Kraichtalbahn

	Katzbachbahn from Bruchsal S 31 S 32
0.00	Ubstadt place	114 m
	Katzbachbahn to Odenheim S 31
0.72	Ubstadt Salzbrunnenstrasse	116 m
3.06	Unteröwisheim Martin-Luther-Strasse	122 m
3.54	Unteröwisheim train station	123 m
5.04	Oberöwisheim 128 m
7.80	Münzesheim	135 m
8.71	Münzesheim East	138 m
10.60	Gochsheim (Baden)	147 m
	Distance shortfall −0.053 km
12.65	Railway bridges	160 m
14.60	Menzingen (Baden) p 32	170 m

Unteröwisheim station

The Kraichtalbahn is a 14.6-kilometer standard-gauge and electrified branch line in Baden-Württemberg . It branches off in Ubstadt from the Katzbachbahn , with which it is closely linked, and leads to Menzingen . The Kraichtalbahn is now integrated into the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn as the 'S32' line .

Route

The Kraichtalbahn runs from Ubstadt into the Kraichgau . The name "Kraichtalbahn" refers to both the Kraichbach , the course of which it follows from Ubstadt to Gochsheim , and the town of Kraichtal , to which - with the exception of Ubstadt - all of the towns along the route belong. It runs entirely in the Karlsruhe district .

history

Planning and opening of the route

During the time when the city of Bruchsal had developed into a railway junction by 1874 , the communities along the Kraichbach were also interested in getting a connection to the railway. Bruchsal therefore pursued the goal of establishing a railway connection via the towns of Ubstadt, Unteröwisheim , Oberöwisheim , Münzesheim and Gochsheim to Eppingen on the Kraichbach . However, after the Kraichgau Railway Karlsruhe - Bretten - Eppingen was opened in 1879 , the realization of such a connection initially became a long way off.

In 1888, Bruchsal, together with the communities in the Kraichbachtal and Katzbachtal, took an initiative aimed at building a narrow-gauge branch line with two branches. The branch should begin in Ubstadt. The northern branch should run via Odenheim to Elsenz , the southern branch through the Kraichbachtal to Gochsheim.

Originally only planned to Gochsheim, it was finally decided to build the railway line through the Kraichbachtal to Menzingen . It was also decided not to build the line in narrow gauge as originally planned, but in standard gauge .

On March 5, 1896, the Kraichtalbahn was opened together with the Katzbachbahn. The route was initially operated by the West German Railway Company (WeEG) .

Gochsheim station after its expansion into a crossing station

The years under BLEAG (1898–1931)

In October 1898, WeEG transferred both the Kraichtal and Katzbachbahn to its subsidiary Badische Lokal Eisenbahn Aktiengesellschaft (BLEAG) . In the first years of operation, there was high demand for passenger traffic on the route , and freight traffic also developed positively. The Kraichtal and Katzbachbahn were even the two most profitable BLEAG routes in the first half of the twentieth century.

After the First World War , however, both railway lines got into a crisis because BLEAG ran out of funds to maintain their lines. However, after the Karlsruhe district had agreed to contribute its share to maintaining various BLEAG routes, the routes were temporarily saved. In the following years, operations on both routes normalized.

In 1931, however, BLEAG had to file for bankruptcy in the wake of the global economic crisis.

The years under the DEBG (1931–1963)

Railway bridges stop

After BLEAG went bankrupt, both the Kraichtal and the Katzbachbahn went to the Deutsche Eisenbahn-Betriebsgesellschaft AG (DEBG) on January 1, 1932 .

The DEBG initially succeeded in moving the two routes that had been affected by the global economic crisis back forward. It also procured a diesel multiple unit that was mainly used on the Kraichtalbahn, as the rear part of the Katzbachbahn between Odenheim and Hilsbach was not very suitable for this type of vehicle due to its steep gradients.

The outbreak of the Second World War meant that the number of passengers rose significantly, as individual traffic had to be restricted due to the war. Due to fighting, however, operations had to be stopped on April 2, 1945.

In contrast to many other railway lines, the war damage on both lines was limited. Operation on the Kraichtalbahn was resumed on June 7, 1945.

From the mid-1950s onwards, the steam trains on the line, including the previously used passenger cars, some of which were up to fifty years old, were gradually replaced by diesel operation. In 1955, DEBG bought a diesel locomotive and in 1956 six former DB diesel railcars from 1936 and 1937. However, on July 7, 1958, the DEBG applied for the closure of all railways in southern Germany that it owned. Above all, however, the state of Baden-Württemberg offered resistance.

The years under the SWEG (1963-1994)

On May 1, 1963, DEBG ceded both routes to the Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH (SWEG) . The SWEG was founded on December 10, 1962 by the state of Baden-Württemberg to protect various private railways from being closed down.

The SWEG tried to modernize the line. The remaining steam trains were then completely replaced by diesel multiple units. She also made improvements to the superstructure, which ultimately significantly reduced travel times. A trip from Bruchsal to Menzingen only took 37 minutes compared to 47 minutes before.

Menzingen terminus

In 1980, several branches of industry settled in Gochsheim, which brought the Kraichtalbahn a significant increase in freight traffic. In 1982, SWEG even had to purchase a diesel locomotive especially for this purpose.

From October 1981 diesel multiple units of the type NE 81 , which had been built by Waggon Union , were increasingly used on the Kraichtalbahn . However, despite the modernization measures, the SWEG was unable to increase demand on the line. In the 1980s, the workshop facilities in Menzingen were expanded and modernized at a cost of millions.

In the period that followed, the Kraichtalbahn was increasingly threatened with closure after the rear section of the Katzbachbahn from Odenheim – Hilsbach had been gradually closed in the period from 1960 to 1986.

Takeover by AVG and expansion into a light rail system (since 1994)

AVG locomotive 462 with Esslinger sidecar

In order to save the line from being closed, it was taken over by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) in May 1994 . First, the diesel railcars of the SWEG type NE 81 and Maschinenfabrik Esslingen were taken over. After the AVG had continued to operate the timetable that was last valid under the SWEG, it improved the offer for six months and introduced a clock timetable. On the occasion of the founding of the Karlsruhe Transport Association (KVV) in 1994 , the Kraichtalbahn was integrated into it under the line name "R32".

The takeover by AVG was decided with the plan to expand the line to the light rail . This included the electrification and modernization of the line and the construction of new stations. In March 1996 the centenary of both routes was celebrated on the Kraichtalbahn and the Katzbachbahn. At this point in time, the Bruchsal – Ubstadt Ort section was already electrified, so that light rail vehicles ran between Bruchsal and Ubstadt during the celebration.

Stop "Unteröwisheim Martin-Luther-Straße"

In September 1996 the Kraichtalbahn was finally integrated into the network of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn . The Karlsruhe tram line 'S3', which has been running from Karlsruhe main station to Bruchsal since 1994 , was extended to Menzingen for this purpose. Especially for this purpose, the stops on the way have been modernized and some of them have been converted into crossroads . In addition, two new stops were set up on the Kraichtalbahn ( Ubstadt Salzbrunnenstraße and Unteröwisheim Martin-Luther-Straße ).

In the course of the inclusion of the RheinNeckar S-Bahn at the end of 2003, the Baden-Kurpfalz-Bahn was integrated into the local S-Bahn network and since then has been given the local line designation 'S3'. In order to avoid confusion, the previous 'S3', which previously operated on the Kraichtalbahn, was renamed to 'S32'. At the same time, Gochsheim station, previously a simple stop, was expanded to become a crossing station.

business

General

Ubstadt Ort train station

Crossing possibilities exist in Ubstadt Ort and in the train stations of Unteröwisheim, Münzesheim, Gochsheim and Menzingen, although they rarely take place in Unteröwisheim. In the Münzesheim and Gochsheim stations, the platform height is 55 centimeters, otherwise it is 38 centimeters throughout.

The station building of Gochsheim was demolished around 2000 in the course of the expansion to the crossing station. The same should happen with that of Menzingen. Only the station building in Oberöwisheim still exists today and is now used as a residential building .

Timetable

Oberöwisheim stop

The line is integrated into the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn network as the 'S32' (Menzingen – Bruchsal – Karlsruhe). It is operated every 20/40 minutes during rush hour, otherwise at least every hour.

The journeys are often tied through the Karlsruhe main station to Baden-Baden - Achern or to Freudenstadt on the " Murgtalbahn ". The trains to the Murgtal change the line number in Karlsruhe to 'S81', while the trains to Achern are called 'S71'. Two-system light rail cars of the types GT8-100C / 2S and GT8-100D / 2S-M are used .

Only the AVG medium-floor vehicles 837-922 are used for trains to Freudenstadt, as only these are approved for the steep section between Baiersbronn and Freudenstadt.

Freight transport

There is heavy freight traffic to Gochsheim on the Kraichtalbahn . The freight tracks there branch off the line about five hundred meters west of the station. Another freight track exists at the “Münzesheim Ost” stop. However, the siding in Unteröwisheim has now been closed. Until it was converted into a light rail, Oberöwisheim station also had a freight track, which has since been removed.

AVG locomotive 462 shortly before Menzingen

For freight traffic, the AVG had used the diesel locomotives 462 and 464 (type G1203), which had been built by MaK in Kiel . Locomotive 462 originally came to SWEG and came to AVG along with the line. At the time of the SWEG it was numbered 101 and at that time it was occasionally stretched in front of passenger trains. Today locomotives of the type G1206 mainly operate. Locomotive 462 was sold in 2004.

Bus routes

Along the Kraichtalbahn there are a total of four short bus lines that lead to those districts of Kraichtal that are off the railway line: Line 135 Oberöwisheim – Neuenbürg, line 136 Münzesheim – Oberacker, line 137 Bahnbrücken Bahnhof – Bahnbrücken Ort and the line 138 Menzingen – Landshausen.

literature

Daniel Riechers: From branch line to light rail: 100 years of the railway from Bruchsal to Menzingen and Odenheim . Regional culture publishing house, Ubstadt-Weiher 1996, ISBN 3-929366-26-6 .
Hans-Wolfgang Scharf: The railway in Kraichgau. Railway history between the Rhine and Neckar . EK-Verlag, Freiburg (Breisgau) 2006, ISBN 3-88255-769-9 .
Gerd Wolff, Hans-Dieter Menges: German small and private railways. Volume 2: Bathing . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1992, ISBN 3-88255-653-6 , p. 316-329 .
Klaus Bindewald: The Albtal Transport Company. Exemplary local transport system worldwide. Regional culture publishing house, Ubstadt-Weiher 2007, ISBN 978-3-89735-475-3

Web links

Commons : Kraichtalbahn - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Excerpt from the course book from 1944

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 13, 2006 .