Betzdorf – Haiger railway line

Betzdorf – Haiger
Route number (DB) :	2651
Course book section (DB) :	462
Route length:	36.4 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	D4 (Betzdorf – Herdorf) CE (Herdorf – Haiger)
Maximum slope :	15  ‰
Legend Victory route from Cologne 82.9 Betzdorf (Sieg) ( wedge station ) Victory route to Siegen Alsdorf tunnel (131 m) Daadetalbahn to Daaden 84.7 Grünebacherhütte 85.7 Grünebach place 86.9 Sassenroth 88.0 Königsstollen Herdorf Tunnel (137 m) 90.1 Herdorf to Unterwilden State border between Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia 91.5 Strut huts 92.9 Altenseelbach 93.9 Neunkirchen (Kr Siegen) 95.4 Zeppenfeld 96.8 Wiederstein (reactivation planned) 98.9 Wahlbach (Kr Siegen) 100.9 Burbach (Kr Siegen) 104.4 Gem. Burbach (Awanst) 104.7 Würgendorf place Dynamite Nobel (Awanst) 105.9 Würgendorf 109.0 Holzhausen (Kr Siegen) 109.6 Mannesmann steelworks ( Awanst ) 111.3 Niederdresselnorf State border between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse 116.3 Allendorf (Dillkr) 117.3 Haiger Obertor from Breitscheid of victories 119.3 Haiger ( wedge station ) after casting

The Betzdorf – Haiger railway (also known as the Hellertal Railway ) is a 36-kilometer, single-track main line from Betzdorf to Haiger . The end points of the route are in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse . It runs between Struthütten and Niederdresselnorf in North Rhine-Westphalia . The Hessische Landesbahn (HLB) operates the passenger traffic . This uses Alstom Coradia LINT 41 multiple units . The local trains are tied through the Dill line to Dillenburg .

history

The Betzdorf (Sieg) train station in 1862

The Hellertalbahn was built as part of the Deutz-Gießener Eisenbahn , which was built in several stages by the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn as the main line from Cologne-Deutz to Gießen between 1859 and 1862 . Due to the development of traffic and its military importance in 1870/71 , the line was expanded to two tracks in 1871.

The decline of the Hellertal route began in 1915 when the alternative running through the Rudersdorfer Tunnel was opened. Both the high-quality tourist traffic and the majority of the freight traffic now used the direct and cheaper Dill route in the direction of Gießen and further into the Rhine-Main area. Another reason was the decline of the Siegerland ore mining . As part of the electrification of the Ruhr-Sieg and Dill lines in the mid-1960s, they were downgraded as a branch line, followed by the dismantling of the second track in the Herdorf-Haiger area in 1965. Due to the drop in passengers, the Deutsche Bundesbahn finally submitted an application for closure . Original plans provided that they would also be electrified as part of the electrification of the victory route . However, these considerations were not pursued further.

In 1984, the then Federal Railway Directorate in Essen began to consider shifting passenger traffic to rail buses at least on the Neunkirchen – Haiger section ; Furthermore, it was considered whether the Würgendorf – Haiger section could be shut down in a second step. Three years later, the second track on the Betzdorf– Herdorf section was closed. Today only the continuous kilometers from Cologne-Deutz and the common route number remind of the old route.

The historic route in Betzdorf with a view towards Herdorf and Daaden. The right track in use by the Daadetalbahn , the left track Hellertalbahn . At the height of the switch, the old 83.2 kilometers

A heavy-duty transformer transport for the Amprion company , destined for the Dauersberg substation , with a DB class V100 diesel locomotive on the Hellertalbahn near Zeppenfeld (November 2018).

Deutsche Bundesbahn and subsequently Deutsche Bahn used Uerdingen rail buses (VT 98) in double to quadruple traction until 1999 , and later also diesel multiple units of the 628 series .

In 1997 the tender was issued by the responsible special-purpose associations . Since the route runs through three federal states (section Betzdorf – Herdorf: Rhineland-Palatinate ; section Neunkirchen – Niederdresselltorf: North Rhine-Westphalia ; section Allendorf – Dillenburg: Hesse ), the special purpose associations for local rail passenger transport Rhineland-Palatinate North and Westphalia-South and the Rhine- Main-Verkehrsverbund they out together. A bidding consortium consisting of Westerwaldbahn GmbH , Siegener Kreisbahn and Hessischer Landesbahn was awarded the contract and founded the operating company HellertalBahn GmbH. She took over train operations in 1999. Track and signal systems are the responsibility of DB Netz , the stations are the responsibility of DB Station & Service . In September 2011, the regional rail passenger transport association Rhineland-Palatinate North (SPNV Nord) started the tenders for transport services in the Eifel-Westerwald-Sieg diesel network (EWS). The result of the tender was announced on October 31, 2012. With the 2015/2016 timetable change on December 13, 2015, the Hessische Landesbahn (HLB) took over the transport services on the RB 96 (Hellertalbahn) from Hellertalbahn GmbH . However, the Hessische Landesbahn was already one third of the shareholders of Hellertalbahn GmbH in addition to the Westerwaldbahn GmbH and the Siegen-Wittgenstein district railway .

The former station building in Neunkirchen was sold in December 2017 by Deutsche Bahn to the neighboring scrap dealers who want to expand their factory premises. Partial demolition began in March 2018. The platform access was therefore relocated permanently.

Offer

Stadler GTW 2/6 of Hellertalbahn GmbH in Betzdorf station (Sieg) (December 2011)

line	Line course	Tact
RB 96	Hellertal Railway : Betzdorf (Sieg)  - Herdorf  - Neunkirchen (Kr Siegen)  - Burbach (Kr Siegen)  - Haiger  - Dillenburg Between Neunkirchen and Dillenburg only 120-minute intervals As of: timetable change December 2017	60 min

The Hellertalbahn is mostly used every two hours between Betzdorf and Dillenburg on the SPNV Monday to Friday , with gaps in the working day (afternoon) hours caused by the turnaround in Burbach, Würgendorf or Haiger. At the weekend there is a continuous two-hour cycle on the entire route from Betzdorf to Dillenburg. The route between Betzdorf and Neunkirchen is driven every hour (except in the morning hours of Sundays and public holidays). All trips run as regional trains (RB) . In North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate this line is run as the RB 96. Within the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund - i.e. in the Hessian area - this line had the number RB 41 until the 2015/2016 timetable change on December 13, 2015. Since the timetable change, it has also been referred to as RB 96 in the RMV area.

From June 2001 the Zeppenfeld and Wiederstein stops were again served for a year. Due to safety concerns of the Federal Railway Authority , according to which the level crossings in the area of ​​the stops were not designed for a train stop within the switch-on lines, the stops had to be abandoned at the end of August 2002. In 2010, the Neunkirchen community announced that the Wiederstein stop would be reopened, but this has not yet been implemented. In addition, it was announced that the Zeppenfeld stop would be finally abandoned. With the tender for this line as part of the Eifel-Westerwald-Sieg diesel network, the technical connection in Dillenburg to the Sieg-Dill Railway (RB 95) to Siegen was planned, which has not yet been implemented due to the lack of upgrading of the infrastructure.

Within the NWL between Struthütten and Niederdresselnorf, the Hellertalbahn was the route with the lowest cross-sectional utilization in local rail passenger transport in 2018 with 96 passengers per weekday.

Rates

Stadler GTW 2/6 of Hellertalbahn GmbH in Betzdorf (Sieg) , behind it 628 677-7 of Daadetalbahn (July 2007)

Since the Hellertalbahn runs through three federal states, a variety of tariffs apply to it:

Betzdorf – Herdorf (section in Rhineland-Palatinate)

The tariffs of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel (VRM) have been used for journeys within this section since January 1, 2009 . For journeys with start or finish in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS) or with start and / or destination in the area of ​​the Verkehrsverbund Westfalentarif , its tariffs apply. In terms of the NRW tariff , this section located in Rhineland-Palatinate is considered a transit route , so it can be traveled through between destinations in NRW at the NRW tariff. The section is also considered a transit route between destinations within the Westphalian tariff.

Struthütten – Niederdresselnorf (section in North Rhine-Westphalia)

The Westphalian tariff applies in this section, and the NRW tariff also applies to nationwide journeys.

Allendorf – Dillenburg (section in Hesse)

The tariffs of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund apply on the Hessian section of the route . For trips with start and / or destination in the area of ​​the Westphalian tariff, their tariffs apply. The Allendorf – Haiger section, like the Betzdorf – Herdorf section in Rhineland-Palatinate, is a transit route between destinations within the Westphalian tariff or destinations in North Rhine-Westphalia.

For journeys not covered by transport associations, the Deutsche Bahn tariff is used. The cross-through-country ticket is valid on the entire Hellertalbahn.

Tariff examples

Westphalian tariff

Siegen – Herdorf via Betzdorf

Siegen – Neunkirchen via Betzdorf or Haiger

Siegen – Allendorf via Haiger

VRM tariff

Betzdorf – Herdorf

Grünebacherhütte – Sassenroth

RMV tariff

Dillenburg – Allendorf

Sechshelden – Haiger Obertor

VRS tariff

Cologne – Herdorf

Siegburg – Grünebach location

NRW tariff

Hagen – Burbach via Haiger

Cologne – Neunkirchen via Betzdorf

Deutsche Bahn tariff

Dillenburg – Betzdorf

Allendorf-Herdorf

Expansion planning

An expansion is planned for the Hellertalbahn. An increase in travel speed and the relocation of the regular intersection to Burbach should lead to the connection to the Mittelhessen-Express to Frankfurt being reached in Dillenburg and an extension of the hourly service beyond Neunkirchen to Burbach without the need for additional vehicles. This also requires a new signal box in Burbach to enable simultaneous entry into the Burbach crossing station. As part of the expansion, the Neunkirchen, Burbach and Würgendorf stations will receive new platforms with an edge height of 55 centimeters. The Neunkirchen and Würgendorf train stations are to lose their crossroads and to be turned back into stops. The total cost of the measures is estimated at 7.8 million euros. The measure was originally supposed to be completed with the start of operations of the Hessian state railway in December 2015.

After slow progress in the planning process, planning approval for the measures in Burbach and Würgendorf has been available from the Federal Railway Authority since March 2019. The plans for the Neuenkirchen station have not yet been approved, as the Federal Railway Authority is demanding that the crossing point be retained in the event of delays as part of a railway scientific study. Deutsche Bahn has not yet been able to find a solution for a barrier-free crossing station that does not lead to significant additional costs or disadvantages for passengers. Therefore, the Zweckverband Westfalen-Süd instructed the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe not to continue the project with its funds. Alternatives are to be examined by December 2020 and a decision to cancel the project is to be made with the Westphalia-South Association. The Zweckverband Westfalen-Süd incurred considerable additional costs due to higher expenditure in the planning process and higher operating costs in the transport contract, so that it no longer considers the measure worthy of implementation.

literature

• Jochen Hellmig, Manfred Krüger, Axel Oppermann: The Hellertalbahn . Arbeitsgemeinschaft Eisenbahnverkehr Westerwald (self-published), Hachenburg, Betzdorf, Daaden 1999, without ISBN.

Web links

• Dreiländerbahn website
• Images of the tunnel portals
• Images of vehicles on the route

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Neunkirchen station has to give way. In: Siegener Zeitung. January 31, 2018, accessed January 7, 2019 . 
2. ↑ The station is being partially demolished. In: Siegener Zeitung. March 6, 2018, accessed January 7, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt 2015 - Framework concept for the further development of local rail transport in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland ( Memento from March 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ NWL, association assembly, further steps to expand Hellertalbahn and reimbursement of funds from EBINFA, August 25, 2020
5. ↑ Overview of current station funding programs in the NWL
6. ↑ WAZ, November 22, 2015, trains should be able to travel faster
7. ↑ ZWS, submission to item 3.2 of the association meeting on March 20, 2012
8. ↑ NWL, association assembly, further steps to expand Hellertalbahn and reimbursement of funds from EBINFA, August 25, 2020
9. ↑ NWL, association assembly, further steps to expand Hellertalbahn and reimbursement of funds from EBINFA, August 25, 2020
10. ↑ Zweckverband Westfalen-Süd, association assembly, NWL template “Further procedure to expand Hellertalbahn and reimbursement of funds from EBINFA”, August 19, 2020