Tábor – Bechyně railway line
| Tábor – Bechyně | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Course book series (SŽDC) : | 202 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 24.091 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route class : | B1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 1.5 kV = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 41 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 125 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed: | 50 km / h | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Tábor – Bechyně railway is an electrified, regional railway connection in the Czech Republic , which was originally built and operated as a nationally guaranteed local Tábor – Bechin railway. It branches off in Tábor from the main line České Velenice – Praha and leads to Bechyně ( Bechin ).
At the time of its construction, it was the first electrically operated full railway in Austria-Hungary . Today it is the last railway line in the Czech Republic still operated with 1.5 kV DC voltage . In the past, the Prague rail junction (until 1960) and the Rybník – Lipno nad Vltavou line (until 2005) were electrified with this power system.
According to a decree of the Czech government, the line has been classified as a regional railway ("regionální dráha") since December 20, 1995.
history
The history of the railway is closely connected to the name of František Křižík , who designed the electrical drive system for the line and electrical equipment for the vehicles, and whose company also manufactured the electrical equipment. The Křižik company gained experience for the construction of the line while building the tram systems in Prague and Pilsen . The construction of the Prague – Dobříš local electric railway, which was officially approved by the State Railway Directorate on November 16, 1897, was immediately preceded by the construction. On the basis of its successful examination, the Ministry of Transport issued the building permit for the line on September 4, 1901 Tábor - Bechyně with electrical operation. The construction of the line began in April 1902, after 14 months it was completed including the 174 m long, 20 m high railway viaduct over the Lužnice ( Lainsitz ) near Tábor. Rail operations were opened on June 21, 1903.
The railway was initially supplied by an electricity company in Tábor , which, in addition to the catenary, also supplied the city lighting and various businesses. The power station stood on the banks of the Lužnice and initially worked with steam power. Three generators each were driven by three steam engines, which generated a direct voltage of 700 V twice.
The power supply consisted of a three-wire system with two parallel contact wires. The voltage between them was 1400 volts, against the running rails 700 volts each. The contact wires were 1.2 m apart at a height of 5.5 m above the upper edge of the rail. The catenary was fed in in two separate sections, the separation point was in Malšice station . In 1929, this energy supply was switched to a normal, single-pole contact line with 1.5 kV DC voltage , which was fed from the public grid via mercury vapor rectifiers .
In the beginning, four pairs of trains ran daily. Their number rose to eight pairs of passenger and two freight trains in 1941.
In 1929 the line, which from 1903 initially ended near today's Bechyně zastavka station, was extended to the center of Bechyně. The bridge called Bechyněr Rainbow was built over the Lužnice and the Bechyně train station was built near the center of the city. The bridge is used by both railways and road traffic, it is a long way crossing for vehicles in the direction of Bechyně .
In 1937 and 1938, the ČSD completely rebuilt the contact line system, and tubular steel masts were installed for the individual support points. Between 1931/32 and 1937/38 the railcars were also modernized.
After the Second World War , a military airfield was built not far from Sudoměřice , which ensured significant freight traffic for the railway for decades. A locomotive from Prague to Sudoměřice had to be delivered for this.
On January 1, 1993, the line was transferred to the newly founded České dráhy (ČD) in the course of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia . Since 2003 it has been part of the network of the state infrastructure operator Správa železniční dopravní cesty (SŽDC).
After 1989 the military airfield in Sudoměřice was closed, which led to a sharp drop in freight traffic. This event also had a negative impact on the number of passengers carried. It was therefore decided to completely renovate the superstructure and to increase the line speed to 50 km / h. Freight traffic, which mainly consists of timber transport, takes place predominantly at night. Today there are nine pairs of passenger trains per day on weekdays and seven on weekends. The train traffic is handled as a simple branch line operation. Usually only one train set operates. If there are train crossings en route, the operating staff will do this on their own.
The future of Deutsche Bahn is assured. In Bechyně, a sanatorium, a castle and a monastery ensure a brisk tourist traffic. Except for a few interruptions such as in 1953, this was always done with electric traction vehicles. However, these currently only run additional morning trains on weekdays; otherwise, ČD series 814 diesel multiple units are used.
In 2016, the Czech Ministry of Transport decided that the route should be excluded from the nationwide switch to overhead line voltage of 25 kV due to its technical characteristics. SŽDC, on the other hand, plans to completely renew the worn, over 80-year-old contact line system including the energy supply for the years 2023 to 2024. Because of the high costs of maintaining island operation, SŽDC is assuming a changeover to 25 kV. The energy supply would then be possible via an existing substation in Tábor.
On January 30, 2020, the district assembly of Jihočeský kraj approved the conversion of the overhead line voltage to 25 kV. This decision is mainly justified by the high additional costs for new vehicles, which the responsible public transport authority Jihočeský kraj would have to bear proportionally. The budget is currently estimated at 300 million crowns. It is still unclear how tourist operations can be continued with the historic vehicles. In principle, it is assumed that the previously used electric multiple unit from the early days of the railway can be adapted to the higher contact line voltage as part of a scheduled repair.
Vehicle use
Two electric multiple units of the kkStB series 40.0 were available for the opening of operations. At first they were only used in passenger transport, later they also handled freight transport as mixed trains. In 1905 and 1908, two more, largely identical railcars were purchased. In 1925, ČSD included the four vehicles in the ČSD EM 400.0 series . In 1939, the EM 400.003 railcar burned out, which is why Škoda in Plzeň delivered a new EM 410.001 railcar in 1941 . It was scrapped in 1973.
The EM 400.001 railcar has been preserved and is now an exhibit in the National Technical Museum in Prague . Today it is occasionally used for special trips on the route.
Even before the Second World War, the E 423.001 locomotive was used in front of freight trains when required . It came from the electrified network in Prague. The temporary help turned into a permanent job, preferably on the connecting railway to the airport in Sudoměřice . This locomotive also remained operational and is part of the holdings of the National Technical Museum.
In 1956 new locomotives of the series ČSD series E 422.0 (since 1988: series 100) were procured from Škoda. As a result, two EM 400.0 railcars were retired. The vehicles moved from the Prague hub were also gradually eliminated , with the exception of the E 436.004 , which became an exhibit at the National Technical Museum, and the E 424.002 , which is on display at Techmania in Plzeň . The E 422.001 of the kapesnich Bobina has been preserved as an exhibit in the National Technical Museum and can occasionally be seen on special trips.
Three locomotives of the ČSD series E 426.0 (since 1988: series 113) have been in service since 1973 . Since the voltage change of the Hohenfurth Local Railway in 2005, all six machines have been based in Tábor . These locomotives and the E 422.001 handle all traffic today.
Today the fleet consists of former Bautzen express train cars of the UIC type Y as well as smaller trailer cars originally procured for operation with diesel railcars. For museum traffic , the club přátel elektrické dráhy Tábor – Bechyně (Friends of the Tábor – Bechyně Electric Railway) has skirted wagons that go with the railcar and can be added as required.
From 2011 to 2013, predominantly class 814 diesel multiple units ran on the route. Since December 2013, however, scheduled traffic has again been handled entirely by class 113, which is now used in front of BDtax sidecars.
On May 5, 2016, the long-parked "Little Bobina" E422.0003 (100 003) was refurbished to work and is used in the summer months on weekends together with two red apron cars as a "normal train" at no extra charge.
See also
- History of the electric drive of rail vehicles
- Chronicle of the electrification of railway lines in Austria
literature
- Martin Harák: Elektrická dráha Tábor - Bechyně ; Dopravní vydavatelství Malkus, Praha 2008, ISBN 978-80-87047-09-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Zdeněk Hudec et al .: Atlas drah České republiky 2006-2007 , 2nd edition; Publishing house Pavel Malkus, Praha, 2006, ISBN 80-87047-00-1
- ↑ Artaria railway map of Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, with Station Directory; Artaria & Co., Vienna 1913
- ↑ Decree of the Czech government of December 20, 1995
- ↑ "Dostane Bechyňka střídavé napětí? Podle SŽDC se rozhodne příští rok “on zdopravy.cz
- ↑ "document: Radni schválili konverzi Bechyňky, modernizace vyjde na 300 milionu" on zdopravy.cz