Railways in Northern Hesse

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There were a large number of railways in Northern Hesse . The railway age in Northern Hesse began on March 30, 1848 with the opening of the Carlsbahn Grebenstein – Hümme – Carlshafen of the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn.

As a region, North Hesse is here IHK -Bezirk Kassel considered. This includes the city ​​of Kassel and the districts of Kassel , Waldeck-Frankenberg , Marburg-Biedenkopf , Hersfeld-Rotenburg , Schwalm-Eder and Werra-Meißner . This area also largely coincides with the Hessian area of ​​responsibility of the former Reichsbahndirektion Kassel . If you look at the early days of the railway before 1866, it is the part of Kurhessen north of the city of Fulda and Waldeck . Today the region belongs to the North Hessian transport association NVV , only the central Hessian district of Marburg-Biedenkopf to the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV).

Overview map and list of the northern Hessian railway lines

The overview map shows all of the routes used today and those in the past with passenger traffic in Northern Hesse and the adjacent areas. The high-speed route Hanover – Würzburg is not shown . The following is an alphabetical list of the routes:

Railways in Northern Hesse

Geographical and political conditions in the mid-19th century

North Hesse mainly consists of hilly and low mountain ranges that inhibit trade and traffic. Although were and are Weser , Werra and Fulda navigable, this could of Kurhessen but are rarely used, since shipping in Hannoversch Munden of Hannover with high taxes ( staple right was occupied) and could be blocked at any time. In order to get around this, today's Bad Karlshafen on the Weser was founded shortly before the border with Westphalia (mid-19th century Prussian), but all attempts at that time to build a canal from there via Hofgeismar to Kassel failed .

In the middle of the 19th century, Kurhessen was surrounded by Prussia in the west and east (today's North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia ) and had to fear for its independence; on the other hand, Prussia was interested in functioning transit traffic.

In addition, northern Hesse was and is, with the exception of Kassel and its suburbs, sparsely populated, so the Werra-Meißner district today has only 107 inhabitants per square kilometer (Germany: 231). Large areas are characterized by agriculture and forestry and today also by tourism; Mining and industry only played an essential role in certain regions.

On the other hand, North Hesse is centrally located in Germany, with major trade routes (especially from Frankfurt am Main to North Germany) leading along here.

The railway in North Hesse was therefore in the early years and is today again characterized by long-distance connections. The branch line network for developing the region has largely disappeared again.

The most important railway junction is the former residence of the Electorate of Hesse, Kassel.

history

Kurhessen until 1866

In the 1840s, the railway in what is now northern Hesse was first assigned two tasks. On the one hand, an efficient transport route between Kassel and (today: Bad) Karlshafen should finally be created, on the other hand an east-west connection between Erfurt and Cologne . To solve both tasks together, the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn was planned and built. Kurhessen was of course particularly interested in the section on the Weser, which was also relatively short. Therefore, Kassel – Hofgeismar – Hümme –Karlshafen ( Carlsbahn ) was first opened in March 1848 . A year later, the connection from Gerstungen (with a connection to the Halle – Bebra railway ) to Kassel was passable, in the same year the branch from Hümme to Haueda , the last Hessian town before Warburg (Westphalia). By 1853, the connection to Hamm via Altenbeken , Paderborn and Soest was added in Westphalia .

Another goal was connections to Frankfurt . Prussia and the Thuringian cities pushed for the most direct connection possible via Fulda , but Kurhessen wanted to strengthen its own residence and pushed the Main-Weser-Bahn Kassel- Marburg- Frankfurt. This was opened in stages from 1849 to 1853.

Three years later, Kassel could also go northeast, via the Hannöversche Südbahn Hannover - Göttingen - Hann. Münden- Kassel can be connected. This was the first time there was a connection from Hanover to Frankfurt.

In the 1860s, the Erfurt – Fulda– Hanau connection became relevant again. Kassel was well connected, the detour for through traffic Erfurt – Frankfurt via Kassel was disruptive. Kurhessen was increasingly interested in developing the southeast of the country. It therefore began to consistently build this Bebra railway from Bebra to Hanau on its own territory. Until the defeat in the war against Prussia in 1866 and the subsequent annexation, only Bebra- Bad Hersfeld was finished.

Expansion of the main railway network

The construction of the Bebraer Bahn was continued. Although the non-annexed Fulda valley ( belonging to Hesse-Darmstadt ) would have been free between Bad Hersfeld and Fulda , the Hessian plans were adhered to and the Bebra – Fulda railway was built with a few inclines over Hünfeld .

In the first few years after the war of 1866, it was still about the last main line to Kassel , the Halle – Hann railway line. Münden from Halle (Saale) via Nordhausen to Hann. Münden and its continuation to Kassel . This had already been completed as far as Arenshausen , shortly before the Hessian border, in 1867 ; the further route (via Hann. Münden or Kaufungen ) remained controversial. After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was reached on a connection in Hann. Münden to the Hannöversche Südbahn, which was expanded accordingly. Arenshausen – Hann. Münden via Witzenhausen was opened in 1872.

Until 1991 only main lines were built through Northern Hesse, which bypassed Kassel and its main station, which was built as a terminal station .

In 1875/76 the Göttingen – Bebra railway from Friedland via Bad Sooden-Allendorf and past Eschwege was put into operation. The last part of what will later be the north-south route was finished. The intersection with the Halle – Hann railway line. Münden in Eichenberg became an important railway junction .

In 1878 Bad Karlshafen received its second station on the Solling Railway, and Vernawahlshausen in Hesse its first.

The Leinefelde – Treysa railway was followed by a cross-connection between Leinefelde - Eschwege - Malsfeld - Homberg - Treysa until 1880 . As part of the Kanonenbahn , a supply line against France, it was expressly not intended for civil traffic and was only suitable to a limited extent, and it was also of minor military importance.

In the period up to the First World War , the railway nodes, especially in Kassel and Bebra, were expanded further. This also included connections between long-distance routes such as the “Berlin Curve”, on which Bebra could be bypassed from Erfurt to Frankfurt from 1914. No further main lines were laid out until the high-speed line from Hanover to Würzburg was built .

Except for the Kanonenbahn, which was downgraded to a branch line under the Versailles Treaty , all main lines developed well and are still in operation today.

Growth of the branch lines until 1945

Numerous branch lines were also built in northern Hesse. Narrow-gauge railways such as the Herkulesbahn remained the exception, so that non-stop journeys (e.g. express trains Eschwege – Hess. Lichtenau – Kassel or express trains Ruhrgebiet – Korbach – Bad Wildungen) were possible.

Expansion of long-distance routes since 1945

The network of the main lines was hardly affected by the division of Germany, only the Halle – Hann railway line. Münden was interrupted between Eichenberg and Arenshausen. The Halle – Bebra railway line was relocated between Gerstungen and Eisenach so as not to cross the border at Herleshausen multiple times.

The Göttingen – Eichenberg – Bebra – Bad Hersfeld – Fulda connection rose to become one of the most important railway lines in Germany as part of the north-south route . The main routes towards Kassel also remained important. From 1963 (north-south route) to 1995 (Bebra – Erfurt), with the exception of the Solling Railway, all main lines in northern Hesse were electrified.

In InterCity network of the 1970s and 1980s Kassel remained largely ignored, the long-distance trains took the road of Goettingen Eschwege-West to Bebra. Feeder trains ran from Kassel to these two stations.

In 1990 the Halle – Hann. Münden at Eichenberg reopened. Today it is mainly used for freight and regional transport.

In 1991 the high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg and with it the new Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe station was opened. As a result, long-distance traffic on the old route was greatly reduced, and Bebra in particular lost its status as a transfer hub.

After the expansion of the Thuringian Railway (until 1995), Intercity from the Ruhr area via Kassel, Bebra and Eisenach to Erfurt and ICE from Frankfurt via Bad Hersfeld to Leipzig will be offered in 2008 .


Attitudes, reactivations and future planning in passenger transport

Overview of the settings

Shutdown Route section Route name
1922 Bredelar – Martenberg Rhene-Diemeltal Railway
December 31, 1925 Kassel (Palmenbad) –Kassel (Dönche) Hercules Railway
December 31, 1940 Hercules colliery - tall grass Hercules Railway
December 31, 1940 New Holland - Hercules colliery Hercules Railway
April 2, 1945 Schwebda-Geismar Cannon train
May 2, 1945 Hawks – Mihla Werra Valley Railway (II)
July 3, 1945 Treffurt – Heldra Werra Valley Railway (II)
July 24, 1945 Arenshausen – Eichenberg Halle-Kassel Railway
May 2, 1949 Treffurt falcons Werra Valley Railway (II)
4th October 1953 Widdershausen herring Werra Valley Railway (I)
December 31, 1954 Grifte – Gudensberg Grifte-Gudensberger Kleinbahn
November 30, 1956 Marburg Süd – Dreihausen Marburg circular path
May 29, 1960 Heringen – Heimboldshausen Werra Valley Railway (I)
September 29, 1962 Philippsthal-Vacha Werra Valley Railway (I)
September 30, 1962 Wartha-Mihla Werra Valley Railway (II)
May 30, 1964 Bad Salzschlirf – Niederjossa
November 30, 1965 Kirchweg – Brasselsberg Hercules Railway
April 11, 1966 Luisenhaus Hercules Hercules Railway
September 1, 1966 Kassel-Bettenhausen-Wellerode Forest Söhrebahn
September 25, 1966 Wanfried-Heldra Werra Valley Railway (II)
November 14, 1966 Winterberg – Allendorf (Eder)
May 28, 1967 Volkmarsen – Warburg Twist Valley Railway
2nd February 1970 Heldra – Wanfried Werra Valley Railway (II)
March 1, 1970 Hümme – Karlshafen left bank Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn
May 28, 1972 Gemünden (Wohra) –Kirchhain Wohratalbahn
May 28, 1972 Zimmerrode– Gemünden (Wohra) Kellerwaldbahn
3rd June 1973 Walburg – Großalmerode West
3rd June 1973 Velmeden – Großalmerode Ost – Eichenberg Gelstertal Railway
May 26, 1974 Alsfeld – Niederaula Gründchenbahn
May 26, 1974 Malsfeld – Waldkappel Cannon train
23rd August 1977 Upper hall – lower hall Knüllwaldbahn
5th September 1977 Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe West-Naumburg Kassel-Naumburg Railway
June 1, 1980 Kirchhain – Burg- and Nieder-Gemünden Ohm Valley Railway
May 31, 1981 Bad Berleburg – Allendorf (Eder) –Frankenberg (Eder) Upper Edertal Railway
May 31, 1981 Heimboldshausen – Philippsthal Werra Valley Railway (I)
May 31, 1981 Treysa – Malsfeld Cannon train
June 1, 1984 Treysa upper auditorium Knüllwaldbahn
2nd June 1984 Bad Hersfeld – Niederaula Knüllwaldbahn
May 31, 1985 Walburg (H / N) –Waldkappel Kassel-Waldkappeler Bahn
May 29, 1987 Dillenburg – Ewersbach Dietzhölztalbahn
May 30, 1987 Dillenburg – Wallau Schelden Valley Railway
May 30, 1987 Volkmarsen – Korbach Twist Valley Railway
May 30, 1987 Korbach – Frankenberg Lower Edertal Railway
2nd December 1988 Schwebda – BD border (Ri.Geismar / Großtöpfer) Cannon train
June 1, 1993 Eschwege / West – Waldkappel Cannon train
December 30, 1993 Heimboldshausen – Hattorf Werra Valley Railway (I)
December 30, 1993 Bad Hersfeld – Heimboldshausen Hersfeld circular path
May 27, 1995 Bergheim-Giflitz-Korbach Ederseebahn
May 27, 1995 Niederwalgern – Hartenrod Aar-Salzböde Railway
December 1, 1995 Eschwege – Wanfried Kanonenbahn / Werra Valley Railway (II)
June 9, 2001 Herborn – Hartenrod Aar-Salzböde Railway
June 9, 2001 Vacha – Bad Salzungen Werra Valley Railway (I)

Track openings after 1989

opening Route section Route name
May 26, 1990 Arenshausen – Eichenberg Railway line Halle – Hann. Münden
June 2, 1991 Fulda – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Hanover High-speed line from Hanover to Würzburg
May 28, 1995 Kassel-Großenritte Kassel-Naumburg Railway (tram operation)
May 1, 1996 Bergheim-Giflitz-Hemfurth-Edersee e.on siding
October 4, 1998 Volkmarsen – Korbach Twist Valley Railway
September 29, 1999 Korbach – Korbach south Lower Edertal Railway
June 8, 2001 Kaufungen paper mill – Helsa Lossetalbahn (Regiotram)
January 28, 2006 Helsa – Hessisch Lichtenau Lossetalbahn (Regiotram)
December 12, 2009 Eschwege - Eschwege West - Abzw. Eschwege Stegmühle Leinefelde – Treysa railway line
December 12, 2009 Abzw. Niederhone - Abzw. Eschwege weirs Eschwege north curve
September 14, 2015 Frankenberg – Korbach south Lower Edertal Railway

The routes with tram or Regiotram operation partly have different routing than the historical routes.

Future planning

In the long term, the Halle – Bebra railway line is to be connected to the high-speed line with connecting curves from the Bebra area. Between the Warburg – Kassel and Kassel – Hann. Münden, the “Kassel curve” is planned so that one can drive from Halle to the Ruhr area without changing direction.

The RegioTram Kassel network is to be expanded further.

Historical lore

A large part of the written records on the history of the railway system in Northern Hesse is now kept in the Hessian State Archives in Marburg . The archive has z. B. the received documents of the management of the Main-Weser-Bahn ( term : 1832–1868) and the 1974 disbanded Federal Railway Directorate Kassel (term: 1851–1967). Both holdings are largely indexed and can be researched using the Hessen Archive Information System (Arcinsys Hessen).

See also

literature

  • Deutsche Eisenbahn-Reklame GmbH (ed.): Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn - From their early days . Kassel 1973.
  • Günter Fromm: Treffurt and its railways . Bad Langensalza 1995, ISBN 3-929000-40-7 .
  • Andreas Hedwig (Ed.): "On iron rails, as fast as lightning 2. Regional and supra-regional aspects of railway history, Marburg 2008.
  • Wolfgang Koch, Ralf Schmidt: From Kassel . Hessisch Lichtenau 1993, ISBN 3-9800576-9-0 .
  • Wolfgang Koch: The Gelstertal Railway . Hessisch-Lichtenau 1985, ISBN 3-9800576-4-X .
  • State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Railway in Hessen . Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1917-6 .
  • For literature on the Kanonenbahn see here
  • Lutz Münzer: operational, traffic and system planning as well as profitability expectations for branch lines of the Prussian State Railway; shown using the example of the Wabern – Brilon Wald and Zimmerorde – Kirchhain routes in north-western Hesse. In: Yearbook for Railway History. Volume 27, Lübbecke 1995, ISBN 3-928959-07-7 .
  • Lutz Münzer: Origin and early days of Prussian secondary branch lines in rural areas - the line (Marburg) –Sarnau – Volkmarsen – Warburg and Volkmarsen – Obervellmar– (Kassel). In: Yearbook for Railway History. Volume 29, Lübbecke 1997, ISBN 3-928959-17-4 .
  • Ludwig Brake: The first railways in Hesse. Railway policy and railway construction in Frankfurt, Hessen-Darmstadt, Kurhessen and Nassau until 1866. Historical commission for Nassau : Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 978-3-922244-83-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b http://www.bahnstatistik.de/ - BD Frankfurt (accessed on April 7, 2012).
  2. ^ State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.): Railway in Hesse. Cultural monuments in Hessen. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, 3 volumes in a slipcase, ISBN 3-8062-1917-6 , volume 2.2, p. 690 ff.
  3. ↑ Overview of the holdings “Directorate of the Main-Weser-Bahn (Railway Directorate)”  (HStAM inventory 60 a), accessed on September 21, 2011.
  4. ↑ Overview of the holdings "Bundesbahndirektion Kassel" (HStAM holdings 605/1)  In: Archive Information System Hessen (Arcinsys Hessen), as of July 2, 2015.