . 
5. ^ Announcements from the executive administration. In: Newspaper of the Association of German Railway Administrations, Volume 70, No. 22 (May 29, 1930), p. 596.
6. ↑ https://eisenbahn-tunnelportale.de/lb/inhalt/tunnelportale/5323-schneckenberg.html Tunnel 189 meters long according to the sign
7. ^ Website of the Pro Bahn district group Eichstätt on the status on the course book route 991. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007 ; accessed on March 20, 2015 . 
8. ↑ Now it's official: BRB is awarded the contract to continue operating the existing network, BOB wins a new network - Meridian-BOB-BRB. Bayerische Regiobahn, December 18, 2018, accessed on July 12, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Planning approval for the project "Renewal of the platform in Eichstätt Stadt Bf". Federal Railway Office , accessed on April 2, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Markus Meßner: Eichstätt: Barrier-free entrance gate: The Bavarian Transport Minister Hans Reichhart opens the expanded Eichstätt Stadt station. In: donaukurier.de. December 20, 2018, accessed January 17, 2019 . 
11. ↑ More electromobility on the rails. Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration, January 23, 2018, accessed on June 2, 2019 .