Gotteszell – Blaibach railway line

Gotteszell – Blaibach
Route number :	5811, 9581
Course book section (DB) :	908 (previously 12905 or 866)
Route length:	39.8 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C2
Maximum slope :	25.5  ‰
Minimum radius :	150 m
Top speed:	50 km / h
Legend from Plattling 0.0 Gotteszell 552 m to Bayerisch Eisenstein 0.462 Infrastructure border DB Netz / Regentalbahn 3.248 Bruckmühle timber loading point (until 1988) 4.174 Ruhmannsfelden 502 m Teisnach (28 m) 5.395 Granite works Prünst 6.9 Patersdorf 462 m 8,885 Teisnach Rohde & Schwarz (since 2016) 9.2 Loading point construction company 9.5 Connection to the Georg Wittmann sawmill 10.135 Teisnach 447 m from the paper mill 12.0 Böbracher Tunnel (64 m) 12.7 Böbrach (no regular traffic) 15.2 Gumpenried-Asbach 428 m 18.1 Nussberg-Schönau (no regular traffic) 416 m 19.9 Gstadt (no regular traffic) 415 m 22.4 Carving mill 23.8 Connection brick factory 24.814 Viechtach 411 m 26,870 Rugenhof 27.798 Tresdorf 425 m to the quartzite movement 30.779 Fichtental (formerly Krailing-Prackenbach) 455 m 32.2 Krailing 478 m 33.978 Fiefdom Hellstone 447 m 36,314 Wimbach-Untergschaidt 433 m rain 70 m from Lam 39.7 Blaibach 385 m to Cham

The Gotteszell – Blaibach line is a branch line in Bavaria . It runs in Lower Bavaria from Gotteszell to Viechtach , the further line to Blaibach has been shut down and dismantled since the early 1990s. The owner and railway infrastructure company of the non-federally owned line is the Regentalbahn .

history

The construction from Gotteszell to Viechtach

Share over 1000 marks of AG Localbahn Gotteszell-Viechtach from January 1, 1891

After the construction of the Schwandorf – Furth im Wald railway in 1861 and the Plattling – Bayerisch Eisenstein (Bavarian Forest Railway) railway in 1877, the desire to connect the valley of the Black Rain between Teisnach and Blaibach with these two railways grew . However, the Bavarian State Railways decided to build the Cham – Kötzting line .

A locomotive and a freight wagon from the Pfleiderer paper mill around 1900

The Lokalbahn Aktien-Gesellschaft in Munich was commissioned to work out a general project. The plan provided for the railway line to branch off from the Waldbahn in Gotteszell and finally to reach its terminus in Viechtach after 24.97 kilometers. On April 28, 1889, the license for the construction was granted to the local railway company Gotteszell-Viechtach for 99 years.

The construction cost the local railway company exactly 1,783,148 marks. On November 10, 1890, the line was put into operation. In the first full year of operation, 107,630 people and around 25,000 tons of goods were transported, generating a surplus of 27,181 marks. In 1900 the surplus was 76,278 marks. The Teisnach paper mill played a major role in this .

At the beginning of the First World War , traffic was stopped in early August 1914 due to general mobilization . On August 21, 1914, he could be resumed with restrictions, including the deployment of 25 prisoners of war .

Further construction to Blaibach

For years there have been efforts to continue building to Blaibach. On October 21, 1904, Transport Minister Heinrich von Frauendorfer named so many conditions that they were initially waived.

In 1919 the local railway was completely renewed. In place of the rails Bayern V with a meter weight of 21.8 kg rails were the form Bayern IX with a meter weight of 34.8 kilograms. The rail length was 15 meters instead of nine meters. At the same time a workshop was set up in Viechtach. After all, it was the plan to build a railway line through the Zellertal that urged supporters of an extension to Blaibach to act. The continuation of the line was planned from 1924 to 1925. A route along the rain was discarded at an early stage due to the many bends and tunnels required. For this reason it was projected at Tresdorf in the direction of Krailling and on to Blaibach. The connection of Prackenbach and the stone industry there was considered, but rejected. To compensate, the Krailling train station was placed outside the village in the direction of Prackenbach. The financing of almost three million marks was secured with the help of the President of the State Parliament Heinrich Königbauer and the transport officer Karl Rothmeier .

To extend the route, the station in Viechtach had to be extended by 150 meters. On July 2, 1926, construction began. After heavy rainfall, however, the main construction work by the companies Polensky & Zöllner (eastern section) and Carl Brandt (western section) could not begin until September 24th. For the most part, only emergency workers, most of them without civil engineering experience, were allowed to be used for the construction, as half of the financing came from productive unemployment welfare. The largest structure of the 14.8 kilometer extension was the Regenbrücke near Blaibach, a concrete bridge without piers with a span of 70 meters. 60% of the route length is in arcs with a minimum radius of 150 m. The steepest slope measures 25 ‰. On December 20, 1927, the line was opened to traffic. Freight traffic was started on January 2, 1928, and passenger traffic on February 1, 1928. The official inauguration took place on March 4, 1928. The concession was then extended to 2040 on August 21, 1928.

On the day of the official inauguration, the local railway AG Gotteszell-Viechtach and the local railway Deggendorf-Metten AG merged to form the Regentalbahn AG , retroactively to November 14, 1927. The railway line was subsequently referred to as the "Regentalbahn" . With a length of 46 km, it formed the second largest private railway in Bavaria.

Operation of the entire route until partial shutdown

Administration of Regentalbahn AG at Viechtach station

From the opening of the Blaibach line, four pairs of trains ran daily between Viechtach and Blaibach, three pairs of trains on the old line on weekdays and four pairs of trains on Sundays and public holidays. The vehicle fleet was remarkable, as vehicles that were purchased from other railways cheaply were used here. The first railcar drove through the Regental as early as 1902.

From 1940 the operation was switched to railcars. During the Second World War , the route was often used as a diversion route for freight trains from the Danube Valley. This overwhelmed the superstructure, so that at the end of the war it was in dire need of renovation and had to be repaired again at great expense.

In 1950, a new Krailing stop was opened about one kilometer from the Fichtental stop (formerly Krailing-Prackenbach).

At the end of the 1950s, planning began for a damming of the black rain for energy supply. Initially, it would have been necessary to re-route over twelve kilometers from the Böbracher Tunnel to Schnitzmühle. However, this project was discontinued due to unprofitability.

On April 6, 1960 there was a rock fall at the Teisnach tunnel at the eastern portal, so that it had to be rebuilt over the summer of 1960.

On the site of a former sawmill, the Schnitzmühle campsite was opened on a rainy island not far from the railway line in the 1960s . A breakpoint was set up for him in 1969.

In the 1970s, rail passenger transport was completely converted to railcars that had been procured used in the 1960s and 70s. The siding to the sawmill and the storage area at Viechtach station were also given up during this period. A garage for the Regentalbahn buses was built at this point.

With the construction of the school center in Kötzting in 1978, school traffic to Cham and Viechtach ceased, so that the number of passengers fell from around 550,000 to around 480,000.

Around 1978 the route was switched from signaling to train control . The entry signals in Ruhmannsfelden, Teisnach, Gumpenried-Asbach and Fichtental have been dismantled. Likewise, in 1977/78 the wooden shelters in Lehen-Höllenstein, Wimbach-Untergschaidt, Krailing, Tresdorf and Patersdorf were replaced by those made of precast concrete.

In rail freight of the two locomotives was with the arrival of D III and D IV used from 1980 radio remote control so that shunting could be carried out by a single person. A change in the handover of freight wagons between the Federal Railroad and Regentalbahn also ended that year the use of mixed trains , in which the regular passenger trains transported the freight wagons.

In 1981 train radio was introduced on the line.

In 1982 the barge ferry was shut down at the Gstadt stop. In the same year, the Gumpenried-Asbach stop was canceled due to the construction of the power plant. There, the line was raised and straightened for one kilometer by 1984.

The entire workshop facilities in Viechtach were rebuilt in 1982. The construction costs of 4.95 million marks were borne by the Free State of Bavaria to 95%. The last entry signals and track blocking signals as well as the lever interlocking in Viechtach have also been removed.

In the summer of 1988 the loading tracks in Patersdorf and the loading point Ruhmannsfelden near Bruckmühl were removed. This happened in 1989 with the connection in Tresdorf.

At the end of the 1980s, the position of the track keeper on this route was abolished.

In the last year of passenger traffic, four pairs of trains ran between Gotteszell and Viechtach and three pairs of trains from Viechtach to Blaibach on weekdays.

On February 4, 1991, the Blaibach – Fichtental line was closed due to damage to the rain bridge near Blaibach, which was established in 1990 . On August 1, 1991, a severe storm also caused the Prackenbach to undermine the railway embankment at Fichtental over a length of 30 m and destroy a small bridge. Regular passenger traffic between Blaibach and Viechtach was discontinued and only operated until July 1992 as required. At that time, the Viechtach railway maintenance office had already removed the tracks and sleepers from the Blaibach railway bridge. On April 30, 1991, regular passenger traffic on the Viechtach – Gotteszell section was discontinued. As a result, Teisnach train station was completely redesigned. All station buildings except for the Pfleiderer engine shed were removed to make room for the road to be widened.

Freight traffic between Viechtach and Fichtental was discontinued on March 31, 1993 and the section was closed on September 1, 1993.

The tracks north of the level crossing at Viechtach train station were filled and handed over to the city, which built a parking lot there.

The districts of Cham and Regen acquired the route and built a cycle path on it by 1997 .

On June 30, 2001, freight traffic was stopped on the rest of the route.

The main station building in Ruhmannsfelden was torn down in the following years, the dilapidated engine shed of the Pfleiderer paper mill at Teisnach station was razed to the ground in October 2014.

Operation after partial shutdown

The hiking train stopped at Teisnach train station in October 2013

On the remaining stretch between Gotteszell and Viechtach only freight trains , empty runs of the Regentalbahn workshops in Viechtach and special trains ran . The route is operated in train control .

After regular passenger traffic had ceased, the Wanderbahn im Regental eV association was founded in 1991 to carry out special trips with the historical Regentalbahn vehicle of the Esslinger type on the Gotteszell – Fichtental line that was still operational. On August 3, 1991 there was the first of three trips that year. In the following year, eight driving days were offered. Since the Fichtental-Viechtach section was closed in 1993, trains have only run to Viechtach. On October 26, 2008, the 1000th journey of the hiking railway could finally be celebrated.

Advertisement for the 1000th journey of the hiking railway

Until 2015, the association held a total of 24 driving days from May to October and in December. They were used by around 10,000 passengers per year. In 2016 there were 18 driving days until September.

Failure of reactivation as part of the tender for the forest railway network 2009–2010

In the course of the invitation to tender for regional train services in Eastern Bavaria by the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG), which also includes the Zwiesler network , demands were made in 2009 that this railway line should also be put out to tender . A two-hour cycle with a connection in Gotteszell to the trains on the Plattling − Zwiesel − Bayerisch Eisenstein line was required . A demonstration run by the hiking railway association with 70 politicians on June 20, 2009 with a forest railway regional shuttle should underline this. The Geiersthal community promised its support in July 2009. In the course of the summer of 2009, a total of 4587 signatures were also collected for the reactivation of the railway line.

The Bavarian Ministry of Transport then had the passenger potential determined in the summer of 2010. This was estimated at just 460 passengers per day, which was below the average of 1000 passengers per day required by the BEG. The methodology was criticized on site. The increased use of trains by tourists due to the guest service environmental ticket (GUTi) was not taken into account. A new investigation in December 2010 showed 310 passengers per day on the busiest section from Gotteszell – Ruhmannsfelden. Subsequent inclusion in the tender was therefore rejected.

Reactivation in passenger transport through a five-year trial run in 2016–2021

Political discussions

Despite the rejection, there were continued reactivation efforts by the Regen district , the six neighboring communities, the Regentalbahn AG, the Wanderbahn im Regental eV association and the E-Forest research project of the Deggendorf University of Technology .

A counter-opinion was commissioned from Johannes Klühspies, Head of the Chair for Applied Economics at the TH Deggendorf, in cooperation with the Regen District Office and Regentalbahn AG. In three scenarios examined, a potential of an average of 1,000 to 1,585 passengers per working day was determined. The costs for upgrading the infrastructure were put at EUR 0.65 million and the operating costs at EUR 2.8 million. The study was handed over to the Bavarian Transport Minister Martin Zeil in November 2012 .

On March 24, 2013 was based on the Working Group 21 Agenda of out Förderverein Sustainable mobility between Gotteszell and Viechtach eV - Go-Vit

In addition to the association, several members of the state parliament campaigned for the resumption of regular passenger traffic in the spring of 2013 . Go-Vit eV also contacted the Bavarian Ministry of Economics directly. To this end, 60 supporters of reactivation traveled to Munich on April 27, 2013 for talks with Minister of State Zeil. On this occasion, 7,200 supporter signatures were given. The Minister for Economic Affairs referred to the specialist departments of the BEG, whose examination has not yet been completed. The timetable change in December 2015 was named as the earliest possible point in time for reactivation due to funding from a dual budget 2015/16 . For this announcement, Martin Zeil received the German Rail Transport Award 2013 from the German Railway Customers Association .

Between March and July 2013, Minister Zeil and his State Secretary Katja Hessel indicated that the ministry continues to estimate the number of passengers to be below 1000, despite counter-reports to the contrary. However, a special program in the 2014 supplementary budget or the 2015/16 budget for trial operations on routes with 500 to 1000 forecast passengers is possible. This was confirmed in a conversation between the Minister, the Bavarian Railway Company, the Regener District Administrator Michael Adam and Johannes Klühspies on July 19, 2013. It was found that the methodological approaches of the BEG and TH Deggendorf expertise differed and thus two different results were achieved. However, the Free State only considered the BEG's forecast, which was increased to 740 passengers per day, to be decisive for orders in local rail transport . Nevertheless, a joint press release announced a trial run for the railway line, provided that the Bavarian state parliament added a special title to the budget.

As part of the inter- and multimodality project in rural areas by linking electric buses and regional rail transport in the context of E-Forest as part of the E-Land showcase, the Federal Ministry of Transport promised 6 million euros to reactivate a city ​​bus line between the train station and to set up the school center with electric buses and inductive power transmission . In a request from a local newspaper, the ministry confirmed that this bus line should start together with a reactivation of the railway line by December 2014. The Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann , who has been responsible for rail transport since the state elections in 2013, emphasized that his ministry was fundamentally open to a trial run. However, he clearly emphasized the tight budget for rail transport and that the forecasts of the Free State showed less than 1000 passengers per working day and thus regular rail passenger transport was not ordered. Therefore, the last word rests with the state parliament, which will decide on the supplementary budget in March 2014 and finance a possible trial run.

In order to bring rail traffic closer to the population, Go-Vit, together with the hiking railways in the Regental and the Regentalbahn , organized regular special trips on the railway line in addition to the hiking railroad trips. The first of these trips was a special night train on May 30, 2013 from Viechtach to Deggendorf to a party on the Danube and was used by 160 young people. On July 6, 2013 and July 5, 2014, regular traffic to the Viechtach civic festivals was set up between Viechtach and Gotteszell . More than 1100 passengers used these trains in 2013. In the course of this action, 35 new members joined the association and 719 people signed for the reactivation of the railway line. For the Viechtach Saitensprung on September 8, 2013, another special train was driven from Deggendorf to Viechtach, which reinforced the two pairs of hiking trains that ran on Sunday.

At the beginning of February there was a meeting between politicians from the region and Transport Minister Herrmann. Herrmann agreed that the Free State of Bavaria would finance a two-year trial run from June 2015, provided that the region pays ten percent of the costs. The bus connections would also have to be adapted to train traffic.

Citizens' decision on trial operation in 2015

As part of the detailed planning for the trial operation, there were different opinions regarding the relocation of school traffic to the Viechtach school center. Due to the high number of 240 students, trains with three motor coaches would be necessary. The resulting costs for infrastructure and vehicle procurement were perceived by the district as too high for the trial operation. This can only happen in the context of regular operation. In addition, it emerged that due to the approval, plan approval and tendering procedures , the trial operation could only start in June 2016 at the earliest. The district of Regen also commissioned Regionalbus Ostbayern with the development of a new mobility concept, which is to be implemented by the end of 2015 and to incorporate the railway line into an integrated rail-bus concept.

At the beginning of June, the economic committee of the Bavarian state parliament unanimously approved a motion by the free voters for a trial run on the route after it had been shortened from a three-year to a two-year term.

In the course of the discussion about school traffic and the traffic effects on her community, the Teisnach mayor and district councilor Rita Röhrl applied to the Regen district council for a referendum on the financial participation of the district in the trial operation. In mid-December 2014, the district council voted 29 to 27 in favor of the decision on February 8, 2015 with the question: "Are you in favor of the district of Regen carrying out the two-year trial operation planned by the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) to restart the Gotteszell railway line - Viechtach with a cost contribution of 10 percent of the related total effort and ensures that the way to school is free of charge on this route in accordance with the legal requirements? " According to the preliminary official final result, the referendum went with 63.94% and 36.06% for the railway line. Since the turnout was only 20.90%, the approval quorum of 15% was missing 1.66% or 1,065 votes. However, the district council had already decided before the vote to recognize the result even without reaching the quorum. In a total of 17 municipalities in the district, the citizens approved, in seven municipalities they rejected the bill. With Achslach, Geiersthal, Gotteszell, Patersdorf, Ruhmannsfelden, Teisnach and Zachenberg, these were all communities in the vicinity of the railway. The biggest rejection was in Teisnach with 66.42%. The greatest approval was recorded in Viechtach with 85.69%. This community was also the only neighboring community of the railway line that spoke out in favor of trial operation.

Immediately after the referendum, the district administrator promised the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior to take over the ten percent stake in the event that the hurdle was not reached by an average of 1000 passengers. In a statement, the ministry estimated that the start of trial operation in September 2016 would be ambitious, but possible.

Adam also announced that the employees of the district office would quickly incorporate the trial operation into the new public transport concept. In addition, a school transport concept should be drawn up in cooperation with local authorities, schools, parents and transport companies. It should be finished by June 2015. The responsible district committee then decided to put at least 44,000 euros in the district budget for the necessary bus connections between Viechtach train station and the school center in order to transport the planned 183 students on this route. A rail transport of schoolchildren from the Ruhmannsfelden community to Deggendorf was rejected due to the expected additional costs of 60,000 euros.

Construction work

In April 2015, with the order for 165 tons of track ballast, work began on the rehabilitation of the line. The plans of the Länderbahn (as of May 2015) provided for the ballast to be used in August / September 2015 for changing rails between Viechtach and Schnitzmühle. In autumn 2015, the route operator secured the Böbrach tunnel portals. The renovation of the stops required for reactivation began at the end of July 2016; these were equipped with stop signs, lighting and mostly new bus shelters. The platforms between Teisnach and Viechtach will be extended to 75 m so that the Regio-Shuttle can stop there with a maximum of three traction units. In addition, until the start of trial operation in September 2016, the Teisnach train station was expanded to become a crossing point and the Teisnach Rohde & Schwarz stop was rebuilt. These two stops are equipped with 55 cm high platform edges for stepless entry. The route operator is investing a total of around one million euros. In addition, the level crossings Ruhmansfelden-Giggenried, Teisnach Georg-Wittmann-Platz and Teisnach Kaikenrieder Straße are each secured with four half-barriers in order to defuse dangerous crossings and avoid noise pollution from whistling signals. The transition from Teis to Regenmühlstrasse will be secured by guards during the trial period due to the unfavorable location at a busy roundabout. The costs for the barriers in Teisnach and Ruhmannsfelden are expected to amount to around 600,000 euros each. Due to the additional costs in the six-digit range, electronic passenger information on the platform is temporarily dispensed with. Improvements to the environment such as parking spaces, bicycle racks and paths should be made by the municipalities.

Operation from September 2016

Viechtach train station

WBA 4 is waiting at Viechtach station

On June 27, 2015, the Bavarian Railway Company published advance information on the route tender in the Official Journal of the European Union. It intends to award a total of 290,000 train kilometers per year to the Regentalbahn on this route, unless other offers are received. Trial operation started in 2016 at the beginning of the school year, on September 13, 2016, and is expected to last for two years until September 12, 2018.

The trains serve the stops Gotteszell Bahnhof, Ruhmannsfelden, Patersdorf, Teisnach Rohde & Schwarz, Teisnach, Gumpenried-Asbach, Schnitzmühle and Viechtach in regular intervals. The journey time is just under 45 minutes, the trains have connections in Gotteszell to and from Deggendorf / Plattling and Zwiesel / Bay. Eisenstein.

In May 2015 a timetable variant of the Bavarian Railway Company was presented by the Länderbahn, which provided an hourly service Monday to Friday and a two-hour service on weekends. The responsible district council criticized this and called for an hourly cycle on weekends, if necessary with the district contributing to the costs. The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, in coordination with the Bavarian Railway Company, described this timetable variant as only one of several possible. The timetable concept would only be determined in consultation with the committees. At the end of July 2015, the district council's committee decided on a draft timetable that provides for 17 pairs of trains Monday to Friday, 15 on Saturdays and 11 on Sundays. With small exceptions on Sunday mornings, this variant provides for a full-day hourly service. In addition, the committee decided to implement a new bus network in 2016 that is tailored to the trains. Because the Patersdorf council has spoken out against the installation of lighting and winter service on the way to the bus stop, the schoolchildren in this municipality will continue to be transported by bus to the school in Viechtach.

Construction work on the stops and the level crossings began in mid-July 2016. The largest construction project was the upgrading of the Teisnach train station to the crossing point and the technical protection of the level crossings in front of it.

This construction work dragged on into September. From September 8, 2016, the Regio-Shuttle railcars procured for operation ran on a trial basis.

On Saturday, September 10, 2016, the contract on the trial operation of a historic steam train was signed between the managing director of the Bavarian Railway Company and the board of the Länderbahn.

The next day, the reactivation was celebrated with the population with a station party. The above-mentioned steam train and, for the time being, the last time the Esslingen railcar of the hiking railway in Regental were on the route.

Trial operation began on September 12, 2016 with the first train at 3:51 a.m.

Manual barrier at the level crossing

In the first few days, driving through the town in Teisnach proved to be problematic. A level crossing there was blocked by security guards. Due to the high volume of traffic and the long closing times, there were long traffic jams on the three approaching streets. The response was to open the road between the two trains that met each other. The municipality of Teisnach also turned to the Länderbahn in order to achieve technical safety at this level crossing.

In mid-October, the city of Viechtach and the districts of Regen and Freyung-Grafenau signed a contract for the city to join the GUTi guest service environmental ticket on December 1, 2016. In the course of this contract signing, the number of passengers a month after commissioning was estimated at 300–400 per day .

The Esslingen railcar VT 07 of the Wanderbahn, which was initially no longer allowed to drive on the route after the start of trial operation due to a lack of PZB equipment , has now been retrofitted by the Länderbahn. Since July 2017, trips in the historic railcar have been offered again. Due to the tight schedule, this takes place in mixed traction with a Regio-Shuttle. At noon, two rounds are served in the regular time slot. There is no stop at the small hiking stops that have not been approached since the start of the trial operation.

Scheduled trains of the newly introduced WBA4 line on the Gotteszell – Viechtach route have been running on this route since the end of 2016, with individual trains only running as far as Teisnach. The route is served every hour, which is why the trains cross at Teisnach station, which is the only stop that is not a demand stop.

In May 2018, the Bavarian Ministry of Transport extended the two-year trial run by three years until 2021.

Development of the number of passengers

The Go-Vit association has been carrying out its own passenger counts on the route about every two months since November 2016. The results of these counts so far are:

date	Total beginners	Average number of passengers	Travel distance per passenger	source
7th November 2016	629	424	16.7 km / person
Fri. January 13, 2017	617	384	15.4 km / person
Mon. March 13, 2017	620	422	16.9 km / person
Thursday May 11, 2017	623	405	16.1 km / person
Tuesday June 20, 2017	708	490	17.2 km / person
Wed. July 12, 2017	820	539	16.4 km / person
Mon. September 25, 2017	701	497	17.6 km / person
Mon. November 6, 2017	671	455	16.9 km / person
Fri. July 13, 2018	1112	639
Friday November 16, 2018	590	408
19 July 2019	1277	861

At these counts, around a third of the passengers were schoolchildren.

The Bavarian Railway Company criticized the publication of these passenger numbers in a press release on August 2, 2017. From their point of view, this counting of a single day does not correspond to the scientific and standardized methods that are usually used for passenger counts. For example, in the official surveys, every travel day is recorded twice per quarter. These numbers show significantly lower values ​​than those of the development association. She contrasted these numbers with her own, which show significantly lower values. This provoked criticism from the region, as the BEG compared different time periods with one another. A comparison of the figures for the same quarters shows only a small, statistically insignificant difference. The BEG subsequently admitted this asymmetry in the evaluation and relativized its criticism. One would only have wanted to criticize the method of a one-day count, not the numbers themselves. Below are the average number of passengers published by the Bavarian Railway Company Monday to Friday on school days:

Traffic day	Total beginners	Average number of passengers	Travel distance per passenger
4th quarter 2016	550	375	16.9 km / person
1st quarter 2017	513	330	16.0 km / person
2nd quarter 2017	597	392	16.3 km / person
3rd quarter 2017	759	517	16.9 km / person

In addition, the company published the lower figures for the fourth quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2017 for the periods Monday to Friday during holidays and weekends:

Traffic day	Total beginners	Average number of passengers	Travel distance per passenger
4th quarter 2016 Mon-Fri holidays	420	266	15.7 km / person
4th quarter 2016 weekend	450	350	19.3 km / person
4th quarter 2017 Mon-Fri holidays	629	439
4th quarter 2017 weekend	518	374

Up to the 4th quarter of 2017, an annual average of 403 (345) person-kilometers per working day during school time (holiday season) was achieved; For the success of the trial operation, 1,000 passenger kilometers per working day per kilometer of operating length are required (cross-sectional demand). The inquiry commission of the Bavarian State Parliament on equivalent living conditions in Bavaria criticized this demand at the beginning of 2018: With the demand of more than 1000 travelers per working day, it is ignored that there is a high demand for tourism regions, especially on weekends and during the holiday season Public transport offers there. The number of passengers alone is insufficient for assessing the profitability of the railway line; Demand effects for main routes were not taken into account. Since the Free State, unlike S-Bahn projects in metropolitan areas, does not fund any infrastructure investments, route reactivations are made more difficult.

Comparison of the average number of passengers at BEG and Go-Vit:

The quarters are based on the 12th of each month due to the start of the trial run. The 4th quarter of 2016 specified here therefore extended from September 12 to December 11, 2016.

Announcement of the discontinuation of trial operation in September 2021

In a press release on August 24, 2020, the Bavarian State Minister for Housing, Building and Transport Kerstin Schreyer announced that the trial operation, which has been running since 2016, will be discontinued in September 2021. She argued that the necessary demand of more than 1,000 passengers per working day with well below 500 passengers per working day was not achieved in any year of the trial operation. The costs for the trial operation would be three million euros per year, without upgrading the infrastructure. The contract for the trial operation will no longer be extended, but the district will continue to be funded with public transport allocations and grants for the on-call buses in Arberland traffic.

Regen's district administrator Rita Röhrl was not informed in advance of this decision by the state government. This end of the railway line was not discussed or even hinted at in any preliminary talks. The operator of the forest railway was not involved in the decision either. The local state parliament members Max Gibis and Manfred Eibl as well as affected mayors such as Franz Wittmann (Viechtach), Richard Gruber (Geiersthal) and Daniel Graßl (Teisnach) were only informed at the time of the press release or by the press. The support association for sustainable mobility between Gotteszell and Viechtach "Go-Vit" announced counter reactions.

Others

As it was built in 1983, the route is part of the 2006 extension "German Railroads Volume 7 Der Bayerische Wald" of the Microsoft Train Simulator . Technically updated, this program was published again in 2011 together with others as “German Railroads - 10 Years of Virtual Railway”.

The Bavarian state association of the Pro Bahn passenger association awarded the Bavarian Passenger Award 2017 for the commitment to the trial operation to the constituency member and Bavarian Agriculture Minister Helmut Brunner , the Bavarian Minister of Transport Joachim Herrmann , the Wanderbahn im Regental eV association and the Go-Vit e. V.

In a study published by the TH Deggendorf in March 2018, a high added value of the railway line was found in several areas, but further requirements for regular operation would have to be met.

literature

• Walther Zeitler: Railways in Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate . Buch & Kunstverlag Oberpfalz, Weiden 1985, ISBN 3-924350-01-9 .
• Gerd Wolff: German small and private railways. Volume 7: Bavaria . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-88255-666-8 .

Web links

Commons : Gotteszell – Blaibach railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Wanderbahn im Regental eV (information about the excursion train)
• Regentalbahn
• historical information
• Images of the tunnel portals

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Länderbahn AG Resumption of passenger traffic on the Gotteszell - Viechtach railway line Concept for carrying out a three-year trial run from early summer 2013 , accessed on February 12, 2015.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Gerd Wolff: Deutsche Klein- und Privatbahnen Volume 7: Bayern; 2002; EK-Verlag, Freiburg
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w} Andreas Fried, Klaus-Peter Quill: Regentalbahn, Bufe-Fachbuch-Verlag Egglham, 1999, ISBN 3-922138-72- 1
4. ^ ^{A b} Siegfried Bufe: Railway in Lower Bavaria. Bufe-Fachbuch-Verlag, Egglham 1986, ISBN 3-922138-31-4 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Walther Zeitler: The railway in the Bavarian Forest. Morsak Verlag, Grafenau 1970
6. ^ Deutsche Bundesbahn: Kursbuch Gesamtausgabe 1990/91 Winter. September 30, 1990 to June 1, 1991
7. ↑ Urs Kramer, Matthias Brodkorb: Farewell to the Rail: Freight Lines 1994 to Today , Transpress Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 3-613-71333-0 ; P. 105
8. ^ Regentalbahn AG: Rail usage conditions - route data ( memento of October 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on May 17, 2012
9. ^ Wanderbahn im Regental eV: About Us , accessed on July 6, 2013.
10. ↑ Reactivation of the Gotteszell – Viechtach line: investigation of the demand potential. (PDF) Bavarian Railway Company, October 2011, accessed on October 19, 2018 . 
11. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Minister rejects reactivation of the Viechtach-Gotteszell railway line", December 15, 2012
12. ^ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Your goal: Own passenger study" , March 21, 2012
13. ↑ ^{a b} Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Railway line: District administrator hopes for a positive decision", February 15, 2013.
14. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Railway line and technology: Important topics for the FDP", May 7, 2013.
15. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "The chances have increased", November 8, 2012
16. ↑ Regen district, Regentalbahn AG (ed.): “Resumption of passenger traffic on the Gotteszell - Viechtach railway line; Concept for the implementation of a three-year trial operation from early summer 2013 " ( Memento from February 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.8 MB), Regen, November 6, 2012
17. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: “Reactivation of rail traffic: Now it's the citizens' turn” , March 11, 2013.
18. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: “Go-Vit Förderverein wants to pick up speed quickly” , March 25, 2013.
19. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Train traffic: MPs make steam", April 23, 2013.
20. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: “Zeil is amazed: 60 railroad friends in Munich” , April 29, 2013.
21. ↑ State Ministry for Economics, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology: Zeil: “Appreciation and incentive at the same time”  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ), August 30, 2013, press release
22. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Minister swings in after years of demand: Railway line to Viechtach should receive trial operation", July 20, 2013.
23. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Rail: Zeil wants trial operation on the route to Viechtach" , July 19, 2013.
24. ↑ STMWIVT: "Zeil:" A clear signal for trial operation "" , July 19, 2013, press release on bundespresseportal.de
25. ↑ Passauer Neue Presse: “A project that should set standards”, August 14, 2013.
26. ↑ Viechtacher Anzeiger: "Reactivation of the railway line planned for 2014", October 31, 2013.
27. ↑ Viechtacher Anzeiger: "Minister of the Interior Herrmann confirms yes to the rail test run" , November 14, 2013.
28. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "By train to the party ship", June 4, 2013.
29. ↑ Go-Vit eV: “Bürgerfest Viechtach from July 4 to July 6, 2014” ( Memento from July 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on August 19, 2014.
30. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: " More than 1100 passengers use the train to Viechtach ", July 9, 2013.
31. ↑ Woidpresse.de: "Who wants to go to Viechtach ...", July 7, 2013 ( Memento from July 7, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
32. ^ Go-Vit eV: "Actions" ( Memento from July 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), June 25, 2013, accessed on June 27, 2013.
33. ^ Go-Vit eV: "Go-Vit: The train was a complete success", press release, July 9, 2013.
34. ↑ Go-Vit eV: "On the" Saitensprung "special train from Deggendorf to Viechtach", press release from August 22, 2013.
35. ↑ Viechtacher Anzeiger: "Green light for the Viechtach-Gotteszell railway line - trial operation for two years" ( memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), February 6, 2014.
36. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Railway trial operation: Start with delay?", May 19, 2014.
37. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Mobility concept: optimally interlinking buses and trains" , May 29, 2014.
38. ↑ Bavarian State Parliament (ed.): Process folder trial operation Gotteszell-Viechtach , printed matter 17/248
39. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "State Parliament confirms the course for trial operation" , June 6, 2014.
40. ↑ district of Regen: "Referendum on rail trial run" ( Memento of 7 February 2015, Internet Archive )
41. ↑ district of Regen: Result of Referendum train trial operation on February 8, 2015 , accessed on February 8, 2015.
42. ↑ Turntable 1/2015 No. 261
43. ↑ gsc: Railway line Viechtach-Gotteszell: District assembly passes a referendum . In: Passauer Neue Presse . December 15, 2014, accessed December 19, 2014 . 
44. ↑ dal: Railway trial operation: District citizens decide on February 8th. In: Passauer Neue Presse. December 19, 2014, accessed December 19, 2014 . 
45. ↑ Quick report on the referendum on the rail test run on February 8, 2015. Regen district, February 8, 2015, accessed February 9, 2015 . 
46. ↑ Gunther Schlamminger: Citizens' decision in the Regen district: So it goes on with the train. PNP , February 9, 2015, accessed February 9, 2015 . 
47. ↑ Viechtacher Anzeiger: "Public transport costs are slowly taking shape", February 20, 2015.
48. ↑ gsc / vbb: Länderbahn is upgrading the route. In: Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote. August 3, 2016, accessed October 19, 2018 . 
49. ↑ Michael Kronawitter: Level crossing will be more expensive than planned. In: Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote. July 29, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2018 . 
50. ^ Länderbahn GmbH: "Resumption of the Gotteszell - Viechtach railway line: A major construction site" ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
51. ↑ Bavarian State Parliament: Process folder for the printed matter 17/1233 2nd supplementary budget for the financial year 2014 - here: enable trial operations on reactivation routes (Chapter 03 67 new title) , accessed on May 10, 2014.
52. ↑ ^{a b} Tobias Reisky: From the museum railway to the regional rail transport model project: The Gotteszell – Viechtach line , in Bahn-Report 3/2014, p. 78 ff
53. ↑ ^{a b c} Viechtacher Bayerwald-Bote: "Railway operation almost around the clock" , May 21, 2015.
54. ^ Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union: Germany-Munich: Public Rail Transport / Public Rail Transport , June 27, 2015, accessed on June 27, 2015
55. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: “Empty track because of two-hour intervals on the weekend? District administrator should renegotiate ”, June 9, 2015
56. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: "Two-hour intervals at the weekend passé for the time being", June 10, 2015
57. ^ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: First draft of the timetable for the Gotteszell – Viechtach train line, August 1, 2015
58. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: The district makes mobile, August 1, 2015
59. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: Briefly noted, August 1, 2015
60. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: Good for the train: Viechtach participates in GUTi , October 10, 2016
61. ↑ Wolfgang Kieslich: LOK Report - News from Wednesday, March 1st, 2017. March 1, 2017, accessed March 1, 2017 . 
62. ↑ Journeys 2017 - Wanderbahn im Regental eV Accessed on May 20, 2017 . 
63. ↑ Renate Roßberger: Rail test operation Viechtach-Gotteszell is extended. br.de, May 24, 2018, archived from the original on July 1, 2018 ; accessed on July 2, 2018 . 
64. ↑ gsc: Go-Vit has 629 train drivers. PNP , November 12, 2016, accessed November 14, 2016 . 
65. ^ Klaus-Dieter Neumann: The first passenger count. go-vit.de, November 14, 2016, accessed on July 15, 2017 . 
66. ↑ vbb: Go-Vit counts 617 train drivers this time. (No longer available online.) In: PNP . January 17, 2017, archived from the original on January 18, 2017 ; accessed on January 18, 2017 . 
67. ↑ gsc: Go-Vit has 620 train drivers. PNP , March 16, 2017, accessed March 17, 2017 . 
68. ↑ Dr. Wolfgang Schlüter: Go-Vit eV - passenger count on Thursday, May 11, 2017 , Rundmail Förderverein Go-Vit eV of May 22, 2017
69. ↑ gsc: Association reports: Significant increase in passenger Viechtach-Gotteszell. PNP , June 22, 2017, accessed June 22, 2017 . 
70. ↑ Dr. Wolfgang Schlüter: Go-Vit eV - passenger counting on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 , invitation to the monthly meeting of the Go-Vit eV association on June 22, 2017
71. ↑ gsc: Further increase: Go-Vit has 820 train drivers. PNP , June 22, 2017, accessed June 22, 2017 . 
72. ↑ Dr. Wolfgang Schlüter: Go-Vit eV counted 820 passengers on Wednesday - a significant increase in the number of passengers , press release Förderverein Go-Vit eV from July 14, 2017
73. ↑ ^{a b} vbb: Current Go-Vit count: declining number of passengers. PNP , November 19, 2018, accessed January 5, 2020 . 
74. ↑ vbb / gsc: Go-Vit has 30 percent more train passengers than a year ago . PNP , July 15, 2018, accessed July 16, 2018 . 
75. ↑ Stephanie Leppert: Best result in passenger counting. Idowa , July 26, 2019, accessed July 27, 2019 . 
76. ↑ gsc: Go-Vit has 629 train drivers. PNP , November 12, 2016, accessed November 14, 2016 . 
77. ↑ ^{a b c} Railway trial operation in Gotteszell-Viechtach: Passenger counts by the BEG disprove figures from the Go-Vit association. Bavarian Railway Company, August 2, 2017, accessed on August 2, 2017 . 
78. ↑ Viechtacher Bayerwaldbote: Comparing the number of passengers: BEG managing director admits "certain asymmetry", August 3, 2017
79. ↑ ^{a b c} gsc: Trial operation: BEG presents the result of its passenger count . PNP , March 20, 2017, accessed March 20, 2017 . 
80. ↑ ^{a b c} vbb: Viechtach-Gotteszell: BEG takes stock after one year of trial operation. PNP , December 4, 2017, accessed December 4, 2017 . 
81. ↑ beg: One year trial operation on the Gotteszell-Viechtach line. BEG, December 4, 2017, accessed on March 27, 2018 . 
82. ↑ gsc: railway reactivation: Landtag Commission criticizes criteria of the Free State. PNP , February 3, 2018, accessed February 4, 2018 . 
83. ↑ Trial run Gotteszell - Viechtach. In: stmb.bayern.de. August 24, 2020, accessed August 25, 2020 . 
84. ^ Daniela Albrecht, Alexander Augustin, Edwin Schedlbauer: End of rail operations: "I was almost knocked off my chair". In: pnp.de. August 25, 2020, accessed August 25, 2020 . 
85. ↑ LOK Report - Bavaria: Pro Bahn awards Bavarian passenger price . ( lok-report.de [accessed on January 5, 2018]).
86. ↑ gsc: study confirms the usefulness of the railway line. www.pnp.de, March 10, 2018, accessed on March 11, 2018 .