Railway line Knappenrode – Sornoer Buden

Knappenrode – Abzw Sornoer Buden West
Route number (DB) :	6218 7312 (formerly Westgleis)
Course book section (DB) :	234 (2001) , 231 (1969)
Route length:	37.479 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Top speed:	100 km / h
Legend from Falkenberg (Elster) 0.00 Knappenrode 123 m to Węgliniec and Bautzen 2.00 Lusatian mine railway from Bautzen-Königswartha 125 m 3.66 Abzw Weißkollm (formerly Bf) 125 m Separation of east / west tracks 4.47 EÜ State Road 108 (12 m) 4.79 Little Spree (16 m) 9.42 Anst opencast Burghammer (1956/1959) Transition east / west track 9.68 Spreewitz south junction 118 m after Graustein 11.89 Connection curve from Abzw Spreewitz Nord 12.25 Spreewitz 115 m 13.25 Little Spree (16 m) 13.35 Instead of Vattenfall Europe EÜ mine railway 13.97 EÜ Dorfstrasse (10 m) from Mühlrose ( Nochten opencast mine ) 15.41 EÜ factory railway black pump Connection to the works railway Factory track 18.00 State border between Saxony and Brandenburg 18.15 Black Pump (until 1969 PV) 115 m 18.92 Bundesstrasse 97 19.30 State border between Brandenburg and Saxony 19.41 EÜ mine railway 19.72 EÜ mine railway 21.41 Bundesstrasse 156 22.45 Sabrodt 114 m North and South Track 25.50 to Hoyerswerda 25.68 EÜ mine railway 25.82 Neupetershain – Hoyerswerda 26.10 from Hoyerswerda 26.66 Junction Sabrodt West (ex Bluno Nord) 110 m 29.30 State border between Saxony and Brandenburg 32.85 Lieske 110 m 35.83 Junction Sornoer Buden East 110 m to Abzw Sornoer Buden Nord from Cottbus 37.47 Junction Sornoer Buden West to Grossenhain
Junction Sornoer Buden East – Junction Sornoer Buden North
Route number (DB) :	6219
Route length:	1.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Legend from Knappenrode 35.8 Junction Sornoer Buden Ost to Abzw Sornoer Buden West from Großenhain 37.3 Junction Sornoer Buden North to Cottbus

The Knappenrode – Sornoer Buden railway is a main line in Brandenburg and Saxony , which was completely in the Cottbus district from its construction around 1960 to 1990 . Today only the Knappenrode - Spreewitz section in Saxony is still in operation for freight traffic, the rest of the line up to the connections in both directions of the Grossenhain - Cottbus railway line has been closed.

In "specialist circles" the line was called the coal discharge railway or coal ring .

history

In 1955, based on a resolution by the Council of Ministers, work began on building a lignite processing plant, later the Schwarze Pump gas combine, near the village of Schwarze Pump . As a result, a connection route to the plant was planned and built. The first section from Knappenrode to Schwarze Pump was opened in 1956. In order to improve the removal of the products manufactured in Schwarze Pump, the route was gradually lengthened until 1959. On May 19, 1959, the line near Bahnsdorf was integrated into the Grossenhain – Cottbus line , thus establishing the connection to Cottbus.

Further links were built and put into operation below:

• Abzw Sornoer Buden Ost - Abzw Sornoer Buden West on April 25, 1964
• Spreewitz - Abzw Spreewitz Nord (and further towards Graustein ) on May 24, 1963
• Spreewitz North - Spreewitz South on April 1st, 1967

For a while, the route served rush hour traffic for the workers of the Schwarze Pump gas combine . Passenger traffic also took place on the Knappenrode - Abzw Spreewitz Süd section (- Graustein - Cottbus ) until December 11, 2004 .

Disused route near Bluno (2010)

Today only the Knappenrode – Spreewitz section is available for public rail operations. The industrial park Schwarze Pump is served by this. The further section from kilometer 13.35 to the former end of the route at kilometer 37.47 at the former Sornoer Buden West junction (route 6218) as well as the approximately 1.2 kilometer connecting curve between the former branches Sornoer Buden Ost and Sornoer Buden Nord (route 6219 ) were shut down by DB Netz AG on May 31, 2002 after the Federal Railway Authority had approved the permanent cessation of operations on the line on August 7, 2001. Previously, on the basis of appropriate permits from the Federal Railway Authority, the so-called Westgleis (route 7312) in the section between Abzw Weißkollm and Abzw Spreewitz Süd (about 5.8 kilometers) and in the section from Abzw Spreewitz Süd to Spreewitz (approx 3 kilometers) was shut down by DB Netz AG on October 30, 2000.

electrification

As a result of the oil crisis , a large-scale electrification program began in the GDR in the 1980s . This also included the route from Knappenrode to the Sornoer Buden branch. The construction work began in 1987. The catenary masts were partly set with helicopters from Interflug . At the end of 1988 the catenary was put under tension. The feed came from the Senftenberg converter plant . A protective route was set up between the Knappenrode train station and the Weißkollm junction , a section of the overhead contact line where two feed sections are separated by means of a voltage-free section.

Today, as only the section to Spreewitz is used, the catenary over the west track and over the section Spreewitz – Sornoer Buden West has been switched off and dismantled (or stolen). The protective route has now been expanded.

Train traffic

From the beginning, the route was primarily used for freight traffic. All types of trains ran on it, especially block trains loaded with raw lignite and briquettes. Travel played only a minor role.

Most of the raw lignite was burned in the thermal power stations (e.g. Dresden-Altstadt ) and sent via the Sabrodt station.

Above all, the briquette trains for the relevant delivery points in the GDR ran through Spreewitz station. Local freight trains continued to run with various types of freight to Hoyerswerda station.

Passenger traffic only played a subordinate role, however, especially in the early years, there were passenger trains almost on the entire route.

The trains from Hoyerswerda, which the workers brought to the gas combine in double-decker trains (at times three double-decker DBv units ), ended at Schwarze Pump station . Most trains ran via Knappenrode. However, there were a few trains that ran from Hoyerswerda via Bluno on the line to Neupetershain and reached the Schwarze Pump station from the west. The Neupetershain – Hoyerswerda trains used it on the western section behind Bluno Nord after the coal ring went into operation; the direct connection via Proschim - Haidemühl was closed. The connection was discontinued in 1967.

In 1968 the travel between Hoyerswerda and Schwarze Pump ended and the workers were transported by bus from then on. After that, the Schwarze Pump station served only as a through station or to intercept trains that the Sabrodt and Spreewitz stations could not take due to overload.

Service passenger trains also ran between Hoyerswerda and Sabrodt for years. In it drove the railway workers who were doing their duty at the operating points of the line. As a result of the railroad's shift work, this train drove every shift change. His route was from Hoyerswerda via Knappenrode, Knappenrode Süd, Abzw Weißkollm, Spreewitz and Schwarze Pumpe to Sabrodt. The way back via Knappenrode Süd was omitted.

After 1990 the traffic flows changed fundamentally. From Bf Sabrodt only the trains with raw lignite for the thermal power stations in Dresden and Pirna ran. This ended with the change in the type of heating in the respective thermal power stations.

The Spreewitz station was now responsible for the entire freight traffic for the gas combine and later for the industrial park Schwarze Pump. Since the closure of the Spreewitz – Sornoer Buden section, all traffic has been and continues to be via Knappenrode. Now no raw lignite and hardly any briquettes were sent. Instead, they now drove gypsum (a waste product that arises in power stations during desulphurisation), garbage, limestone, paper and coal dust. From 2005/06, the dispatch of raw lignite for the Chemnitz-Nord thermal power station began again .

Furthermore, passenger trains ran on the Knappenrode – Spreewitz Süd section. Trains from Hoyerswerda to Spremberg and Cottbus used this route. After the restructuring and the transfer of travel to the federal states or special purpose associations, the regional train line RB 47 traveled the section on behalf of the Upper Elbe Transport Association (VVO) and the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB). The VVO stopped the traffic despite considerable protests at the 2004 timetable change. Since then there has been no regular passenger traffic on this route.

future

The section from Knappenrode to Spreewitz Süd could again receive passenger trains in the future: the federal government's package of measures provides for a continuous connection Cottbus - Spremberg - Hoyerswerda - Kamenz - Dresden as well as electrification.

Operating points

Knappenrode

The station, which is on the Węgliniec – Roßlau main line , was one of the most important stations for decades. The routes to Sornoer Buden and Bautzen (via Knappenrode Süd) began in it. The station was equipped with two mechanical interlockings W 1 and B 2 of the unit design with station block 51 (direct current station block). The reception building never achieved the importance it was intended for, but is still there today. There is also a goods shed at the station, a hall of the former bridge maintenance office and an additional ticket office. All of these buildings still exist today, but are no longer in use.

Weißkollm

This former train station, where the lines from Knappenrode and Königswartha joined, has been rebuilt several times over the years. The station became a branch and since November 2007 a block post . The former interlocking technology, a mechanical standard interlocking with relay block 51, has now been expanded and replaced by simplified technology for block points.

The two single-track lines (east and west track), which were used alternately, begin in Weißkollm. The west track was closed in 1999 to Spreewitz Süd. In the meantime, with the conversion of the junction to the block location, the connection to the entrance to the track has been cut.

Spreewitz station (2008)

Spreewitz

The track systems of the station are very spacious. This was necessary in order to cope with the enormous flows of goods traffic. Here, since the commissioning of the station a track plan switchboard (B 1, Construction GS II Sp64b present). The specialty of the station was that the sections to Spreewitz Süd, Spreewitz Nord and the connecting line Spreewitz Nord – Spreewitz Süd belonged to the station area and were or will be remotely controlled.

The dilapidated station building in Schwarze Pump (2008)

Platforms in Black Pump (2008)

Black pump

By transferring travel traffic, the station received a very imposing reception building, which is comparable to the architecture of the former Potsdam Central Station (today Potsdam Pirschheide station ). In addition, the station received four platforms to cope with the high volume of passenger traffic. The station was equipped with two signal boxes (W 1 and B 2) and a mech. Standard signal box with relay block 51. At the end of 2015, demolition work on the station began, as the site is needed for the southern connection of the Schwarze Pump industrial park. The demolition work should be completed by the end of February 2016.

Sabrodt

The Sabrodt station was completely rebuilt as a result of electrification. The two tracks towards Bluno Nord and the corresponding junction were integrated into the station. For this, the Bf Sabrodt was equipped with a track plan signal box of the most modern design available at the time (GS III Sp68) .

For the loading of raw lignite there was a screening plant built by the lignite industry with direct rail loading. The station was to be expanded to become a system transfer station between the traction current systems of the Deutsche Reichsbahn and the mine railway.

Lieske

Lieske station had a reception building and was equipped with a Type II track diagram. In addition to the continuous main track, the station had only one crossing track and one track on a combined head and side ramp. The passenger trains, which only ran from Hoyerswerda to Neupetershain for a short time, passed through here.

Junction Sornoer Buden Ost

The branch was equipped with a layout II track diagram and remote the branches north and west.

See also

• List of railway lines in Saxony
• List of disused railway lines in Saxony
• List of disused railway lines in Brandenburg and Berlin

Web links

Commons : Railway line Knappenrode – Sornoer Buden  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Knappenrode – Abzw Sornoer Buden Ost on www.sachsenschiene.de
• Disused traffic routes in Niederlausitz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} List of the disused lines in Saxony (since 01.01.1994). (XLSX; 18 kB) (No longer available online.) Federal Railway Authority , May 21, 2015, archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on September 1, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 . , P. 60
3. ↑ ^{a b} List of the disused lines in Brandenburg (since 01.01.1994). (XLS; 33 kB) (No longer available online.) Federal Railway Authority , April 9, 2013, archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on September 1, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
4. ↑ ^{a b} Jens Herbach: Knappenrode - Abzw Sornoer Buden West / Graustein / Black Pump works railway. In: sachsenschiene.net. April 9, 2015, accessed September 1, 2015 .  
5. ^ DR course book 1965/66
6. ↑ The coal exit billions are to flow into these projects , rbb24 of April 4, 2020, accessed on April 8, 2020
7. ↑ A train station that was hardly a train station . In: Lausitzer Rundschau, December 12, 2015.