Railway line Węgliniec – Roßlau

Węgliniec – Roßlau (Elbe)
Route number :	DB 6207 PLK 295
Course book section (DB) :	216, 228, 229
Route length:	233.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	D4
Power system :	Węgliniec – State border: 3 kV = State border – Roßlau (Elbe): 15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	7  ‰
Minimum radius :	470 m
Top speed:	Węgliniec – Abzw Särichen 120 km / h Abzw Särichen – Knappenrode 160 km / h
Dual track :	Węgliniec – Roßlau (Elbe) Abzw Aw Roßlau Ra – Roßlau (Elbe)
Legend from Wrocław from Lubań 0.523 Węgliniec (formerly Kohlfurt) (Inselbahnhof) 189 m to Czerwona Woda after Żary to Görlitz 6.623 Szklenice (formerly Glaserberg) 12,540 Bielawa Dolna (formerly Niederbielau) Lusatian Neisse (143 m) State border Poland / Germany (km 13.424) 13,424 (Infrastructure boundary PLK / DB Netz ) 15.150 Zentendorf (until 1930) from Rothenburg (Lausitz) 21.167 Horka Gbf 165 m Connection railway to Horka Pbf 22.810 Horka Hp (transition to Horka Pbf ) 171 m Berlin – Görlitz 23.101 Weißer Schöps (12 m) 23.728 New dig (14 m) Connecting railway from Abzw Mückenhain 23.912 Abzw Särichen 27.798 Niesky 171 m 33.824 Petershain 160 m 35.110 Quitzdorf Awanst 36.859 Mücka (formerly Bf) 148 m 37.424 Schwarzer Schöps (10 m) 41.200 Üst Klitten Ost 42,540 Practice Klitten West 131 m 45.846 Klitten (formerly Bf) 131 m 49.100 Uhyst Vorbf 132 m 51,352 Spree (42 m) from Boxberg 52.013 Uhyst (formerly Bf) 132 m 52.560 (Re-alignment in 1962) 59.475 Little Spree (16 m) 59.584 Small Spree (19 m) 59.750 Lohsa (since 2018) 125 m 60,406 Lohsa (1962-2010) 125 m 61.660 60.060 Kilometer jump +1600 m 60.130 Lohsa (until 1962) 125 m 60.800 Lusatian mine railway 63.130 Weißkollm – Königswartha from Sornoer stalls Connection curve from Knappenrode Süd 64.500 Lusatian mine railway 66,526 Knappenrode (formerly Werminghoff) 123 m 70.191 Hoyerswerda-Neustadt 119 m 71,542 Schwarzwasser (10 m) 71.872 Black Magpie (27 m) from Bautzen 72.765 Hoyerswerda 118 m to Neupetershain 79.685 Schwarzkollm 118 m 82,561 Lauta (Lower Lusatia) 125 m 83.740 Lauta (Niederlausitz) port 126 m State border between Saxony and Brandenburg from Kamenz (Sachs) 87.936 Hosena (formerly Hohenbocka) Lübbenau – Kamenz 109 m to Lübbenau 93.621 Schwarzbach (b Ruhland) from Cottbus 98,322 Ruhland 99 m to Grossenhain Cottbus-Grossenhain Black magpie Lauchhammer South 108.995 Lauchhammer (formerly Lauchhammer West) 117.845 Plessa Kahla (Upper Lusatia) Berlin – Dresden 124.723 Elsterwerda-Biehla ( wedge station ) Connection train to Elsterwerda Haida (Upper Lusatia) 130.000 Zeischa 134.571 Bad Liebenwerda Black magpie 139.253 Wahrenbrück Land moat Beiersdorf (b Bad Liebenwerda) to and from Cottbus from Röderau 147.871 Falkenberg (Elster) Halle – Cottbus to Jueterbog after Uckro Röderau – Jüterbog 153.700 Beyern Bundesstrasse 87 156.485 Fermerswalde State border Brandenburg / Saxony-Anhalt by Prettin 170.091 Annaburg Black magpie 179.126 Jessen (magpie) Company connection 189,000 Elster (Elbe) Company connection 195.086 Mühlanger (formerly Prühlitz) 199.155 Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Labetz (formerly Wendel) from Berlin 201.928 Lutherstadt Wittenberg Hbf to Halle (Saale) 203.682 Lutherstadt Wittenberg Altstadt (formerly LW Elbtor) Bundesstrasse 2 to Straach 206.100 Lutherstadt Wittenberg West (formerly Kleinwittenberg) from Straach 206.160 Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Piesteritz (since 2015) Company connection At the port of the SKW First melamine plants 208.200 Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Piesteritz (formerly Piesteritz-Heuweg) In the north of the SKW At SKW nitrogen works 208.286 Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Piesteritz Werkbf First PCI Augsburg 210.300 Apollensdorf (temporarily planned) 212.065 Griebo 216.675 Coswig (Anh) Hp (formerly Bf) Federal road 187a Establishment of a match factory 217,640 Coswig (Anh) Gbf In the port of Coswig Anst industrial park Federal motorway 9 222.682 Paws 229.275 Roßlau (Elbe) Junction Aw to Roßlau (Elbe) Gbf from Wiesenburg (Mark) Rosslau Ra 231,070 Meinsdorf Rossel to and from Trebnitz (Magdeburg) Bundesstrasse 184 233,543 Rosslau (Elbe) to Leipzig Hbf

The railway line Węgliniec – Roßlau (Elbe) is an electrified, double-track main line in Poland , Saxony , Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt , originally operated by the Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (BAE) and the Oberlausitzer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft as part of a long-distance connection from Wroclaw after Magdeburg was built. It runs from Węgliniec ( Kohlfurt ) via Niesky , Hoyerswerda , Falkenberg (Elster) and Lutherstadt Wittenberg to Roßlau (Elbe) .

history

prehistory

The Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (BAE) was one of the most important railway companies in Germany for more than four decades in the 19th century. In addition to the actual Anhalter main line , it created a network of important rail connections between Berlin and the northern part of the Kingdom of Saxony , the Prussian province of Saxony and the Duchy of Anhalt , which ultimately covered a length of around 430 kilometers.

Planning and construction

The section (Berlin–) Wittenberg – Dessau (- Koethen ) was part of the main line of the Anhalter Bahn. The line between Dessau and Coswig (Anhalt) was opened on August 18, 1841, the section between Wittenberg and Coswig (Anhalt) followed on August 28 of the same year. On September 10, 1841, traffic between Berlin and Koethen began.

The construction of new routes by the BAE, but also the growth of the competing railway companies forced a constant adjustment of the traffic offers to the changing demand. After the construction of the direct line from Wittenberg to Bitterfeld, the importance of the Wittenberg – Dessau – Köthen section declined.

The Upper Lusatian Railway Company opened the line between Kohlfurt and Falkenberg on June 1, 1874. The missing gap to Wittenberg went into operation on October 15, 1875 as the BAE line.

In 1878 the Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft transferred the management of its section of the line to BAE. From May 1, 1882, the Prussian State Railroad took over operations.

Second World War

On April 20, 1945, there was an air raid on the Piesteritz train station in which two tank cars exploded, which also caused considerable damage to the nitrogen works . The explosion was so strong that the wheels and axles of the tank wagons were thrown 500 meters to what is now Bundesstraße 187 .

After the Second World War

After the end of the Second World War, the route was divided by the Oder-Neisse border ; the Kohlfurt railway junction came to Poland and was given the Polish name Węgliniec. The route remained important for cross-border freight traffic; however, public transport between Horka and Węgliniec ceased to exist in 1945. In 1946, the second track was dismantled in sections.

The train stations and stops in the Sorbian language area have been given additional signage in Sorbian . From then on, these names were also listed in the timetable of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

Station names in the Sorbian language area

German	sorbian
Niesky	Niska
Mücka	Mikov
Klitten	Klětno
Uhyst	Delni Wujězd
Lohsa	Łaz
Knappenrode	Hórnikecy
Hoyerswerda-Neustadt	Wojerecy-Nowe město
Hoyerswerda	Wojerecy
Schwarzkollm	Čorny Chołmc

Freight train with PKP SU46 near Horka (2004)

At the beginning of the 1960s, the line had to be re- routed between Uhyst and Lohsa because of the opening of the Lohsa opencast mine . The new line was opened on January 11, 1962.

Because of the heavy coal traffic, the line between Knappenrode and Falkenberg / Elster was electrified in the 1980s. Electric train operations began on December 19, 1987 (Hohenbocka – Ruhland) and April 1, 1988 (Knappenrode – Hohenbocka).

In connection with Poland 's accession to NATO in 1999, this rail link was again in a corridor of strategic importance between the North Sea ports and the Upper Silesian industrial area . An increasing volume of freight traffic was forecast and in December 2001 the complete double-track expansion and electrification of the line in the section between the Polish border and Knappenrode was decided.

The local passenger traffic between Horka and Niesky, which was always of little importance and was last handled with class 771 multiple units, was discontinued on December 14, 2002 after it had already been carried out in the last few weeks in the rail replacement service .

Since 2009 there has been a comprehensive renovation including a fundamental renovation of the track and overhead line systems of the Roßlau / Dessau railway traffic junction. As part of this project, a modernization of the train stations in Roßlau, Coswig, Wittenberg-Piesteritz and Wittenberg-West was planned for the following years.

In 2010 took place between Horka and Hoyerswerda a regular schedule service with a steam engine of class 50 .

The Klitten – Hoyerswerda section was closed from December 2010 because the Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft (LMBV) carried out planned safety measures on the eastern slope of the Silver Lake in the area of ​​the Lohsa train station . During the tilt stabilization work, there was an increased risk, so that the route that runs directly along the east bank could not be used during this time. After on 8. March 2012 around 200 m long section of the bank had slipped during the renovation work, the end of the safety work was postponed from the end of 2012 to the beginning of 2016. Only then was Deutsche Bahn able to tackle the ongoing expansion of the route in this section as well. Freight trains were diverted via Knappenrode, Spremberg and Cottbus. In passenger traffic, the Hoyerswerda – Niesky – Görlitz line (OE 64) between Hoyerswerda and Horka was served by rail replacement buses until the 2018 timetable change , at Horka station there was a connection to and from Görlitz in the ODEG trains on the Cottbus – Horka– route. Görlitz – Zittau (OE 65).

Extension of the route between the Polish border and Knappenrode

In accordance with the increased importance in freight transport, the complete double-track expansion, the electrification of the line and the increase in the maximum speed to 120 km / h between the Polish border and Knappenrode was included in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 and the rail requirements plan based on it (annex to the Federal Railways Expansion Act ).

Neißebrücke, looking east, in Poland the line has already been renovated and electrified (2009)

In 2009, the planning approval procedure for the 52nd km long section. In spring 2012, the necessary financing agreement between the federal government and the railways for the expansion of the first section of the route was signed. Construction began afterwards with initial preparatory work for the renovation of the Knappenrode station. After the planning approval of the Horka - Neißebrücke section in 2013, construction work began in 2014 with the demolition of the old railway systems. Even before the planning approval for the remaining sections of the route was completed, a converter plant was built in Lohsa and a switch post in Ruhland for the traction power supply since spring 2013 .

The renewed station in Knappenrode was put into operation in 2014, the resumption of rail traffic between Knappenrode and Horka took place at the end of 2018. Because of the crossing points no longer required with continuous double-track operation, the stations Lohsa, Uhyst, Klitten, Mücka and Petershain could get to stops with two platforms each be dismantled, two new platforms and a passenger tunnel were also built in Niesky station. The railway stations Knappenrode, Niesky and Horka were expanded for trains up to 740 meters in length. On 16 km in length, soundproof walls were installed.

Five electronic signal boxes were built. Through the cross-border use of the European train control system ETCS , the full efficiency is to be achieved from 2023. All expansion measures will increase the line capacity from 50 to 160 trains per day.

The financing took place within the framework of the Federal Railways Expansion Act by the Federal Republic of Germany with co-financing by the European Union. The investment volume is around 420 million euros. On the 7th June 2012, another financing agreement was signed between the Free State of Saxony and Deutsche Bahn AG, with the use of 1.6 Million € state funds and in accordance with the corresponding stipulations in the state development plan in the section Horka – Niesky – Knappenrode as the basis for attractive passenger transport offers a line speed of 160 km / h instead of just 120 km / h should be enabled.

On the German section, the expansion began in December 2012 with the renovation of the superstructure and the modernization of the overhead contact line between Knappenrode and Spreewitz (mine railway). From mid-2013, trains to Spreewitz could be electrically powered again. The expansion made it possible to dismantle four of the seven tracks and two side tracks in Knappenrode station.

The extension of the line on the Polish section from Węgliniec to the Neisse bridge has been ongoing since 23. Completed March 2006. The train control system ETCS Level 2 has been operationally implemented by the Polish side since the end of 2015 up to the border, but including digital train radio GSM-R until the start of operation of ETCS on the German side is not in operation in this border area.

The eight-kilometer-long German section to Horka, which adjoins it to the west, including the newly built 143.6 under Polish direction m long Neisse bridge, was opened on 7. Opened December 2016. Since then, the 22nd km long section between Węgliniec and Horka freight yard can be used on two tracks again. The electrification on the German side was delayed until the end of 2018. The cause was an embankment slide on the Silbersee , which made additional work necessary for the route renovation.

The Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Oberlausitz-Lower Silesia (ZVON) decided at its meeting on 4. April 2017 the resumption of local rail passenger transport between Görlitz and Hoyerswerda for the timetable change on December 9, 2018.

The catenary on the renovated section of the state border – Knappenrode has been under tension since September 7, 2018, and the completed line has been released for test and instruction drives since October 29, 2018. A total of 55 kilometers of line was expanded for double-track operation, and the Horka, Niesky and Knappenrode stations were completely renewed. In addition, 31 railway bridges, four road bridges, 33 crossings and all platforms and access roads were rebuilt and rebuilt. A converter plant was built at Lohsa for the traction power supply . Five electronic signal boxes (EStw) were built to control and secure train traffic, and GSM-R was installed across borders for train radio. A total of around 520 million euros was invested.

Incidents

Clearance work at the accident site on December 3, 1988

In the night of 15./16. May 1987 two freight trains collided at Schwarzkollm station. 18 wagons derailed, of which 15 wagons loaded with coal overturned.

At 3. December 1988, a freight train coming from Poland collided head-on with a service train of the Deutsche Reichsbahn between the state border and the Horka Gbf station . Five German and three Polish railway workers were killed and three other railway workers were seriously injured.

In 2012 and 2013, two further accidents involving freight trains occurred at Hosena station, each of which resulted in line closures lasting several days.

Current operation

Expansion at Litschen, the catenary masts for freight traffic are already in place (2016)

(As of December 2018)

Tourist traffic

The route is currently being used by regional trains operated by DB Regio Südost between Dessau Hbf and Falkenberg (Elster). The trains need around 80 minutes for the 91-kilometer route and are partially connected from Wittenberg or Dessau to Leipzig-Stötteritz. In rush hour traffic, additional trains complete the offer, these run between Dessau Hbf and Lutherstadt Wittenberg and only serve individual traffic stops. Since the timetable change in December 2011, individual trains have already ended up in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Annaburg with low demand . Bombardier Talent 2 railcars replaced push-pull trains made up of class 143 locomotives with at least two double-decker cars when the timetable changed in December 2015 .

Between Falkenberg (Elster) and Hoyerswerda, the new S-Bahn line 4 of the S-Bahn Central Germany has been running every two hours with Bombardier Talent 2 railcars since December 15, 2013 . In addition, regional trains run between Falkenberg and Ruhland to Cottbus and between Ruhland and Hoyerswerda regional express trains to Dresden , which connect to each other in Ruhland and thus enable the section from Falkenberg to Hoyerswerda to be served almost every hour.

The RB 64 line (Hoyerswerda – Görlitz) has been running every two hours since December 9, 2018. The brand name Seenland-Neisse-Shuttle (Sorbian Shuttle jězorina-Nysa ) was found in a competition organized by the ZVON.

Freight transport

The railway line is also important for freight traffic. The Piesteritz nitrogen works, for example, ensure a brisk volume of traffic, which has extensive freight track systems in the Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Piesteritz area.

The route also plays an important role in cross-border freight traffic. Once all construction work has been completed, one of the most important west-east freight connections is to be created. In this context, one speaks of a freight highway . In the spring of 2011, the siding of the PCI Augsburg company was reactivated by laying a new track and dismantling the old one. The siding is at the western end of the SKW Piesteritz freight yard.

Route description

Operating points

Press freight train at Niesky station (2013)

• Horka Gbf is the easternmost freight yard in the German part of the line. To the west of this is Horka Pbf , which, however, no longer has any platforms on this route and is no longer served by passenger traffic.
• Until 2015, the Lutherstadt Wittenberg- Piesteritz stop was located in the middle of the nitrogen works and had an important task in rush hour traffic in the GDR, as up to 9,000 people were employed in the nitrogen works at that time. For residents of the Piesteritz district, this stop was of little importance, as the Wittenberg West train station was better connected to the Piesteritz district in terms of traffic. However, the Piesteritz stop was of great importance for vocational school traffic, as the Elbe vocational training center (BBZ Elbe) in the immediate vicinity ensured a relatively high number of travelers. In 2015, both access points for tourist traffic were closed, but new platforms with the name »Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Piesteritz« went into operation on the western end of the Wittenberg West train station at the Pestalozzistraße crossing.
• The Falkenberg (Elster) station is a tower station . On the upper platforms, regional express trains from DB Regio connect Cottbus and S-Bahn trains from Central Germany between Hoyerswerda and Leipzig every two hours . Between Falkenberg and Leipzig, both overlap at an approximate hourly rate. Passenger trains on the Dessau – Falkenberg / Elster line start and end at the lower platforms. The VBB line RE 5 Stralsund – Berlin – Falkenberg / Elster of the DB Regio on the Jüterbog – Riesa railway line also has its start and end point in Falkenberg / Elster. Regional trains continued to run to Riesa as planned until 2004 .
• The service building of the old station in Wittenberg from 1841 is one of the oldest station buildings in Germany and is located on the original course of the Anhalter Bahn, between the current stops Wittenberg West and Wittenberg-Altstadt, but north of the current railway line.

Web links

Commons : Railway Węgliniec – Roßlau  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Route description (Polish)
• Website of the ODEG about the regional train line RB64
• Files and plans in the holdings of the Reichsbahndirektion Halle in the State Archives Saxony-Anhalt, Dessau department

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Atlas linii polski kolejowych . 1st edition. Eurosprinter, Rybnik 2011, ISBN 978-83-931006-4-4 , pp. F2 .
2. ↑ Route data (Węgliniec – Ruhland) on www.sachsenschiene.de
3. ↑ Expansion of dual track and electrification Knappenrode – Horka , accessed on April 25, 2019
4. ^ German Chemistry Museum Merseburg: Wittenberg / Piesteritz. Retrieved March 10, 2010 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Knappenrode – Horka – border with Poland is finally being expanded . In: signal . No. 3 , 2012, p. 5 .
6. ↑ Second stage of the modernization of the Roßlau / Dessau railway junction begins. Deutsche Bahn AG, April 27, 2012, archived from the original on February 24, 2013 ; Retrieved December 3, 2012 . 
7. ↑ Private steam locomotive is allowed again. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . May 26, 2010, accessed May 26, 2010 . 
8. ↑ Line closure Knappenrode - Uhyst. DB AG, April 25, 2012, archived from the original on July 2, 2013 ; Retrieved July 10, 2012 . 
9. ↑ LMBV: Geotechnically secured bank on the Lohsaer Silbersee handed over for DB railway line. Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft, March 1, 2016, accessed on April 5, 2017 . 
10. ↑ Green light for further construction phase for the extension of the railway line Knappenrode - Horka. Deutsche Bahn AG, August 30, 2013, archived from the original on January 4, 2014 ; Retrieved September 3, 2013 . 
11. ^ Niels Kunick: Knappenrode – Horka reopened . In: railway magazine . No. 2 , 2019, ISSN  0342-1902 , p. 26 .
12. ↑ ^{a b c} Construction project Knappenrode - Horka. Deutsche Bahn AG, accessed on June 22, 2020 . 
13. ↑ ^{a b} Expansion and electrification Knappenrode – Horka – border Germany / Poland. (PDF; 2.6 MB) (No longer available online.) DB Projektbau GmbH, June 2009, archived from the original on May 21, 2016 ; Retrieved August 17, 2010 . 
14. ↑ Around 420 million euros for the expansion of the Knappenrode – Horka – Germany / Poland border. Deutsche Bahn AG, April 13, 2012, archived from the original on July 29, 2012 ; Retrieved April 16, 2012 . 
15. ↑ Record investments in the Free State of Saxony: DB is investing around 12 million euros in the new IC plant in Leipzig and 2.3 billion euros in the Saxon rail network. Deutsche Bahn AG, June 7, 2012, accessed on September 3, 2013 . 
16. ↑ 302.2207Z01 Local border agreement Horka Gbf - Wegliniec. (PDF, 6 MB) (No longer available online.) DB Netze, November 25, 2016, p. 56 , archived from the original on April 21, 2017 ; Retrieved April 20, 2017 . 
17. ↑ ^{a b} Closing the gap: first section of the Knappenrode - Horka border D / PL expansion project goes into operation. In: https://bahnblogstelle.net . December 8, 2016, accessed August 28, 2018 . 
18. ↑ Uwe Menschner: Passenger trains are rolling again on the main road. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. April 4, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2018 . 
19. ↑ Press release from September 3, 2018 on deutschebahn.com
20. ↑ Deutsche Bahn BauInfoPortal: Summary of the double-track expansion and electrification Knappenrode - Horka - Grenz (D / PL) (accessed: May 13, 2020 via youtube)
21. ^ Freight trains collided , In: Neues Deutschland , May 18, 1987, p. 2
22. ↑ Train accident in the Niesky district claimed eight lives. In: Neues Deutschland , December 5, 1988, p. 1
23. ↑ WINNER OF THE NAME COMPETITION: The RB64 is called “Seenland-Neisse-Shuttle”. Press release 30/2018. ODEG, December 3, 2018, accessed December 21, 2018 . 
24. ↑ International freight traffic is accelerated. Deutsche Bahn, archived from the original on January 21, 2013 ; Retrieved June 8, 2012 . 
25. ↑ Harry Müller: Impetus for the freight line Wroclaw-Berlin. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. August 19, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2017 . 
26. ↑ Ute Otto: Railway line between Roßlau and Piesteritz: Electronic signal box is being built in Coswig. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung . October 22, 2014, accessed August 30, 2018 .