Danube-Vltava Railway

Danube-Moldau Railway project (original variant)
Route length:	148 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ 25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Top speed:	200 km / h
Dual track :	Cham – Cham Schwedenschanze
Legend 0.0 Regensburg Central Station 339 m from / to Munich (see Regensburg – Weiden railway line ) 8.0 Wutzlhofen ( Abzw ) Route to Schwandorf 30.6 rain 358 m Nittenau (old) from / to Bodenwöhr 31.4 Nittenau (new) 369 m from Schwandorf 46.2 Roding 368 m 49.0 Posing 58.5 Cham 366 m 64.7 Kothmaißling (resolution planned) 374 m 68.6 Weiding 72.1 Arnschwang 387 m 77.0 Furth im Wald system change 404 m 80.8 State border Germany - Czech Republic 81.6 Klöpflesberg (100 m) New tunnel (3900 m, gradient 27 ‰) 83.7 State border Germany-Czech Republic (old line) 88.7 84.8 Česká Kubice 520 m 87.8 Babylon 490 m 96.0 Domažlice 425 m Old route to Plzeň 114.0 Staňkov 375 m 128.0 Stod 360 m Old route from Domažlice 148.0 Plzeň 325 m to Praha Swell:

The Danube-Moldau-Bahn (DMB) is an initiative of eastern Bavarian cities and municipalities as well as the Free State of Bavaria and the Czech Republic, which are calling for a high-speed railway line from Munich via Regensburg and Pilsen to Prague . The route was therefore also part of the coalition agreement of the Bavarian state government of October 24, 2008 between the CSU and the FDP . This also includes the acceleration of the Munich – Regensburg railway line as the southern feeder line to the DMB.

Current state

There are currently seven pairs of trains running between the Czech and Bavarian capital each day.

The fastest train reaches an average speed of 77.6 km / h on this 439-kilometer route from Munich to Regensburg - Schwandorf - Furth im Wald - Pilsen - Prague with a travel time of 5:44 hours. Two changes of direction and the non-electrified section between Regensburg and Pilsen result in three locomotive changes. In Germany these trains run as alex (ALX), while in the Czech Republic they run as express train (EX) or Eurocity (EC).

As a competing offer, Deutsche Bahn offers ten daily connections to Nuremberg (four of which continue to Mannheim ) with a long-distance bus , as well as five daily connections to Munich . At just under four (to Nuremberg) or five hours (to Munich), this connection is almost an hour faster than the direct connection by train. Here, however, only stops in Nuremberg or Munich and Prague.

Expansion plans

Original variant

The Danube-Vltava Railway was to connect the two cities of Regensburg and Pilsen, 124 kilometers apart, as the crow flies , with a 148-kilometer new / upgraded line . The aim of this project was to better connect the cities of Munich , Regensburg, Pilsen and Prague as well as the regional centers Landshut and Cham in long-distance passenger transport as well as in freight and regional transport.

To this end, new lines were to be built between Regensburg-Wutzlhofen and Roding , Furth im Wald and Česká Kubice and between Domažlice and Pilsen. In addition to accelerating to a top speed of up to 200 km / h, the change in direction in Schwandorf could have been avoided and the winding Czech section should have been straightened. The existing line between Roding and Furth im Wald as well as Česká Kubice and Domažlice was to be expanded to double-track.

In addition, 105.3 kilometers with the 15 kilovolt 16.7 Hertz electricity system common in Germany (Regensburg-Furth im Wald) and 155.9 kilometers (including 10.5 kilometers in Germany) with the 25 kilovolt 50 power system common in the Czech Republic should be used Hertz (Furth im Wald-Pilsen) will be electrified. This should reduce the length of the route between Regensburg and Pilsen by 43 kilometers. After completion of the project, the travel time between Munich and Prague should only be 3:38 hours, between Regensburg and Prague 2:13 hours due to the shortened and accelerated route and the elimination of locomotive changes. Tunnel projects between Pilsen and Prague should accelerate further so that travel times of 3:12 and 1:47 hours would have become possible. The total cost was estimated at 1.46 billion euros.

At the beginning of April 2009, the transport ministers of the Czech Republic and Bavaria, as well as the districts of Pilsen, South Bohemia, Upper Palatinate and Lower Bavaria signed a memorandum on the construction of the route. The Czech State Railway Infrastructure Company (SŽDC) then started working on a study.

An electrification of the 93.1 km long Hartmannshof-Schwandorf- Roding line was brought up for discussion. This would also create a fully electrified alternative to the railway line via Cheb between Nuremberg and Prague, which would be 26 kilometers shorter , as well as a bundling of the Prague traffic from Nuremberg and Munich.

The 65 kilometer long Czech section from Pilsen to Domažlice, to be built for 1.2 billion euros, was originally supposed to start in 2013 and be completed in 2018.

An expert opinion confirmed that the plans on the German side had a cost-benefit ratio of 0.2 (at a cost of 900 million euros), which meant that the project was no longer politically feasible in this form.

Optimized variant

Danube-Vltava Railway project (optimized variant)
Route number (DB) :	5050 (Regensburg – Schwandorf) 5800 (Schwandorf – Furth im Wald)
Course book section (DB) :	855, 875
Course book series (SŽDC) :	180
Route length:	148 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ 25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Legend 0.0 Regensburg Central Station 339 m from / to Munich (see Regensburg – Weiden railway line ) 36.1 Klardorf Connecting curve to Furth im Wald B 15 42.6 0.0 Schwandorf 359 m Connection curve from Regensburg (see Schwandorf – Furth im Wald railway line ) 67.2 Furth im Wald system change 404 m 80.8 State border Germany - Czech Republic 81.6 Klöpflesberg (100 m) New tunnel (3900 m, gradient 27 ‰) 83.7 State border Germany-Czech Republic (old line) 88.7 84.8 Česká Kubice 520 m 87.8 Babylon 490 m 96.0 Domažlice 425 m Old route to Plzeň 114.0 Staňkov 375 m 128.0 Stod 360 m Old route from Domažlice 148.0 Plzeň 325 m to Praha

Due to the poor economic efficiency of the original planning, a cheaper variant was worked out without new lines. Instead of a large new line from Regensburg to Roding, only a small connecting curve near Schwandorf should make the change of direction there superfluous.

At the end of 2010, a profitability calculation by the Federal Ministry of Transport certified these plans to have a cost-benefit ratio of 0.9. The German section was rated 0.4, the Czech section 3.0. Investments in Germany were put at 400 million euros. As part of the project registration for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 , the project was registered as an electrified upgraded line for a maximum speed of 160 km / h, as well as a Schwandorf freight bypass as a new line. It is now included as an upgraded route as part of the "Potential Need". The Regensburg – Schwandorf section is also part of the Regensburg – Hof ABS with the priority “urgent need”.

The Free State of Bavaria made six million euros available for preliminary planning in 2015, which should be completed in 2017 ^{[out of date]} . The section between Pilsen and Domažlice is to be expanded in the period from 2020 to 2025 . The goal of the expansion should be a travel time between Munich and Prague of 4:15 hours, which should be achieved with Czech Pendolino tilting technology trains .

Planned operation

After completion of the DMB, eight Intercity-Express pairs were to be offered between Munich and Prague every two hours. These should only stop in Munich, Landshut, at the DMB in Regensburg, Cham, Furth im Wald, Domažlice and Pilsen, as well as in Prague. In addition, regional express or express trains should also connect other stops on the way every two hours. These trains would have used the new single-track lines between Regensburg and Roding, as well as Furth im Wald and Česká Kubice.

Freight trains should run electrically from Pilsen via Česká Kubice on the old electrical route to Furth im Wald and continue to be diesel-powered or, after electrification, continuously with multi-system locomotives via Schwandorf to Nuremberg and Regensburg.

Web links

• Community initiative for the Danube-Vltava Railway
• Results of the Danube-Vltava Railway feasibility study . German abridged version from August 2004 as PDF ; 1.1 MiB.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany 2007/2008 . 6th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9 .
3. ^ Coalition Agreement Bavaria 2008-2013, page 31 ( Memento of May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 222 KiB)
4. ↑ [1] Express bus Prague at Deutsche Bahn
5. ↑ Mittelbayerische Zeitung (Edition Landkreis Cham) of January 4, 2011, p. 19
6. ↑ BMVI project registration for railways BVWP 2015 No. 128 ( memento of July 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 3, 2016
7. ↑ Mittelbayerische Zeitung [2] , accessed on January 3, 2016