Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut railway line

Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut
Route number (DB) :	4402
Course book section (DB) :	730.4
Timetable field :	701
Route length:	16.65 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	12  ‰
Legend Bözberg route from Baden (- Zurich ) S 12 S 23 S 27 27.43 Turgi S 29 341.7 m Bözberg route to Brugg (- Aarau ) S 12 Limmat Bridge (78 m) 30.76 Siggenthal - Würenlingen 350.8 m 32.74 Connection to Zwilag 33.65 Connection to the Beznau nuclear power plant 37.36 Döttingen (until 2002 Döttingen-Klingnau ) 325.4 m 38.33 Klingnau (since 2002) Route from Stein-Säckingen 41.13 Koblenz 320.3 m Line to Eglisau (–Winterthur) S 36 Koblenz tunnel (181 m) Eglisau – Winterthur 42.70 / 1.37 Rhine bridge (190 m), border between Switzerland and Germany Hochrheinbahn from Schaffhausen -0.39 Waldshut S 36 S 27 340.2 m Hochrheinbahn to Basel Bad Bf

The Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut line was opened on August 18, 1859 by the Swiss Northeast Railway (NOB). It leads from Turgi in Switzerland via Koblenz to Waldshut in Germany . The Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut line was the first railway connection between Germany and Switzerland. In Turgi is possible on the railway Baden-Brugg (-Aarau) change the planes and in Waldshut is connected to the high-Rhine line of Deutsche Bahn AG .

From the train station Koblenz two more rail connections exist: opened on August 1, 1876 route via Eglisau Bülach and Winterthur and opened on August 1, 1892 route to Stein-Säckingen .

history

The story begins two years before the Spanish-Brötli-Bahn opens in Switzerland. In 1845 a delegation from Zurich traveled to Baden to help negotiate the concession for the Basel - Waldshut railway line . Above all, it should have a positive influence on one of the paths towards Zurich. At that time the river crossing (over the Aare ) was planned in the Döttingen area . This connecting route was intended as a gateway to the Splügen or Lukmanier railway projects at the time . In Zurich, however, the Gotthard project was favored . Nevertheless, a Lukmanier project was approved in 1847, so that an agreement "for the purpose of establishing a Lukmanier railway company" was reached. The Koblenz Bridge was just right here. But after 1861 the Gotthard project also received more approval from the NOB, while the Splügen project ended up in the filing cabinets.

The route fit perfectly into the network concept of the NOB, as it enabled the connection to the German railway network without further competition. Precisely for this reason, the route was designed so that the trains could have run from Basel to Zurich without changing direction . The path over the Aare valley is also ideal in terms of climbing, as it is a natural cut through the Jura . The contract concluded in Karlsruhe on August 26, 1857 was valid for 99 years (replaced by a new contract in 1956 with retroactive effect in 1950). The contract stipulated a maximum gradient of 12 per thousand and three daily train pairs. If possible, these three pairs of trains should be connected to the trains on both sides of the main lines. May 1st, 1860 was set as the deadline for completion. This deadline was shortened and the line was opened on August 18, 1859. The line was designed to be single-lane, while planning and construction made sure that a double-lane expansion would be possible. The dams , the creek passages, the tunnels and bridges were designed for two tracks, only the superstructure got a single-lane design.

The line was electrified because of the lack of coal and rising coal prices during the Second World War . Electrical operations between Turgi and Koblenz began on October 14, 1944. The section between Koblenz (CH) and Waldshut (D) was not electrified until 1999 .

On August 8, 2011, two people were seriously injured and 20 others were slightly injured in a grazing collision between an NPZ shuttle train and a locomotive in Döttingen station. The Re 6/6 11666 locomotive was severely damaged, but unlike the NPZ's control car, it did not derail . The driver of the regional train had in your journey out of the station a Gruppenausfahrsignal over, only with Integra Signum was assured. The Döttingen train station was equipped with the ZUB train protection system after the accident .

Special features of the Koblenz – Waldshut route

Rhine bridge Koblenz – Waldshut

The ownership boundary between the Swiss Northeast Railway (now SBB Infra ) and the Grand Ducal Baden State Railway (now DB Netz ) is in the middle of the Rhine bridge between Waldshut and Koblenz , where the state border runs. As a structure, the bridge also belongs equally to the two companies involved. The northern part of the bridge and the northern abutment are owned and are the responsibility of German society, while the southern part and the southern abutment are owned by Swiss society. These ownership relationships are special because the property boundaries between railway companies are usually in or immediately in front of a train station or a service station, but not in the middle of a route.

The free travel with the German disabled ID card does not apply here.

Route

Immediately after the Turgi train station , the route turns in a narrow curve in a northerly direction and crosses the Limmat on a three-arched stone bridge . This is followed by a dam and an incision. Between the Siggenthal-Würenlingen and Döttingen train stations there is an approximately five-kilometer-long, straight section, which is rather unusual for Switzerland. The station distance of 6.6 kilometers is also relatively long. There are two siding for the Zwilag (Würenlingen interim storage facility) and the Beznau nuclear power plant on this section of the route . The Döttingen train station was called Döttingen-Klingnau between 1897 and 2002 , which became superfluous in 2002 when the Klingnau stop was opened.

Between Döttingen and Klingau, the route follows the natural course of the terrain. The entry curve to Koblenz is also very narrow and only allows a speed of 40 km / h. The Turgi – Koblenz section is approved for an axle load of 22.5 tonnes, a weight per meter of 8 tonnes and therefore for route class D4. After leaving Koblenz train station , the route leads through a deep cut in the 350-meter-high Frittel-Hügel and climbs at 12 per mille (1.2%) to the 181-meter-long arched Koblenz tunnel. The immediately following southern Brückendamm crosses on a viaduct in the middle of the village center the railway line to Eglisau – Winterthur and about 150 meters further the canton road. Subsequently, the line crosses at one of the oldest railway bridges in Europe, the 190 meter long Koblenz Rhein bridge , the Rhine . This is followed by the northern embankment and the Waldshut train station . On the Koblenz – Waldshut section of the route, the axle load is limited to 18 tonnes and the load per meter to 5 tonnes, taking into account the Rhine bridge, which corresponds to route class B1.

Engineering structures

North portal of the Koblenz tunnel with the A 4232 infantry unit

The route has three larger engineering structures:

• The 78 meter long Limmat Bridge has three arches as a stone bridge.
• The 181 meter long Koblenz tunnel, which was excavated with two lanes.
• The 190-meter-long Rhine bridge , which has a 60-meter-long brickwork on the Swiss side, while the Rhine is crossed with a 130-meter-long steel lattice girder that rests on two intermediate pillars. The main part of the bridge dates from the opening year 1859 and has only been reinforced.

Railway stations and stops

The three intermediate stations Siggenthal , Döttingen and Koblenz received identical station buildings , which in turn are identical to the Rupperswil station building (Brugg – Aarau route) built in the same year .

The Turgi Station until his conversion 1994-1997 a Keilbahnhof .

The Siggenthal-Würenlingen station has, thanks to the 1912-built cement plant Siggenthal that today has become LafargeHolcim heard a very large volume of freight traffic . The station was built outside of the actual settlement and has been known as Siggenthal-Würenlingen since 1904 . The district of Siggenthal-Station (with its own zip code) , which was created as a result of the train station, is partly located in the municipality of Würenlingen and that of Untersiggenthal . The station building was rebuilt in 1909. The entire station area was completely rebuilt between November 2015 and the beginning of 2018.

The Döttingen train station carried the double name Döttingen-Klingnau between 1897 and 2002 . On the occasion of its conversion to RV05, it lost the ramp track, track number 1.

The Klingnau stop was officially inaugurated on December 14, 2002. Commissioning took place on December 15, 2002. A 220 meter long platform was built for them on the subgrade of the second track . The construction time was 10 weeks, this corresponds to the initial equipment of the “Facelifting regional train stations” program. Of the total costs of around CHF 1 million , 40% each was borne by the canton and the municipality of Klingnau, the remaining 20% ​​by SBB. In the November 2001 vote, the community share was approved with 62% yes-votes, and the referendum in March 2002 with 64% yes-votes.

The Koblenz railway station was built in a convenient location south of the actual village and since the opening of routes to Eglisau-Winterthur and Stein-Säckingen Basel- a crossing station . The Swiss Northeast Railway also built a small locomotive depot here . Due to the unfavorable location of the station for the residents of Koblenz, the Koblenz Dorf stop was set up on the route to Zurzach – Eglisau in 1997 . This station is located in the immediate vicinity of the Rhine bridge on this route. On the Koblenz – Laufenburg route , passenger traffic was shifted to the road.

As a border station on the route, Waldshut station was also a customs station and for this reason was expanded several times. The personal customs control by the Swiss border staff was carried out in Waldshut until 2008. With the introduction of the Schengen Agreement , identity checks no longer existed, but goods that are subject to declaration must still be declared here as before. Waldshut station also had a depot for a long time .

traffic

The transit goods traffic over the Rhine bridge was stopped in 1991, the local goods traffic followed in 2001.

Timetable since 2008

The route Baden (CH) –Koblenz (CH) –Waldshut (D) bears the timetable number 730.4.

The half-hourly service applies continuously on the route, with the trains going to the same destination every hour. There is an hourly pair of trains Baden - Zurzach and Baden - Waldshut (both as S27) and a pair of trains Waldshut - Bülach (S36) that makes a hairpin in Koblenz . All train pairs cross in Koblenz at the same time, so that there is always a slim connection for the transfer connection.

In addition, several freight trains operate on this route, mainly serving the cement works in Siggenthal (two supply trains, three discharge trains). The freight trains from the RBL to Rekingen also rolled over this route. However, these were removed from the offer in 2017 and only extra freight trains run from Rekingen to the RBL via Bülach. From the station Siggenthal-Würenlingen the other stations and sidings served.

literature

• Essay 150 years Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut , by Ruedi Wanner and Stephan Frei, Eisenbahn Amateur Edition 7/2009 , pp. 352–367, ISSN  0013-2764
• Werner Stutz: Railway stations in Switzerland up to the First World War . Orell Füssli, 1983, ISBN 3-280-01405-0 , p. 142 .

Web links

Commons : Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Upper Rhine route did not reach Schaffhausen until 1863.
2. ↑ At that time one still wrote C arlsruhe .
3. ^ Massive collision in Döttingen with mild outcome . In: Swiss Railway Review . No. 10/2011 . Minirex, ISSN  1022-7113 , p. 511 .
4. ↑ https://www.oepnv-info.de/freifahrt/uebersichten/boundueberschreitende-strecken-ohne-freifahrt/strecke-waldshut-deutschland-koblenz-schweiz
5. ↑ Swiss Railway Review 2/2003 (page 54)