Liberec – Kořenov railway line

Liberec – Kořenov
Course book series (SŽDC) :	036
Route length:	34.257 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C3 (Liberec – Tanvald) A1 (Tanvald – Kořenov)
Maximum slope :	Adhesion 40.0  ‰ rack 58.0  ‰
Rack system :	Dept
Top speed:	50 km / h
Legend von Zittau (formerly K. Sächs. Sts. EB ) from Zawidów (formerly SNDVB ) 0.000 Liberec formerly Reichenberg 372 m to Pardubice (formerly SNDVB ) to Česká Lípa (formerly ATE ) Liberec-Horní Ružodol formerly Oberrosenthal 2.286 Liberec-Rochlice formerly Röchlitz 375 m 3.775 Vesec u Liberce formerly the Maffersdorf factory 375 m 4,734 Vratislavice nad Nisou formerly Maffersdorf 385 m Vratislavice kyselka formerly Maffersdorf-Sauerbrunn 375 m 7,094 Proseč nad Nisou formerly Proschwitz 392 m Rehböckel Viaduct Prosečsky tunel (63 m) 10,836 Jablonec nad Nisou dolní n. Formerly Gablonz-Brandl 475 m 12,186 Jablonec nad Nisou formerly Gablonz (Neisse) 500 m Jablonec nad Nisou centrum (since 2010) 14.082 Jablonec nad Nisou zastávka formerly Obergablonz 517 m 15,047 Nová Ves nad Nisou formerly Neudorf (Neisse) 528 m 16,336 Jappencké Paseky earlier Bad Schlag 544 m Dolnolučanský tunel (82 m) Dolní Lučany formerly Unterwiesenthal 584 m 19,443 Lučany nad Nisou formerly Wiesenthal (Neisse) 604 m Smržovka tunnel 20.689 Smržovka formerly Morchenstern 598 m to Josefův Důl (formerly RGTE ) Viaduct Smržovka (Bettelgrund Viaduct) Smržovka-Luční (since 2010) 22,350 Smržovka formerly střed Middle Morch Star 563 m Road bridge Smržovka střed at the old glass mill Smržovka-Zvonková (planned) 24,438 Smržovka dolní nádraží formerly Untermorchenstern 514 m Kamenice Hornotanvaldský tunel (71 m) Dolnotanvaldský tunel (48 m) 26,548 Tanvald zastávka formerly Unter Tannwald 475 m Desná from Železný Brod (formerly SNDVB ) 27,390 Tanvald formerly Tannwald-Schumburg 466 m Desná (29 m) 27.776 Žďárský tunel (67 m) 28.822 Desná formerly Tiefenbach-Dessendorf 497 m Bílá Desná (28 m) 29,438 Desenský tunel (252 m) 29.785 vlečka Jymbolcké sklárny Desná-Riedlova vila (since 2010) 29.973 Černá Desná (71 m) 30.376 Dolnopolubenský tunel (166 m) 30.636 Dolní Polubný formerly Unterpolaun 540 m (Freight tracks) Desná-Pustínská (since 2010) 32,580 Kořenov zastávka formerly Přichowitz 647 m Maximum gradient 58 ‰ 32.691 Polubenský tunel (940 m) 34.257 Kořenov formerly Grünthal 701 m 34.792 Former infrastructure border RGTE / Preuss. Star. to Jelenia Góra (formerly Prussian State Railways )

The Liberec – Kořenov railway is a railway connection in the Czech Republic that was originally built and operated by the Reichenberg-Gablonz-Tannwalder Railway (RGTE) as a state-guaranteed local railway . It begins in Liberec ( Reichenberg ) and leads via Jablonec nad Nisou ( Gablonz ) and Tanvald ( Tannwald ) to Kořenov ( Wurzelsdorf , formerly Polaun or Grünthal ).

The section between Tanvald and Kořenov (Tannwalder rack railway - Tanvaldská ozubnicová dráha) is one of the last normal-gauge rack railway lines in Europe for combined friction and rack-and-pinion operation. It has been under monument protection as a cultural monument since 1992 .

history

Prehistory and construction of the Reichenberg – Tannwald-Schumburg line

→ Main article : Reichenberg-Gablonz-Tannwalder Railway

On July 3, 1886, the company "Lindheim & Comp." Was granted the concession to build and operate a local railway from Reichenberg to Gablonz an der Neisse. At the same time, approval was given for any further construction to Tannwald. Construction was carried out very quickly, except for the short viaduct over the Rehböckelgrund and a short tunnel near Brandl, no major engineering structures had to be built. The route was opened on November 25, 1888.

Significantly greater technical difficulties, however, had to be overcome when continuing to build the line to Tannwald. Several tunnels and the large viaduct over the Bettelgrund near Morchenstern caused construction costs to skyrocket. On July 12, 1894, the train service to Wiesenthal was started, the remainder of the line went into operation on October 10, 1894.

The construction of the rack railway to Grünthal

The basis for the continuation of the route from Tannwald to Grünthal (Polaun) and on to Petersdorf in Prussian Silesia was a state treaty between Austria-Hungary and the German Empire of November 5, 1898. It came into effect on December 16, 1897 with the exchange of the ratification documents Vienna in force.

The Austrian government awarded the concession for the Tannwald – Grünthal local railway on December 15, 1899 to the RGTE. The license lasted until July 2nd, 1976. The RGTE was legally obliged to complete the licensed railway within two and a half years and to hand it over to public transport. With the existing local railways Reichenberg – Gablonz – Tannwald and Morchenstern – Maxdorf, the new line should form a single company.

The enormous difference in height between the start and end stations of 235 meters forced the builders to come up with special technical solutions. For a total of 4744 meters, two Abt system rack sections were planned, the greatest inclination of which is 58 per thousand. This made the Tannwald – Grünthal line the first and only cog railway in Bohemia.

On June 30, 1902, the route was opened with a pageant. One day later - on July 1, 1902 - the scheduled train service began. The commissioning of the Prussian connecting line from Grünthal to Petersdorf was delayed until October 1902. On October 1, 1902, freight traffic was started, and on October 20, 1902, travel was also started.

Until the First World War

The operations management on the new route was taken over by the south-north German connecting railway SNDV. On July 1, 1902, the kk Österreichische Staatsbahnen kkStB took over the management of the SNDV.

Operated by ČSD until 1938

After the First World War, the newly founded Czechoslovak State Railways ČSD took over the management of the kkStB. Their first timetable from 1919 recorded a total of three pairs of passenger trains over the entire route. The journey time over the 37 kilometers between Reichenberg and Grünthal was up to 160 minutes.

On January 1, 1930, the RGTE was nationalized. Since then, ČSD has also owned the infrastructure. From the beginning of the 1930s, the ČSD, like other local railways, started using their Tatra tower cars , which led to a significant acceleration in passenger traffic. The railcars only needed 19 minutes for the twelve-kilometer route between Reichenberg and Gablonz.

In World War II

After the Sudetenland was annexed to Germany in autumn 1938, the line came to the Deutsche Reichsbahn , Reichsbahndirektion Dresden . The connection was now included in the Reich curriculum as KBS 160p Reichenberg – Tannwald-Schumburg – Polaun. With the beginning of the Second World War on September 1, 1939, the railcars were parked and all passenger trains ran again with steam locomotives.

Because of the changed traffic flows - which were now mainly geared towards the so-called "Old Reich" - planning began for a new main line between Reichenberg via Gablonz and Polaun, in order to establish a connection to the electrified and well-developed existing route to Hirschberg . A significantly higher alignment was planned along the mountain flanks with less gradients, which would also have made the cumbersome cogwheel operation superfluous. Alternatively, the electrification of the existing route between Tannwald and Polaun was also planned. In this case, too, one could have given up cogwheel operation based on the model of the Höllentalbahn in the Black Forest. Because of the war, however, these plans were not implemented.

At the end of the war on May 8, 1945, traffic on the route came to a standstill. Scheduled traffic across the re-established state border was discontinued.

After the Second World War

On May 9, 1945 the line came back to the ČSD.

When the long-planned tram connection between Reichenberg and Gablonz was opened in 1955, part of the tourist traffic was now relocated there. Nevertheless, the railway line retained its importance as an important connecting line in a densely populated urban area.

Modernization of the rack railway

Pushing cogwheel locomotive entering the second rack section (1997)

In 1958 the former Prussian station Strickerhäuser came to Czechoslovakia through an exchange of territory with Poland . The entire line was repaired from 1958 to 1962, during which time traffic was still. In 1963 the line went back into operation with the extension to Harrachov.

In 1961, new cogwheel diesel locomotives from SGP in Austria were procured for freight traffic to Kořenov . In passenger train traffic, railcars without gear drive were now used as an innovation .

In the 1980s, a replacement of the uneconomical cogwheel business became urgent. Diesel locomotives without gear drive that were procured especially for this route replaced the gear locomotives. The special track systems were not dismantled, but remained operational.

On January 1, 1993, the entire route was transferred to the newly founded České dráhy (ČD) in the course of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia .

Decommissioning plans

In 1997 the end of the section from Tanvald via Kořenov to Harrachov seemed sealed. With the participation of thousands of railway enthusiasts, the (for the time being) last passenger trains ran on September 27, 1997. In the following year, however, trains to Harrachov were again running on schedule under the direction of the private railway GJW from Prague. Regular train service to Szklarska Poreba was also planned, but this did not happen. Due to unprofitability, the private railway stopped the traffic again, but now the ČD continued the traffic.

New perspectives

Regional train to Harrachov at Kořenov station in January 2010

Modernized Tanvald Station (2017)

The connection only received completely new perspectives in 2000, when the construction of the Regiotram Nisa was officially announced. The Liberec – Jablonec nad Nisou – Tanvald route was selected as the pilot route. Originally, electric light rail cars were supposed to run from 2007, which could also be transferred to the tram network in Liberec . For this purpose, a connection point with the tram network in Liberec was planned in Vratislavice . Realization of the project is not expected for the time being, however, since the Czech Ministry of Transport does not consider the project to be a priority. Further plans included a new underground train station in the center of Harrachov, which is to be reached directly via a new construction route.

Alternatively, since 2007 the responsible Liberecký kraj has been trying to raise the level of conventional rail traffic. At the request of the Liberecký kraj, only modern, contemporary railcars have been used since 2007. In the following years, new local stops were opened in Jablonec, Smržovka and Desná (Jablonec nad Nisou Centrum, Smržovka-Luční and Desná-Riedlova vila). The route was integrated into a cycle scheme that provides a 40-minute cycle.

On February 5, 2008 it was decided to rebuild the cross-border route to Jelenia Gora. The route was reopened on August 28, 2010.

In the timetable valid from December 2013, there was a regular interval timetable on the route for passenger trains . On weekdays there is a continuous 40-minute cycle between Liberec and Tanvald, which applies from Liberec to Tanvald. From Tanvald, however, there were gaps in the intervals, as individual trains ended in Tanvald or only ran to Desná-Riedlova vila, so the trains to Harrachov only ran every 2 hours. However, individual trains were continued from Tanvald to Kořenov to connect to the cross-border trains on the Zackenbahn to Szklarska Poręba , which were operated by the Viamont Regio railway company . At the weekend, train traffic was mainly geared towards tourist needs. Until 2014, two direct pairs of express trains also ran on the Dresden – Zittau – Liberec – Tanvald route.

Since December 2015, the L1 line has been running continuously on the Liberec – Szklarska Poręba Górna route, with an hourly service to Harrachov. The train crossings take place in Jablonec nad Nisou on the hour and in Tanvald on the half hour a little before the usual symmetry minute. The route is integrated into the Euro-Neisse-Ticket fare network in the border triangle between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

From April 9, 2018 to December 14, 2019, two pairs of express trains on the Praha-Vršovice-Tanvald line were tied through to Harrachov on weekends and public holidays. The new offer was aimed in particular at hikers and day-trippers and for the first time created a connection from Prague to the western Giant Mountains without having to change trains.

A comprehensive repair of the line between Tanvald and Kořenov is planned from 2019. In addition to the repair of the viaduct in Desná, the superstructure will also be completely renewed. New sleepers, whose shape corresponds to the old ones, are to be installed in the listed rack sections. The rack and its fastening elements should be used again. The aim is to allow the route for route class C3 (20 t axle load; 7.3 t per meter). So far, the lowest possible route category A with 16 t axle load applies.

Route description

course

Simplified elevation profile of the route

The line leaves Liberec station in an eastward direction. It follows the Lausitzer Neisse to Jablonec on the orographic left side. The first major gradients lie between Proseč nad Nisou and Jablonec, and a short tunnel and a small viaduct had to be built on this section. After the Jablonec train station, the long uphill section begins up to the summit tunnel on the watershed between Lusatian Neisse and Kamenice. The branch line to Josefuv dul branches off at Smrzovka station. At the exit of the Smrzovka train station, a steady slope begins down into the Kamenice valley. This section also houses the largest civil engineering structure on the entire route, the Smrzovka Viaduct. The line from the south joins the Tanvald station together with the line from Železný Brod. The route climbs steadily from Tanavald up in the Desse valley. Here there are two incline sections with a maximum incline of 58 per thousand, which in the past could only be overcome with cogwheel operation. Shortly before the end point of Korenov is the longest tunnel on the route. In Kořenov station there is a connection to the line to Jelenia Góra .

Operating points

Liberec

The Liberec station (until 1945: Reichenberg ) was put into operation by the SNDVB in 1859 as the end point of its line from Pardubice and as a transfer station to the Zittau-Reichenberg Railway .

Jablonec nad Nisou dolní nádraží

Jablonec nad Nisou dolní nádraží (2007)

The Jablonec nad Nisou dolní n. Station (until 1945: Gablonz-Brandl or Gablonz junction ) owes its existence to a planned but never executed branch line to Janov nad Nisou . Today, Jablonec nad Nisou dolní n. Is of particular importance for freight traffic, the connecting line of the Jablonec thermal power station branches off directly at the station.

Jablonec nad Nisou

Jablonec nad Nisou train station (until 1945: Gablonz an der Neisse ) is the central train station in the medium-sized town of Jablonec. It was built in 1888 in place of the clay pit pond west of the city center. Due to its cramped location, the station was no longer able to meet the requirements a short time later, but major modifications and extensions have not taken place until today.

Smržovka

The Smržovka train station (until 1945: Morchenstern ) is located at the apex near the watershed between the Lusatian Neisse and Kamenice. The branch line to Josefův Důl begins in Smržovka .

Tanvald

Tanvald Railway Station (2010)

Tanvald station (Tannwald-Schumburg) was opened in 1875 by the SNDVB as the end point of the Železný Brod – Tanvald line. The RGTE set up a locomotive operation center in Tanvald, which housed the locomotives required for this until the cogwheel operation was discontinued in 1983. Today the site is the seat of the Železniční společnost Tanvald association . The station building was extensively renovated in 2005.

Desná Riedlova vila

The Desná Riedlova vila stop is one of those stops that were redesigned at the end of the 1990s. It was rebuilt during a line closure in September 2010. It is located in the center of Desná not far from the elementary school and the “ Riedlova vila ” information center . The opening of the stop took place as part of a festive event on October 27, 2010.

Desná-Pustínská

The Desná-Pustínská stop is one of those stops that were re-planned in the late 1990s. The construction work for the new platform began in April 2010. On August 20, 2010 the new stop was opened.

Kořenov

Kořenov railway station (2006)

Kořenov station (until 1920: Grünthal / Zelene Udoli , until 1945: Polubny / Polaun ) was previously a border station with passport and customs control. From 1923 to 1945 the electric train operation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn von Hirschberg ended here. Passengers had to change from the trains of the RGTE or later the ČSD to the trains of the Prussian State Railroad or German Reichsbahn. There were no through-going passenger trains beyond Polaun before 1945, only goods traffic existed.

After 1945 Kořenov lost its special operational function. The facilities fell into disrepair and were later partially dismantled. A small railway museum ("Muzeum ozubnicové dráhy") of the railway association Železniční společnost Tanvald has been located in an extension of the station since 2008 .

Vehicle use

Railcar of the DB class 612 , here at a stop in Tanvald zastávka (2010)

Cogwheel diesel locomotive T 426.003 , here on the occasion of a special trip in Tanvald (2006)

The Reichenberg-Gablonz-Tannwalder Eisenbahn procured three quadruple-coupled cogwheel locomotives of the later ČSD class 404.0 from the Floridsdorf locomotive factory in Vienna for operation on their cogwheel route . The locomotives were given the train numbers 21G-23 by the RGTE, the kkStB designated them as series 169. The locomotives always remained on their main line until they were replaced in 1962 by modern cogwheel diesel locomotives of the ČSD series T 426.0 . The 404.003 has been preserved and is now in the Jaroměř Railway Museum .

In 1964, four diesel multiple units of the ČSD series M 240.0 were procured for passenger train traffic , which were specially equipped with magnetic rail brakes for operation on steep sections . At the end of the 80s, brand-new diesel locomotives of the ČSD series 743 came onto the line to replace the cogwheel operation , which later also replaced the now outdated M 240.0 series railcars in passenger traffic. The private railway GJW first used ČD class 810 railcars in 1998 . With these low-performance vehicles, which are in fact unsuitable for steep stretches, operations have been carried out with low utilization until recently.

In the spring of 2006, test drives were carried out with more modern, more powerful railcars in order to examine their suitability for operation on steep routes. Since March 18, 2007, four-axle railcars of the 843 series have been running on the route, which since June 2007 have shared operations with the reconstructed 854 series railcars . Since December 27, 2011, only the railcars of the ČD series 840 “RegioSpider”, which are suitable for steep routes, have been used as scheduled on the L1 line between Liberec and Harrachov. The through trains Dresden – Liberec – Tanvald were initially driven with the DB class 612 railcars and finally with the DB class 642 . For the express trains from Prague to Harrachov, railcars of the ČD series 854 with a corresponding control car are used.

Only the 715, 743, 810, 820, 840, 843 and 854 series are permitted to operate on the steep section between Tanvald and Kořenov.

Železniční společnost Tanvald

Nostalgia train of the Železniční společnost Tanvald near Kořenov zastávka (2006)

The non-profit association Železniční společnost Tanvald (“Tanvald Railway Company”) was founded in 2003 to rescue and protect the technical monument of the Tanvald – Kořenov – Harrachov rack railway. In July 2003 he was entered in the register of associations in the District Office of Ústí nad Labem. The most important goals of the association are the establishment of a regular nostalgic traffic with the historical vehicles of the rack railway, the establishment of a museum on the history of the rack railway in the Kořenov station, the reconstruction of the Kořenov locomotive depot and the renewal of the cross-border connection to Poland.

The most visible result of the association's work today is the regular nostalgia traffic with the original vehicles of the rack railway. The Railway Museum in Kořenov station has existed since 2007. In addition to exhibits on the rack railway, it also houses an exhibition on the electrical train operation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn on the Hirschberg – Polaun line until 1945.

Reconstruction of the locomotive depot in Kořenov began in 2015 and was completed in 2016. The reconditioning of the gear steam locomotive 404.003 (formerly 23G POLAUN of the RGTE) in cooperation with the owner of the National Technical Museum in Prague is also planned .

literature

• Václav Haas: 100 let trati Tanvald - Kořenov - Harrachov. SAXI, Prague 2002; without ISBN
• Siegfried Bufe, Heribert Schröpfer: Railways in the Sudetenland. Bufe-Fachbuchverlag, Egglham 1991, ISBN 3-922138-42-X .
• Zdeněk Hudec et al: Atlas drah České republiky 2006–2007. 2nd Edition. Pavel Malkus Publishing House, Prague 2006, ISBN 80-87047-00-1 .
• Arthur Meyer, Josef Pospichal: Rack railway locomotives from Floridsdorf. Verlag bahnmedien.at, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-9503304-0-3 .

Web links

Commons : Liberec – Kořenov railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Liberec – Tanvald – Harrachov on zelpage.cz
• Homepage of the Železniční společnost Tanvald (Czech)
• private homepage for the Tannwalder rack railway (Czech / English)
• Website for the 100th anniversary in 2002 (Czech)
• Timetable 2018

Individual evidence

1. ^ Austrian National Library: Facsimile of the railway concession
2. ^ State treaty between Austria-Hungary and the German Empire, concerning the establishment of the railway connection from Tannwald to Petersdorf
3. ^ Reichsgesetzblatt 1849-1918. Austrian National Library, accessed on June 7, 2011 . 
4. ↑ ČSD timetable from 1919.
5. ↑ Topographic map ( Memento of the original from November 5, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) 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. 
6. ↑ ČD 2010 timetable  ( 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. (PDF; 210 kB)  
7. ↑ Annual timetable 2016
8. ^ Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Oberlausitz-Lower Silesia: Euro-Neisse-Ticket. Retrieved December 16, 2012 . 
9. ↑ Timetable valid from April 9, 2018
10. ↑ “Zubačku čeká po půl století první velká oprava, začne desenským viaduktem” on zdopravy.cz
11. ↑ ^{a b} Bufe / Schröpfer p. 197.
12. ↑ "Nové zastávky na zubačce" (11th díl) on www.zubacka.cz ( memento of the original from August 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) 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. 
13. ↑ "Nové zastávky na zubačce" (7th díl) on www.zubacka.cz ( memento of the original from August 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) 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. 
14. ↑ "Regio-Shuttle na pravidelných vlacích" on www.zubacka.cz ( Memento from August 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Association goals on www.zubacka.cz ( memento of the original from August 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.