Čížkovice – Obrnice railway line

Čížkovice – Obrnice
Course book series (SŽDC) :	113
Route length:	36.884 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	B2
Maximum slope :	24.1  ‰
Minimum radius :	180 m
Top speed:	100 km / h
Legend from Lovosice (formerly StEG ) -0.021 Čížkovice formerly Tschischkowitz 175 m to Libochovice (formerly StEG ) 0.367 Infrastructure border SŽDC / AŽD Praha 3.483 Třebenice formerly Trebnitz 220 m 5.048 Třebenice město formerly Trebnitz town 240 m 7,879 Dlažkovice formerly Dlaschkowitz 280 m 8.776 Podsedice formerly Podseditz 280 m 13,077 Třebívlice formerly Triblitz 255 m 15.325 Semeč 280 m 18,282 Hnojnice formerly Schiedowitz-Noinitz 295 m 21.269 Libčeves used to be Liebshausen 300 m 24.129 Sinutec formerly Sinutz 310 m Silnice I / 28 25.913 Odolice formerly Wodolitz (until 1981) 314.6 m 27.023 Bělušice formerly Bieloschitz 310 m 28,913 Skršín used to be Skirschinn 290 m 34.260 Sedlec u Obrnic formerly Sedlitz (near Obernitz) 225 m Srpina Silnice I / 15 36.259 Infrastructure border between AŽD Praha / SŽDC from Praha-Smichov (formerly PDE ) and from Plzeň (formerly EPPK ) 36,863 Obrnice formerly Obernitz 210 m according to odb. České Zlatníky (formerly EPPK ) to Most (formerly PDE )

The railway line Čížkovice – Obrnice is a railway connection in the Czech Republic , which was originally built by the Brüx-Lobositz connecting railway (Czech: Mostecko-Lovosická spojovací dráha ) as a guaranteed local railway . It runs in northern Bohemia from Čížkovice ( Tschischkowitz ) via Třebenice to Obrnice ( Obernitz ). Scheduled passenger train services were discontinued from 2007 to 2019.

In German Czech vernacular, the track was earlier than plums ground or Powidlbahn known. Since 2008 the Czech equivalent Švestková dráha has been the brand name for the tourist travel offer on weekends and public holidays.

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

history

Leopold Graf von Hohenstein, landowner in Stephan, received the concession "to build and operate a standard-gauge local railway from the Sedlitz station on the Pilsen – Dux state railway line to the Čížkovitz station of the Lobositz – Libochwitz local railway operated by the privileged Austro-Hungarian state railway company" Dr. Alois Bauer, member of the Reichsrat and landowner in Podeseditz, Dr. Albin Victor Tschinkel, lawyer in Teplitz and Victor Noback, building contractor in Prague on January 29, 1897. Part of the concession was the obligation to start construction of the line immediately and to finish it within a year and a half. The duration of the concession was set at 90 years.

Share of the Brüx-Lobositzer connecting railway from 1900

The Kingdom of Bohemia financed 70 percent of the construction costs totaling 4,248,000 kroner as a non-repayable grant, the rest of 1,194,600 kroner was taken over by private investors. The capital of the public limited company of the Brüx-Lobositzer connecting railway , founded on February 28, 1900, amounted to 1,274,600 kroner in 5973 ordinary shares at 200 kroner and 400 priority shares at 200 guilders. The Kingdom of Bohemia held 400 ordinary shares worth 80,000 kroner in the joint stock company. The company was based in Prague.

In contradiction to the concession regulations, the construction of a connection station in Sedlitz was waived; instead, the route continued to Obernitz station. The line was opened on December 19, 1898. The kk Staatsbahnen (kkStB) ran the business on behalf of the owners.

In 1912, the local railway timetable indicated three mixed pairs of 2nd and 3rd class trains, each of which was connected to Brüx ATE. One of the trains ran to and from Lobositz, all the others had a connection in Tschischkowitz to the trains on the Lobositz – Libochowitz line. They needed a little more than two hours for the 40 kilometers from Tschischkowitz to Brüx.

Třebívlice station with a former water station to supply steam locomotives (2008)

After the First World War, the newly founded Czechoslovak State Railways ČSD took the place of the kkStB . On January 1, 1925, the Brüx-Lobositzer connecting railway was nationalized by law and the line was integrated into the ČSD network.

At the beginning of the 1930s, the use of modern motorized trains enabled the timetable to be compressed and travel times to be significantly reduced. The winter timetable 1937/38 recorded four continuous pairs of passenger trains between Lobositz and Obernitz, supplemented by further connections on sections of the route. The shortest travel time between Lobositz and Obernitz was now one hour and 24 minutes.

After the Sudetenland became part of Germany on October 1, 1938, the new state border cut the route several times. While the start and end point were now in the German Empire, the municipalities of Třebenice / Trebnitz, Třebívlice / Trziblitz and Semeč / Semtsch and the operating offices there remained on the territory of Czechoslovakia. Since there was no direct connection to other lines remaining in Czechoslovakia, the entire line came to the Deutsche Reichsbahn , Reichsbahndirektion Dresden . With four pairs of passenger trains, the traffic between Schiedowitz and Obernitz was resumed, an operation over Czechoslovak territory to and from Lobositz was initially not possible. In the imperial course book of the summer of 1939 the connection was included as course book route 140u Obernitz – Schiedowitz u Tschischkowitz – Lobositz .

Only after the occupation of the so-called "remaining Czech Republic " and the formation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939 was through traffic across the border resumed. The border stations to the Protectorate were Tschischkowitz, Podseditz and Liebshausen, where passport controls took place. In the 1941 summer timetable, four pairs of passenger trains ran on the Lobositz – Obernitz route, and two more between Lobositz and Triblitz or Podseditz. The use of the motor vehicle was restricted due to a lack of fuel in the Second World War and later stopped entirely. Towards the end of the war, the line was increasingly an alternative route for the main lines damaged by air raids. Among other things, hospital trains were directed over the route.

After the end of the Second World War on May 9, 1945, the entire line came back to the ČSD, which resumed traffic with four pairs of passenger trains passing through. A turning point was the expulsion of the German-speaking population of the railway area in 1945 and 1946. As early as 1947, all passenger trains were again run with motor vehicles. In the following years, the timetable was gradually condensed back to the pre-war level and beyond. From the mid-1950s, eight pairs of passenger trains drove the entire route. The most important service in freight transport from the 1960s onwards was a block train from Most to Lovosice to supply the chemical plant there (today: Lovochemie ) with ammonia.

In 1982, a landslide interrupted the route between Třebenice město and Dlažkovice, an event that seriously questioned the continuity of the route for the first time. From then on, the passenger trains were run on this section as rail replacement services. It was not until 1987 that the ČSD had the section repaired and continued rail traffic.

On January 1, 1993, as a result of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the line was transferred to the newly founded Czech state railway company České dráhy (ČD). Since 2003 it has been part of the network of the state infrastructure operator Správa železniční dopravní cesty (SŽDC).

With the timetable change on December 9, 2007, the passenger train service was canceled by the responsible Ústecký kraj . The main reason given for the discontinuation was the low utilization of the trains. The last timetable in 2007 recorded six pairs of passenger trains on working days, which ran every two hours. Freight traffic has not taken place for several years.

On January 9, 2008, a 400-meter-long freight train from the private railway company Unipetrol doprava, consisting of 28 empty tank wagons for ammonia and urea and two locomotives, was running on a trial basis . The trains have been included in the timetable since January 13, 2008; if necessary, they run once or twice a month in the direction of Lovosice – Most.

Passenger train in Třebenice město (2015)

At the initiative of the neighboring communities, the route was again used by two pairs of passenger trains on the weekends from March 26, 2008. This access offer, which is limited to the summer half-year, has since been advertised as “Švestková dráha”. The rail transport company commissioned for these journeys was initially Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy (JHMD) and, from 2014, Railway Capital (RC). Since then, railcars of older designs have been used that are no longer used in regular traffic. Since the 2016 annual timetable, the connection has been integrated into the Ústecký kraj regional cycle as the T4 “Středohorský motoráček” tourist route .

In October 2010, the Czech Ministry of Transport announced the intended closure of the line in December 2010, which was not implemented. In November 2014, the SŽDC line was put up for sale for CZK 132,265,270. In 2016 it became the property of AŽD Praha for only CZK 5.7 million . The Czech manufacturer of railway safety technology wanted to use the line in particular as a test route for developing driverless trains. As a result of the takeover of the route, the trains on the T4 tourist line have also been operated by AŽD since 2017.

Since the takeover, AŽD has been working on the complete renovation of the infrastructure. In addition to the renewal of tracks and systems, the buildings were also repaired. The stations received modern safety technology with light signals, the crossings were equipped with flashing lights. The renovated Třebívlice station was awarded the title “Most beautiful station of the year 2017” (Nejkrásnější nádraží roku 2017) in October 2017 as runner-up. The purpose of acquiring the line was to test and demonstrate the company's own signaling and train control technology. That is why the line was completely equipped for the current ETCS level 2 according to baseline 3 .

After completion of the modernization work, AŽD aimed to reintroduce regular local rail passenger transport, which was supported by the Ústecký kraj as the authority responsible for local public transport.

In September 2018, AŽD was commissioned to provide transport services for the Litoměřice – Most line from the timetable change in December 2019 as part of a direct award. The agreement has a term of ten years and provides for 510,000 train kilometers per year at a price of 108.50 kroner per kilometer. An autonomous, “driverless” operation of the trains without control by a driver is planned.

In December 2019, AŽD announced the completion of the modernization work on the line. A total of 100 million crowns was invested in the modernization. The maximum speed is 100 km / h on four sections. In addition, the route now serves as a reference for various AŽD products. The route was equipped with electronic signal boxes of the type StationSWing ESA-44 , ETCS centers TrainSWing RBA-10 and GSM-R . Various new level crossing systems and light signal systems were also built. The route is controlled from the regional control center in Lovosice. In the Regiosprinter trains specially purchased for the route, a system is tested in addition to satellite positioning technology that can detect broken rails by recording the driving noise of the wheelsets . The test of driverless, automated trains ( ATO ) should also take place on this route from 2020; in addition to the Kopidlno – Dolní Bousov line . Further equipment work for ETCS Level 1 is to be carried out.

Scheduled passenger traffic by AŽD was resumed on December 15, 2019. The scheduled travel time for passenger trains from Lovosice to Most is a little over 50 minutes, intercity buses need around 80 minutes for this route. Passenger trains on the U10 line run every two hours on the Litoměřice horni nádraži – Most route, although some of the stops between Třebívlice and Most are not served. The train crossings take place in Třebívlice at the usual minute of symmetry . Additional trains run between Litoměřice horni nádraži and Třebívlice on weekdays, increasing the offer there every hour. Additional travel for day trippers as line T4 will no longer be offered from 2020.

Route description

Elevation profile

The route begins at the Čížkovice station on the Lovosice – Libochovice railway line and heads west along the south-facing slopes of the Central Bohemian Uplands . The route bypasses the mountain ranges, which run out to the south, in loops that are sometimes far reaching. Only to the west of Libčeves does the line cut through the mountains themselves in a wide basin before reaching the Praha – Most railway line at the Zaječicky potok . The track then runs parallel to the main line to Obrnice .

Vehicle use

Regional sprinter from AŽD Praha in Lovosice (2019)

The kkStB procured two locomotives of the 97 and 178 series for the owner's account . They bore the numbers 97.133-134 and 178.54-55.

The CSD continued from 1933 railcar of series M 130.2 , which in the 1950s by the series M 131.1 were replaced. The series 344.4 , 434.0 and 434.2 of the Lovosice, Most and Česká Lípa locomotive depots drove in front of freight trains . From the end of the 1970s, passenger trains were operated exclusively with the railcars of the ČSD series M 152.0 (ČD 810) and freight trains with the diesel locomotives of the ČSD series T 466.2 (ČD 742).

In the past, historical railcars of various series were used for the tourist traffic “Švestková dráha” / “Středohorský motoráček”. In addition to vehicles of the ČSD series M 131.1 (ČD 801) of the museum railway Zubrnice , railcars of the ČSD series M 240.0 (ČD 820) and M 286.0 (ČD 850) also operated. As planned, AŽD uses class 810 railcars from Železnice Desná .

AŽD has been using four used, low-floor railcars of the Regiosprinter type since December 2019 , which come from the German railway company Rurtalbahn . The vehicles received a fundamental modernization at CZ LOKO in Česká Třebová and the technical equipment for autonomous operation. The first renewed train was presented to the public in June 2019 at the “Czech Raildays” trade fair.

literature

• Miroslav Jelen: Zrušené železniční tratě v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku , Dokořán 2009, ISBN 978-80-7363-129-1 ; P. 115

Web links

Commons : Čížkovice – Obrnice railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Route 113 Lovosice – Most on www.zelpage.cz
• Official website of AŽD Praha for Švestková dráha (Czech)
• Description of the route on www.trat087.info (Czech)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Zdeněk Hudec et al: Atlas drah České republiky 2006–2007. 2nd Edition. Dopravní vydavatelství Malkus, Praha 2006, ISBN 80-87047-00-1 .
2. ↑ Prohlášení o dráze regionální Čížkovice – Obrnice 2017 ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2017 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. 
3. ↑ [1]
4. ↑ Decree of the Czech government of December 20, 1995
5. ^ Imperial law for the kingdoms and states represented in the Imperial Council of February 16, 1897
6. ↑ data on geerkens.at
7. ↑ history severoceskedrahy.cz
8. ↑ 1912 timetable of the kkStB - valid from May 1, 1912
9. ↑ Legal text on parliament.cz
10. ↑ ČSD timetable - valid from October 3, 1937
11. ^ German course book summer 1939
12. ^ German course book summer 1941
13. ↑ kr-ustecky.cz ( Memento from May 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
14. ↑ svestkovadraha.cz ( Memento of the original dated December 1, 2008 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. 
15. ↑ Current information on www.zelpage.cz - accessed on October 21, 2010
16. ↑ Michal Pavec: Chcete si koupit železnici? Stát poprvé prodá funkční tratě , Lidovky.cz, November 20, 2014
17. ↑ "Provozovatelem tratí 063 a 113 bude nadále SŽDC" on www.zelpage.cz
18. ↑ "AŽD Praha pořizuje vlastní motorové vozy" on www.vlaky.net
19. ↑ Třebívlice se chlubí druhým nejkrásnějším nádražím v zemi on idnes.cz
20. ↑ ^{a b} Signaling supplier reopens upgraded branch line. In: https://www.railwaygazette.com . DVV Media Group , December 23, 2019, accessed on January 11, 2020 . 
21. ↑ "Well Švestkovou dráhu se vrátí každodenní provoz. AŽD se dohodla s krajem, koupila už pro trať vlaky “on zdopravy.cz
22. ↑ "První autonomní vlak vyjede v Česku Příští rok. Strojvedoucí v něm bude jen pro jistotu ”on zdopravy.net
23. ^ David Burroughs: AŽD Praha relaunches daily services on Plum Railway. In: International Railway Journal. December 24, 2019, accessed January 11, 2020 . 
24. ↑ "AŽD dokončila modernizaci Švestkové Railways. Vlaky automaticky kontrolují trať, není ani metr modrého zábradlí ” on zdopravy.cz
25. ↑ "Renesance lokálky. AŽD chce vrátit na Švestkovou dráhu každodenní provoz "
26. ↑ Annual timetable 2020
27. ↑ AŽD Praha pořizuje vlastní motorové vozy
28. ^ Jan Sůra: Vlaky pro Švestkovou dráhu odhaleny. Spojení Lovosice - Most zvládnou rychleji než autobusy. In: https://zdopravy.cz . June 12, 2019, accessed January 11, 2020 (cs-CZ).