Island operation (railway)

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The term island operation is used by the railways for a part of the operation that is independent or separate from the rest of the route network.

Since such a railway has to be operated like an independent railway, island operations are now mostly transferred to a subsidiary of the parent company. That is why the term is also used in connection with branches of society.

There are three types of island operation:

• A company that is physically separated from the rest of the network. In the case of an island train , the separation from the network is obvious. However, this type of operation also exists on the mainland. Mostly it was caused by line closures, B. at the Strausberger Eisenbahn or Industriebahn Walzen-Irle in Netphen Deuz . However, it can also be caused by a line that is not completely finished, such as that of the U-Bahn line 55 in Berlin. In the old federal states there are island operations mainly with museum railways . Since December 2015, the Mühlkreisbahn in Upper Austria can also be assigned to this category, as the Mühlkreisbahn was isolated due to the partial closure of the connecting line to the Westbahn.
• An operation that is separate from the rest of the network for technical reasons (different gauge or power supply). Here there is island operation despite the physical connection to the surrounding network. In the new federal states of Germany there are a number of island businesses on a narrow-gauge basis, e.g. B. the Harz narrow-gauge railway . Cross-network traffic is only possible with time-consuming re-gauging of the vehicles or trolleys . The Rübelandbahn, on the other hand, is operated with a voltage and frequency (25 kV and 50 Hz) that differs from the rest of the Deutsche Bahn network, so that a locomotive change is necessary for continuous operation under catenary . The Höllentalbahn in Baden used to be isolated due to different voltage and frequency, but was switched to the "usual" current of 15 kV and 16 2/3 Hz on May 20, 1960. The S-Bahn trains in Hamburg and Berlin are also not operated with the usual traction current, but with direct current from a lateral conductor rail.
• Traffic that is operationally isolated from the rest of the network. An example in passenger traffic is the Graefenbergbahn from Nuremberg's northeast train station to Graefenberg. For passengers there are no continuous connections to Nuremberg Central Station (this can only be reached by changing to the Nuremberg U-Bahn ); for vehicle transfers, the route itself is linked to the rest of the network via the Nuremberg Ring Railway .

Island operation also occurs with all other network-type infrastructures, cf. for example: island system .