Vienna – Brno railway line
| Vienna Südbahnhof – Brno hlavní nádraží | |
|---|---|
| Route number (ÖBB) : | 116 01 |
| Course book route (ÖBB) : | 902 |
| Course book series (SŽDC) : | 244, 245 |
| Route length: | 155.770 km |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Route class : |
Hevlín – Hrušovany nJ-Šanov: B2 Hrušovany nJ-Šanov – Brno hl.n .: C3 |
| Power system : |
Vienna – Laa an der Thaya: 15 kV 16.7 Hz Brno-Horní Heršpice – Brno dolní n .: 25 kV 50 Hz ~ |
| Maximum slope : | 16 ‰ |
| Minimum radius : | 262 m |
| Top speed: | 140 km / h |
| Dual track : | Vienna Central Station – Wolkersdorf Střelice – Odb. Státní silnice Brno-Horní Heršpice – Brno dolní nádraží |
The Vienna – Brno railway is a railway connection in Austria and the Czech Republic that was originally built and operated by the Austro-Hungarian State Railway Company (StEG) as part of a long-distance connection Vienna - Brno - Prague - Dresden . Interrupted after 1945 due to the Iron Curtain , only the sections Vienna – Laa an der Thaya (“ Laaer Ostbahn ”) and Hevlín – Brno are in operation today .
According to a decree of the Czech government, the section Hevlín – Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou has been classified as a regional railway ("regionální dráha") since December 20, 1995.
history
prehistory
When it was founded in 1855, the StEG had taken over three spatially separate networks, which were only connected to each other via routes of the exclusively privileged Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn (KFNB). A contract regulated the through traffic on the routes of the KFNB. In the route from Vienna via Brno to Prague and on to Dresden, however, the volume of traffic soon increased to such an extent that there was a dispute with the KFNB over the agreed preferential handling of through trains. In this situation, the StEG planned its own parallel route between Vienna and Brno, which, however, was legally excluded in the "exclusive privilege" for the KFNB. However, the state had unlawfully assured the StEG of precisely this possibility in the purchase contract.
On November 18, 1859, the StEG officially applied for the concession for the construction of the Marchegg – Vienna and Vienna – Laa lines at Thaya – Brno, which triggered a legal dispute with the KFNB lasting several years. It was not until the German War of 1866 and its aftermath that the conflict ended. To alleviate the emergency after the war, the Austrian government decided to implement large-scale construction projects, in particular to provide work for the population in war-affected Moravia.
For the connection Vienna – Brno, a route from Vienna Raaber Bahnhof via Schwechat , Groß Enzersdorf , Wolkersdorf , Mistelbach , Laa, Dürnholz , Nüslau and Ober Gerspitz to Brno was planned in a first project . Objections from the Hofoberjägeramt and Hofmarschallamt about possible impairment of the imperial hunting areas Lobau and Großenzersdorf later led to a shift to the west near Vienna. As early as 1863, the StEG had acquired the majority of the shares in the Brno-Rossitz Railway in order to be able to include its main line between Brno and Segen Gottes in the planned connection.
On December 1, 1866, the StEG received the concession for a supplementary network that also included its own connection from Vienna to Brno. Specifically, the approval for the " construction and operation of locomotive trains ... from Stadlau via Süßenbrunn, Wolkersdorf, Mistelbach, Laa, Frischau to the confluence with the Brünn-Rossitzer Bahn next to the Butscheiner Mühle " and “ a connection with the Rossitzer Bahn ” was granted in Brno with the northern line of the kk privileged Austrian state railway company ”. The concession also included the construction of a branch line to Znojmo. The duration of the concession was set for 99 years from January 1, 1867. The law also required a continuous double-track construction of the subgrade, although initially only a second track had to be laid between Vienna and Stadlau. The deadline for commissioning was four years.
Construction and opening
Construction work on the line began around the turn of the year 1866/67 in Strelitz and Stadlau. 500 Italians and workers from the Bohemian countries were employed on the construction site.
The alignment of the route required considerable structural and financial outlay. While the straight KFNB route used the flat lowlands of March and Thaya, the StEG route had to be led through a low mountain range with many curves and changes in inclination. In addition to two large bridges over the Danube and the Iglawatal, four tunnels had to be built.
The geological conditions - in particular the tunnel on Buchenberg leads in sections through compact quartz - forced the use of innovative technical solutions. The tunnel at Radostice were the first in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, where the shooting work instead of the conventional gunpowder on the recommendation of Lieutenant Isidor Trauzl dynamite was used. August Köstlin and Matthias von Pischof were responsible for the construction management of these tunnels .
For cost reasons, the Danube bridge in Vienna was initially to be built as a wooden structure. The bridge, which was ultimately designed as a steel framework, had five openings with a span of 75 meters across the river, plus a flood bridge with ten smaller openings. The viaduct over the Iglawa near Kanitz, including the pillars , was the largest such bridge in Europe at the time. The steel structures of both bridges were created by French companies.
The high costs for the engineering structures and the alignment made it necessary to make consistent savings elsewhere. The short bridges over the tributaries of the Danube near Vienna, which would soon become superfluous in the course of the planned Danube regulation, were all wooden constructions. Wing walls and abutments of the bridges were made of inexpensive brickwork. Simple, brick passages in railway embankments replaced expensive bridges over the streets and paths to be crossed.
With the exception of the Iglawa Viaduct, the track structure was designed for double-track operation; in fact, a second track was initially only laid between Vienna and Stadlau. On September 15, 1870, the Grußbach – Strelitz section, including the converted railway systems in Brno with the new connection from the Rossitz train station to today's main train station, went into operation. On November 24, 1870, the line was largely completed with the opening of the Stadlau – Grußbach section.
On July 1, 1870, the StEG had signed an operating contract with the Brno-Rossitz Railway, which included the takeover of the entire operational management by the StEG. The StEG then expanded the Strelitz – Brünn section to double-track it until 1871, with the unfavorable slope conditions also being improved by partially re-routing.
Operation until World War II
The route initially met expectations. From 1872, part of the traffic shifted to the newly opened Vienna – Nimburg line of the kk privileged Austrian Northwest Railway (ÖNWB), which from 1874 led directly to the Saxon border near Bodenbach. Especially in the grain traffic from Hungary to Northern Germany and Scandinavia, the StEG lost a large part of the freight transport volumes due to the considerably cheaper freight rates there. Despite the equally unfavorable alignment with tight bends and many changes in incline, this route was about 80 kilometers (!) Shorter thanks to its direct route, bypassing the large railway junction to Bodenbach.
The 1912 timetable only provided for two continuous express trains on the Vienna – Prague route. There were also four continuous passenger trains between Vienna and Brno, some of which, however, did not stop everywhere. The travel time on the express train between Vienna and Brno was exactly three hours, which is over half an hour more than on the northern line. Passenger trains stopping at all stops on the way took a little over five hours.
On October 20, 1913 had, existing in view of the inadequacy of transport in Vienna Action Committee constituted that, committed under the presidency of Lower Austria in matters of establishing railway lines deputies Johann Mayer , the construction of a (partial re trassierenden) Electric Vienna – Brno rapid transit system .
After the end of the First World War and the break-up of Austria-Hungary , the route from rail kilometer 84.122 was on the territory of the newly founded Czechoslovakia . The Czechoslovak State Railways (ČSD) took over the operation on the section from Hevlín / Höflein to Brno . The express train traffic on the route was stopped, there were only three passing passenger trains between Vienna and Brno.
At the end of the 1920s, the ČSD directed passenger train traffic to the route Znojmo - Brno, travelers between Vienna and Brno had to change between the trains of the two railway administrations in Grußbach-Schönau. The 1928 timetable included four through passenger trains between Znojmo and Brno, plus two more between Greetbach-Schönau and Brno. Three pairs of trains operated by the BBÖ operated on the route Vienna – Grußbach-Schönau.
After the Sudetenland became part of Germany in October 1938, the 49-kilometer section between Laa an der Thaya and the new state border at the Eibenschützer Viaduct also belonged to the network of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , Reichsbahndirektion Wien . The Mährisch Kromau and Dolni Kounice / Kanitz stations were henceforth border stations with passport and customs control.
The express train service was not resumed by the Deutsche Reichsbahn either. The 1939 timetable included three continuous passenger trains from Vienna to Kanitz-Eibenschütz, where there was a connection to the BMB-ČMD trains to Brno. A total of six pairs of trains ran between Vienna and the German border station Kromau. The Bohutice / Bochtitz stop, which remained in the Protectorate, was initially passed through without stopping. Other trains ran in local traffic from Vienna to Stadlau. This timetable structure remained in effect until the end of the Second World War. For internal traffic in the Protectorate to and from Bohutice / Bochtitz, blocking cars without passport control were later introduced.
At the end of the Second World War, the Wehrmacht blew up the Stadlauer Danube bridge in Vienna and the bridges over the Thaya near Laa. Continuous rail traffic was no longer possible from April 17, 1945. Although the bridges over the Thaya and the Thayamühlbach were soon repaired, traffic over the re-established state border was completely abandoned in December 1945 and was never reactivated later. The tracks between Laa and Hevlín were dismantled.
Operation on a divided route after 1945
Vienna – Laa an der Thaya
After the Second World War, traffic on the Austrian section from Vienna to Laa was initially suspended. It was not until September 21, 1945 that two pairs of passenger trains started running from Stadlau, to which a third was added at the end of 1946. A lack of coal led to traffic shutdowns several times in the post-war years. From May 31, 1947, the Danube bridge in Stadlau could be used again after its reconstruction.
From 1983 the line was gradually integrated into the Vienna rapid transit network, initially to Gerasdorf. The line from Gerasdorf to Wolkersdorf has been double-tracked since 2005 and electrified throughout since 2006 to Laa an der Thaya. The two-track expansion between Mistelbach and Mistelbach Stadt is planned.
In the 2020 annual timetable, S-Bahn trains run every 15 minutes to Wolkersdorf and every half hour to Mistelbach. Up to Laa an der Thaya there is an hourly cycle with some amplifier services on weekdays. On weekends the trains to Laa an der Thaya run every two hours.
A reconstruction of the cross-border route is not planned.
Three-track section at the Simmering power station with a passenger train (1985)
Freight train ready for departure in Laa an der Thaya (1988)
Staatz stop (2008)
Double-deck push-pull train in the pull-out track in Laa an der Thaya (2008)
Eurocity from Hamburg to Vienna Praterkai, in the background the Danube bridge (2012)
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Hevlin – Brno
After the Second World War and the division of the line, the ČSD finally adjusted the passenger train timetable to the Znojmo – Brno route. In the 1947 timetable there were five pairs of passenger trains in this relation, one of which was a motorized express train. This timetable was further condensed in the following years. In the 1969/70 winter timetable, the express trains needed almost exactly two hours for the 89 kilometers between Znojmo and Brno, which corresponded to an average travel speed of only 45 km / h. It wasn't until the 1980s that travel times dropped to one hour and 40 minutes. Passenger trains stopping at all en-route stations took around two and a half hours in the 1988/89 winter timetable from Brno to Znojmo. The remaining stub of the route from Hevlín to Hrušovany was operated independently by the ČSD with up to twelve pairs of motorized trains.
On December 15, 1970, the no longer needed connecting line from Brno dolní nádraží to Brno hlavní nádraží was shut down and dismantled a little later. The route is now built over with a shopping center.
On January 1, 1993, the line from Hevlín to Brno was transferred to the newly founded České dráhy (ČD) in the course of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia . Since 2003 it has been part of the network of the state infrastructure operator Správa železniční dopravní cesty (SŽDC).
Passenger traffic between Hevlín and Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou ceased on June 30, 2010. The last timetable in 2010 indicated ten pairs of passenger trains between Hrušovany and Hevlín on working days. Railcars of the ČD series 810 were used .
Following a tender by the operator SŽDC, the Hevlín – Hrušovany section was sold to the Hevlín municipality in 2019 for a total of 2,222,222 crowns. As operator of the route, the municipality of Hevlín has contractually bound Railway Capital . The municipality wants to set up a regional museum in the Hevlín train station itself. For the 150th anniversary of the route, a festival is to take place in Hevlín on September 12, 2020, and a special train with a steam locomotive will also be used for the first time.
On October 11, 2019, the route operator SŽDC publicly tendered the electrification and modernization of the route between Střelice and Brno as part of the Brno – Zastávka u Brna route expansion project. In addition to the electrification with 25 kV 25 Hz alternating voltage, an increase in the maximum speed to 120 km / h and the equipment with the European train control system ETCS are planned . The budget is about 1.8 billion crowns. Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2020 and be completed by 2022.
SŽDC also wants to significantly improve the entire railway connection between Brno and the medium-sized center Znojmo in the future. For this purpose, the further line between Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou and Střelice is to be expanded for higher speeds and sections of the route will be re-routed.
literature
- Alfred Horn: Railway picture album 16 - The imperial and royal privileged Austro-Hungarian state railway company. Bohmann Verlag, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-99015-020-7
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zdeněk Hudec u. a .: Atlas drah České republiky 2006–2007 , 2nd edition; Publishing house Pavel Malkus, Praha, 2006, ISBN 80-87047-00-1
- ↑ Decree of the Czech government of December 20, 1995
- ^ Imperial Law Gazette for the Austrian Empire of January 12, 1867
- ^ Alfred Birk: Railway substructure . In: Hermann Strach (Red.), Oesterreichischer Eisenbahnbeamten-Verein (Ed.): History of the railways of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . II. Volume. Prochaska, Vienna 1898, p. 216.
- ↑ 1912 timetable of the kkStB - valid from May 1, 1912
- ↑ Little Chronicle. (…) The Vienna – Brno electric rapid transit system. In: Neue Freie Presse , Morgenblatt, No. 17661/1913, October 23, 1913, p. 8, bottom right. (Online at ANNO ). .
- ↑ 1928 timetable of the ČSD
- ↑ Timetable 1939
- ↑ 1944 timetable of the BMB-ČMD
- ↑ ÖBB timetable 2019
- ↑ Timetables 1947, 1969/70 and 1988/89 of the ČSD
- ↑ Annual timetable on the CD, in which all trains are listed up to June 30th (PDF; 91 kB) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Annual timetable 2010 (PDF; 91 kB) ( Memento of October 8, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ "Nová obecní trať: SŽDC schválila prodej lokálky obci Hevlín, která uspěla v rozstřelu" on zdopravy.cz
- ↑ "V Hevlíně schválili smlouvu o prodeji tratě for Hrušovan" on zelpage.cz
- ↑ SŽDC tender
- ↑ "Konečně: Stát vypsal tendr na elektrizaci torte z Brna do Střelic" on zdopravy.cz
- ^ "Brno - Znojmo po nové trati a pod dráty? Ve hře je několik možností, rozhodne studie “on zdopravy.cz
