Kassel – Waldkappel railway line
Kassel Hbf – Waldkappel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Route number (DB) : | 3901 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Course book section (DB) : | formerly 522, 201g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route length: | 49.830 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Power system : |
Kaufungen – Hess. Lichtenau: 600 V = |
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Power system : |
Ks-Wilhelmshöhe – Kaufungen: 15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ |
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Maximum slope : | 25 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top speed: |
BOStrab : 50 km / h, EBO : 80 km / h |
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Train control : | PZB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dual track : | Tram sections in Kaufungen and in Helsa train station |
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The Kassel – Waldkappel railway - also known as the Lossetalbahn or Kassel-Waldkappeler Railway - is the railway line from Kassel Central Station to Waldkappel in the Kaufunger Wald in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse, built between 1879 and 1880 . Today, the Kaufungen paper factory - Hessisch Lichtenau section is operated by Regionalbahn Kassel GmbH (RBK) and is closely linked to the Kassel tram network according to the tram-train principle . The remainder of the Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe - Kaufungen paper factory is owned by DB Netz , all other parts have been shut down or dismantled.
history
The Bettenhausen –Waldkappel line was opened on December 1, 1879, and the connection to Kassel main station followed on March 15, 1880. In Walburg, the Gelstertalbahn branched off to Großalmerode . In Waldkappel there was a connection to the Eschwege - Treysa line , which was part of the Kanonenbahn .
Initially, the originally 49.830 kilometer long route was operated by the private Cassel – Waldkappeler Railway ( CWE ).
The last regular passenger train ran from Kassel to Eschwege on May 31, 1985. Freight traffic to Walburg was maintained until December 31, 2002. Lignite trains still drove from Rommerode to Kassel. It was also necessary to give the Blücher barracks a siding. Railway enthusiasts store a collection of historic rail vehicles at Walburg station.
The construction of the high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg required extensive track changes, in the course of which the old Kirchditmold station was demolished. For the construction of the Bundesautobahn 44 , DB Netz applied for the exemption of railway operations on the route from Walburg (km 39.810) to Waldkappel (km 49.690) at the beginning of 2009 , and the track systems between Walburg and Küchen were dismantled to make space for road construction. The section between kilometer 35.0 near Hessisch Lichtenau and Walburg has now also been closed.
reactivation
1997 began the expansion of the route for the purpose of integration into the Kassel tram network . It was electrified with 600 volts DC and connected to the tram network in the Kaufunger paper mill . Since then, the route has been used by the Kassel tram . In the meantime, vehicles of the RegioTram Kassel also drove on the route.
The route was expanded so that it also allows freight traffic. For this purpose, a separate track was laid in each station for freight traffic, which either touches the station on the outside or is pivoted at a greater distance from the platform. An elaborate six-rail track was built in at several stops, with goods traffic running in the middle. This ensures that the clearance profile is not restricted by the platforms. The stations are secured with H / V signals in compact form.
The tram operation started on June 8, 2001 to Helsa and on January 29, 2006 it was extended to Hessisch Lichtenau. In Kaufungen, the tram route differs from the original route, which is away from the built-up areas. In Hessisch Lichtenau it leaves the railway line, crosses it by means of an underpass and ends after further stations in a turning loop .
For the purpose of nature conservation , special measures were taken between the Eschenstruth and Fürstenhagen stops (at the level of the sewage treatment plant) over a length of around 650 meters so that amphibians do not obstruct the way to the spawning areas by the resumption of rail traffic. The cable channel was added to the thresholds laid, and between the ground and rails find amphibians a layer of earth and space. The construction costs for the expansion of the line amounted to around 65 million euros.
business
Today tram line 4 runs on the Lossetalbahn. The busiest time is 15 minutes during rush hour , but on weekends the trains sometimes only run every 60 minutes. All stations are barrier-free, all vehicles used on the route are low-floor .
There are bus connections in Helsa and Hessisch Lichtenau. Park-and-ride areas have also been set up at many stops . Between January 29, 2006 (opening of the extension to Hessisch Lichtenau) and July 8, 2007, the RegioTram line 2 trains also ran on the route. For it were two power railcar of the type Alstom RegioCitadis used, they took between Niederkaufungen station and Oberkaufungen Station, the non-electrified old railway line. Nevertheless, the route continues to be an integral part of the Regio-Tram system, even if the RegioTram railcars no longer operate here. The express track that bypasses Kaufungen is therefore largely unused. The upgrade of the old railway line to an express track cost 300,000 euros.
The resumption of operations on the old, non-electrified railway line, which runs between Niederkaufungen and Oberkaufungen and bypasses some of the stops in Oberkaufungen, has been discussed for several years. The reason for this is the competition that will soon arise due to the completion of the section of the A 44 , which would then connect Kassel and Hessisch Lichtenau . The NVV (co-operator) fears a decrease in the number of passengers because they may then switch to the car instead of continuing to use the train to get to Hessisch Lichtenau. In order for the express track, which was previously specially developed for high-speed traffic, to be used in the future, however, electrification is necessary, since the two-motor vehicles that were used until 2007 are now used on other routes and the tram-rail vehicles on line 4 that run through Oberkaufungen do not have a second drive. The travel time from Kassel's city center to Hessisch Lichtenau via the express track could also be shortened by a few minutes, which is the real reason why plans were ever commissioned to reactivate the high-speed route. In October 2017 it became known that the NVV would have to procure more vehicles if the RegioTram is to travel again on the express track in Kaufungen via Helsa to Hessisch Lichtenau in the future . The reason for this is that the transport company's entire fleet is already at full capacity.
Web links
- Page no longer available , search in web archives: Lossetalbahn continues to have the closest frequency of all RegioTram routes
- Documentation of the route on www.vergessene-bahnen.de
- Course book table from 1944
Individual evidence
- ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
- ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
- ↑ Map of the Kirchditmold track systems in 1966
- ↑ Federal Railway Office - Frankfurt / Saarbrücken branch office -: Public announcement in accordance with Section 23, Paragraph 2 of the General Railway Act (AEG) - Exemption from railway operating purposes regarding parcels in the communities of Hessisch-Lichtenau, Waldkappel, Wehretal and Eschwege - from March 9, 2009 ( Ref. 55101 - paw - 09 - 0103; eBAnz AT30 2009 B2 )
- ↑ Kaufungen: Regiotram express route is rusting away . In: https://www.hna.de . April 27, 2011 ( hna.de [accessed on October 26, 2017]): "The North Hessian Transport Association (NVV) invested around 300,000 euros in the express route at the time."
- ↑ A-44 competition: NVV examines the use of regiotrams in the Lossetal . In: https://www.hna.de . February 23, 2017 ( hna.de [accessed October 26, 2017]).
- ↑ NVV fears competition from the autobahn: Tram should accelerate . In: https://www.hna.de . May 27, 2011 ( hna.de [accessed October 26, 2017]).
- ↑ Lossebahn: NVV has to buy new vehicles if RT should come back . In: https://www.hna.de . October 18, 2017 ( hna.de [accessed October 26, 2017]).