Protivec – Bochov railway line

Protivec – Bochov
Course book series (SŽDC) :	163 (1996)
Route length:	16.633 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C3
Top speed:	40 km / h
Legend from Rakovník 0.000 Protivec formerly Protiwitz 463 m to Bečov nad Teplou 3.818 Žlutice zastávka formerly Luditz-Flohberg 502 m 7.759 Budov formerly Budau 9,037 Vahaneč formerly Bohentsch 588 m 10,707 Hřivínov 13.276 Těšetice formerly Tescheditz 664 m 16.633 Bochov formerly Buchau 662 m

The Protivec – Bochov railway is a regional railway connection in the Czech Republic , which was originally built as part of the state-guaranteed local railway Rakonitz – Petschau – Buchau . The route branches in Protivec ( Protiwitz ) from the railway Rakovník-Bečov nad Teplou and leads to Bochov ( Buchau ). After the end of travel in 1996, the route is now only served by freight trains.

According to a decree of the Czech government, the line has been classified as a regional railway ("regionální dráha") since December 20, 1995.

history

The concession to build and operate a standard-gauge local railway was granted by the Austrian state on May 31, 1895. On June 27, 1897, the new line was opened together with the Rakonitz – Luditz section of the Rakonitz – Bečov line (Rakovník – Bečov nad Teplou).

The operation was carried out by the kk Staatsbahnen (kkStB) on behalf of the owners. The route had the densest timetable in its history until the beginning of the First World War. In the 1912 timetable, a total of five mixed pairs of trains were listed, which in Protiwitz always had connections to the trains to and from Rakonitz.

Zero kilometer stone at the beginning of the route in Protivec (2010)

After the First World War, management was transferred to the newly founded Czechoslovak State Railways (ČSD) in October 1918 . Their first timetable from 1919 only recorded two train pairs, later the offer was expanded to four train pairs again. On January 1, 1925, the local railway company was nationalized and incorporated into the ČSD.

At the end of the 1920s, there was increasing competition from road transport. Many passengers now used the faster buses on the parallel trunk road I / 6 . In addition, tourist traffic was increasingly geared towards the nearby district town of Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), which could only be reached by rail via a long detour. During the global economic crisis in the early 1930s, the ČSD finally stopped travel.

After the annexation of the Sudetenland to Germany on October 1, 1938, the line came under the administration of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , Reichsbahndirektion Dresden . This resumed passenger train traffic in 1939 after the start of the Second World War . In the Reich course book the connection was included as course book route 167n Protiwitz – Buchau (Sudetenl) .

After the end of the Second World War on May 8, 1945, the line came back to the ČSD. As a result of the resettlement of the German-speaking population in 1945/46, there was a further decrease in the demand for transport, so that travel was initially not resumed. It was not until the mid-1950s that ČSD started operating travel services again, which was now handled by motorized trains . In the 1988/89 timetable, three pairs of passenger trains ran on weekdays, which took 29 minutes in both directions for the entire Protivec – Bochov route.

On January 1, 1993, in the course of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the line was transferred to the newly founded Czech state railway organization České dráhy (ČD). On May 31, 1996, ČD ceased passenger services. Their last timetable recorded three pairs of trains on working days on the entire route, another one operated between Bochov and Vahaneč on school days.

Today the route is only used for freight traffic. At the end of the route in Bochov there is a sawmill and a timber loading point, which continue to ensure a regular volume of goods.

literature

• Vladimír Zuska: 100 letertrí Rakovník - Bečov nT a Protivec - Bochov , Lokálka Group Rokycany 1997
• Miroslav Jelen: Zrušené železniční tratě v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku. Dokořán, Praha 2009, ISBN 978-80-7363-129-1 .

Web links

Commons : Railway line 163 (Czech Republic)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Protivec – Bochov on zelpage.cz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Zdeněk Hudec u. a .: Atlas drah České republiky 2006–2007 , 2nd edition; Publishing house Pavel Malkus, Praha, 2006, ISBN 80-87047-00-1
2. ↑ Artaria railway map of Austria-Hungary and the Balkans , with Station Directory; Artaria & Co., Vienna 1913
3. ↑ Decree of the Czech government of December 20, 1995
4. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt for the kingdoms and states represented in the Reichsrathe of July 3, 1895
5. ^ Reich course book 1944 - valid from July 3, 1944 until further notice; Course book range 154t
6. ↑ ČSD timetable 1988/89
7. ↑ ČD 1995/96 timetable