Koblenz – Stein-Säckingen railway line

Koblenz – Stein-Säckingen
Route length:	26.07 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	9  ‰
Legend from Winterthur from Waldshut 48.38 Koblenz (CH) 320.3 m to Turgi Aare (236 m) 50.02 Felsenau 320.4 m 51.88 Connection full 315.9 m 55.27 Leibstadt 312.8 m 57.27 Rake hole 310.4 m 60.94 Etzgen 310.4 m 63.11 Sulz (CH) 307.3 m 65.51 Laufenburg 317.8 m 71.00 Sisseln 305.6 m 72.73 Connection Sisseln Bözberg route from Zurich 74.45 Stein-Säckingen 310.9 m Bözberg route to Basel

The Koblenz – Stein-Säckingen railway runs along the southern bank of the High Rhine in Switzerland . It connects the Stein-Säckingen train station with the Koblenz train station and was opened on August 1, 1892. The route, located entirely in the canton of Aargau , is part of the shortest connection between Winterthur and Basel .

history

The line was built by the Bötzbergbahn, a joint subsidiary of the Schweizerische Centralbahn (SCB) and the Schweizerische Nordostbahn (NOB). Its continuation to the east is the railway line Winterthur – Koblenz of the NOB , which opened on August 1, 1876 . It was built to avoid a rival line along the Rhine, because the main traffic should continue to be routed over the Bözberg line and not over this route (with the freight tariff, this route and not the actually traveled route had to be calculated because it is shorter). For this reason it has remained a branch line to this day. It was emergency electrified during the Second World War , which can be seen from the spun concrete pylons that are still partially in place. Electrical operation with 15,000 volts 16.7 Hz was started on December 17, 1944. Passenger traffic between Laufenburg and Koblenz was stopped in 1994. The route can still be used without restrictions. It is still regularly used by freight trains, especially container trains to Rekingen and fuel trains to Glattbrugg , where the tank farm of Zurich Airport is located.

Route and engineering structures

The Aare Bridge near Koblenz

The railway line largely follows the south bank of the High Rhine. It meanders in particular between Laufenburg and Full , with little incline and decline, along the southern edge of the valley. This made it possible to avoid larger engineering structures.

A 236-meter-long bridge only had to be built to cross the Aare near Koblenz. The steel truss bridge makes an arch and has five bays with a span of up to 47.83 meters.

business

From an operational point of view, there are now only the Stein-Säckingen, Sisseln, Laufenburg and Koblenz stations on the route. The Felsenau, Full and Leibstadt train stations, which were once located between Laufenburg and Koblenz , have been converted into sidings. In fact, the 16 km long route between Laufenburg and Koblenz is one of the longest block sections in the SBB network.

Between 1962 and 1967 the RABDe 8/16 (Tatzelwurm) ran this route as the Basel – Winterthur express train. S-Bahn traffic between Laufenburg and Koblenz was stopped in 1994. A reactivation of passenger traffic in this section suggested by the VCS in 2009 was discarded and would no longer be possible without major renovations in Laufenburg station.

Between Laufenburg and Stein-Säckingen there is an hourly pair of S1 trains on the Basel S-Bahn . This is the only scheduled passenger train connection on this route. However, the trains no longer stop in Sisseln . The passenger traffic between Laufenburg and Koblenz is guaranteed with an hourly bus connection.

The route is used on weekdays by several full freight trains, including the international freight trains for the container terminal in Rekingen and several fuel and fuel trains (main destination Glattbrugg ). The Sisseln and Laufenburg train stations are service points in the basic network of national freight traffic.

The former Felsenau, Full and Leibstadt stations are still partially open for freight traffic (customer solution, restrictions for new traffic), but they are only used when required. However, especially in autumn there are many removals because of the sugar beet harvest.

From an operational point of view, Felsenau, Leibstadt and Full are no longer train stations, but rather serve as siding on the route. For this reason, deliveries and removals are only possible as a shunting drive on the route (departure in Laufenburg or Koblenz on the route secured by the delivery service when the main signal shows a stop). The turnouts to be placed in the sidings can only be set on site, which in turn is only possible by using a key. It is also possible for the shunters to "lock themselves in" with the rail vehicles in the siding in order to open up the route for train traffic again.

literature

• Swiss Rail Network , 1980 edition

Web links

Commons : Koblenz — Stein-Säckingen railway  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Timetable consultation 2009, Basel-Land ( Memento from December 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive )