Moselle route
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The Moselle route is the connection from Koblenz via Treis-Karden , Cochem , Bullay and Wittlich to Trier operated by Deutsche Bahn and mainly located on the left side of the Moselle - often also known as the “Moselle Railway to the left of the Moselle”.
The Moselle Railway or Moselle Valley Railway , on the other hand, was a small railway line from Bullay to Trier that was closed in the 1960s and located on the right of the Moselle .
course
The route begins in Koblenz main station as a junction from the left Rhine route in the direction of Cologne . After just three kilometers, it crosses the Moselle with the help of the Güls railway bridge . It then runs for about 55 kilometers on the left side of the river via Treis-Karden to Cochem .
Immediately after Cochem it leads through the most important structure on the route, the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel to Ediger-Eller , which shortens the detour through the Cochemer Krampen . With a length of 4,205 meters, the structure was the longest railway tunnel in Germany until the Landrück tunnel was opened .
After the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel, the line at Eller crosses the Moselle on a 281 meter long, five-span, solid steel girder bridge. The maximum construction height is 4.2 meters, with a span of 90 meters above the Moselle. On the right side of the river, Neef and Bullay follow after another tunnel , before the route is led back to the other bank of the Moselle. Another technical feature of the route is the double-decker bridge at Bullay , which is used equally by the railways and road traffic. The steel truss bridge has six fields, is 314 meters long and has a maximum span of 72 meters. The tracks lying in the ballast bed are arranged on the upper chord, the lane for road traffic is at the bottom.
Immediately after the Bullayer Bridge, the route leads through a 458 meter long tunnel under the Prinzenkopf , which shortens the Zeller Moselle loop.
In Pünderich then the longest is located slope viaduct a railway line in Germany with a total length of 786 meters. The vaulted bridge has 92 openings with a clear width of 7.2 meters. In the Pünderich depot , which was formerly also used as an access point for passengers , the branch line branches off to Traben-Trarbach .
The railway line leaves the Moselle valley after another tunnel and continues to Wittlich . After about 40 kilometers the route reaches the Moselle valley again at Schweich and crosses the Moselle for the fourth time at Pfalzel in the city of Trier. After a total of 113 km, of which 6,478 m through six tunnels, the line ends at Trier main station .
history
The railway line from Koblenz to Trier was built between 1874 and 1879. It was related to the construction of the strategic " cannon railway " from Berlin to Metz in what is now France . It was operated by the respective state railways: initially by the Prussian State Railways , then by the Deutsche Reichsbahn , Deutsche Bundesbahn and today by Deutsche Bahn AG.
The Wilhelminian-era railway station structures are often technical and cultural monuments of the very first order; however, some of them are in poor condition. The train station in Cochem deserves special mention , one of the main works of the “Heimat style” at the turn of the century.
Planning strategic expansions
From 1915 a new line between Trier and Koblenz was worked on. The purpose was to increase the efficiency of the Moselle route against the background of a better connection between the Saar industry and the Reich, to maintain the route connection in the event of the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel being closed and, in particular, to enable more troops and military equipment to be brought to the western border of the Reich in the direction of France to be able to transport. As part of the Berlin-Metz cannon line, the new building was a strategic line . Between Koblenz and the Bullay area, this new route was to run on its own route on the right bank of the Moselle, from there to Schweich as the third and fourth track along the existing Moselle route. Between Schweich and Ehrang - to bypass the Meulenwald tunnel - the route should also have its own route.
Construction began in the area between Beilstein and Brodenbach . In 1917, construction work began between Schweich and Ehrang for a massive concrete viaduct with a length of 600 meters with natural stone facing directly on the northern bank of the Moselle near Quint.
After the First World War , work could continue on the new route. However, the planning now envisaged a shortened variant for the eastern part to develop the Cochemer Krampens, from Neef to Treis-Karden with a respective connection to the Moselle route. The extension of the route for the western part was discarded, but in 1922 the Quinter Viaduct , which dominated the landscape there for a long time, was completed. However, the railway line on it was never realized. The viaduct existed until 1979. Its demolition material was used for the construction of the extended federal highway 53 , parts of the viaduct were also used for the construction of a wall.
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles initially prevented the completion of both sections of the route from 1923. Attempts to still be able to put the eastern section into operation ultimately failed in 1933 for financial reasons. Parts of the route can still be seen in the landscape as investment ruins. The most elaborate structure on the eastern part of the line was the tunnel between Treis and Bruttig, completed in 1923, with a length of 2565 meters, the portals of which were blown up in 1945. The embankment, which has never been used, still runs through almost the entire district of Bruttig in the two communities of Bruttig-Fankel. In addition, in Treis-Karden, district of Treis, a longer piece of the old embankment can be seen between a hardware store and the former tunnel entrance opposite Pomerania . The Treis tunnel entrance was secured with a large concrete bunker, the remains of which were blown up around 1970.
During the Nazi era , various armaments were produced in the tunnel and concentration camp inmates were also used for this. For this purpose, the Bruttig-Treis concentration camp existed in Bruttig and Treis . Today there is still an old barrack of the camp, and memorial stones in the cemeteries of both places testify to these inhuman events.
Modernizations
Electrification with the French industrial power system (25 kV 50 Hz), which was planned in the 1950s, was not carried out with the integration of the Saar . Instead, France and Germany decided to channel the Moselle . Therefore, the line was not equipped with overhead lines until 1973 , which is reminiscent of a sign at Trier main station .
On January 16, 1995 at 8:45 am, the remote control center Wittlich Hbf went into operation. From here are remote controlled: Bullay station (DB) , Pünderich station , Sbk 14/15 (Bengel), Ürzig station (DB) , Sbk 17/18, Wittlich main station , Sbk 21/22, Salmrohr station , Sbk 23/24 ( Sehlem), Hetzerath station , Sbk 25/26, Sbk 27/28, Schweich station (DB) and Sbk 29 (Quint).
The Petersberg Tunnel, which went into operation in 1879, was modernized and expanded between 2017 and 2019, and rail operations were largely maintained with one track using the "tunnel-in-tunnel method". An overhead conductor rail was used in the temporary single-track tunnel .
Current plans
At the beginning of 2010, the construction of the second tube of the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel at Ediger-Eller began. This measure was necessary in order to be able to renovate the existing tunnel.
The construction of a new train stop is planned between Koblenz-Rauental and Koblenz-Goldgrube (near Follmannstrasse). The aim is to better connect the administrative center in Rauental, where 10,000 people work, in particular.
Two new stops are to be built in Trier North (probably near Dasbachstrasse) and Trier-Kaiserthermen (probably near Hermesstrasse).
A train stop in Altrich is also planned.
service
Despite its military origins, the route is of outstanding economic importance for the region, including France and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . It is used by freight trains as well as regional trains ( regional train and regional express ). The tariffs of the Rhein-Mosel (VRM) and Trier region (VRT) transport associations as well as the Deutsche Bahn tariff apply .
In order to avoid confusion with the former Moselle Railway, some stations on the left-hand line still bear the names introduced at the time with the addition of "DB" for "German (Federal) Railway". This is the case with " Schweich (DB) station ", " Ürzig (DB) station " and " Bullay station (DB) ", as there was also a station for the same location on the right-hand line.
In addition to local passenger trains , the route also had express train services . The trains coming from Saarbrücken went from Trier via the Eifelbahn via Gerolstein or the Moselle route via Koblenz to Cologne . Until the electrification of the Moselle route, the D-trains were distributed on both routes. Only then was there a clear preference for the Moselle route.
Although the integration of the Saar and Moselle lines into the intercity network was repeatedly requested from 1971 , there was only one (City-D-Zug) line (DC) with three pairs of trains from Saarbrücken via Koblenz and Cologne to Düsseldorf from 1973 . These trains were run in 1978. Intercity comfort, but without a dining car , but with train announcements, was offered by the D 802/803 (Saarbrücken-Trier-Koblenz-Cologne-Düsseldorf-Duisburg-Dortmund) in the 1980s, consisting of UIC-X cars (2nd class) and Eurofima-Wagen (1st class) was formed.
With the development of the interregional network from 1988, the Moselle route was integrated into this train system. From 1991 the line from Saarbrücken via Koblenz, Cologne, Münster and Bremen to Cuxhaven , individual journeys also via Hamburg to Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , D-trains every two hours. These trains were supplemented by express trains between Koblenz and Saarbrücken every hour. It was not until 1994, when the wagons were completely converted to new IR wagons, that the D-trains were converted into InterRegios and operated until December 2002.
Long-distance passenger rail transport
After the abolition of the Interregios , the connection between Luxembourg and Norddeich Mole or Emden was switched to the two-hour Intercity line 35.
From December 2005 there was an Intercity Express train pair on line 10 between Trier and Berlin , which served the region on the Moselle at the edge of the day. It didn't run on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. Remained between December 2011 and December 2014, on the Mosel route only two intercity train pairs relation Norddeich Mole - Luxembourg in the rail passenger transport , the introduction of the Rhineland-Palatinate clock were set, 2015.
In 2015, Deutsche Bahn did not consider a renewed connection to long-distance traffic to be possible before 2030 due to scheduling reasons (see: Future IC route network ). The Luxembourg CFL has been operating a daily pair of trains between Luxembourg and Düsseldorf via Trier, Koblenz and Cologne since December 2017 . From Trier to Koblenz, the local transport tariff and free travel can be used, as the train runs here as the regional express line 11 . North of Koblenz it is an Intercity , which is why the more expensive DB long-distance tariff applies to this section. Double-decker railcars of the Stadler KISS series are used.
| line | route | Tact |
|---|---|---|
| IC 37 | Düsseldorf - Cologne - Bonn - Remagen - Andernach - Koblenz - Kobern-Gondorf - Treis-Karden - Cochem - Bullay - Wittlich - Schweich - Trier - Wasserbillig - Luxembourg | a pair of trains |
Local rail transport
Local rail transport on the Moselle route, on the other hand, plays a major role. With the compressor express trains Koblenz – Saarbrücken, an hourly service has been introduced for national traffic since 1985. This was followed by an hourly service in local transport from 1991 onwards, which from summer 2000 between Wittlich and Trier was reduced to an approximate half-hourly service during the day from Monday to Friday .
| line | Line course | Tact |
|---|---|---|
| RE 1 | Koblenz - Treis-Karden - Cochem - Bullay - Wittlich - Schweich - Trier - Merzig - Saarbrücken - Homburg - Kaiserslautern - Neustadt - Mannheim |
60 min (Koblenz – Kaiserslautern) 120 min (Kaiserslautern – Mannheim) |
| RE 11 | Koblenz - Treis-Karden - Cochem - Bullay - Wittlich - Trier - Wasserbillig - Luxembourg ( wing train to RE 1 from or to Trier) | 60 min |
| RB 81 | Koblenz - Winningen (Mosel) - Kobern-Gondorf - Treis-Karden - Cochem - Ediger-Eller - Bullay - Wittlich - Föhren - Schweich - Trier | 60 min (+ compressor Koblenz – Cochem) |
| RB 82 | (Wittlich -) Trier - Konz center - waves - weir - Perl | 60 min (Wittlich-Trier only Mon-Fri) |
Both regional train lines are served by class 425 and 426 multiple units as well as class 442.
The regional express trains Koblenz – Mannheim are mostly made up of vehicles from the 429 series . These lines run in one direction every hour.
Since the 2010/2011 timetable change on December 12, 2010, a Regional Express train has been running twice a day on the Luxembourg - Trier - Wittlich route . This line was operated by the Luxembourgish railway company Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), which runs here with double-decker cars .
In July 2011, the responsible SPNV-Nord association announced that DB Regio Südwest had won the tender for the "RE Südwest E-Traktion" network. From December 2014 to December 2029 there is an hourly service on the Koblenz – Kaiserslautern route, with trains to Mannheim running every two hours (RE 1). The trains reach Koblenz at minute 0, Mannheim at minute 30. In addition to the train ticket, the offer also includes services such as:
- Use of mobile cleaning teams
- sometimes two account managers per train
- Seat reservation for "regular customers"
- Car level indicators at train stations
- a free daily newspaper for travelers in 1st class
- mobile catering on selected trains
Class 429.1 multiple units ( Stadler Flirt ) have been operating on RE 1 since December 14, 2014 .
Since the same time, the Luxembourg CFL has been offering an hourly connection between Trier and Luxembourg (RE 11) with multiple units of the Stadler Kiss type , with the multiple unit in Trier being coupled to RE 1 to Koblenz and uncoupled from Koblenz. However, due to technical adjustments to the different series, this coupling was only introduced on March 27, 2015.
Freight transport
In addition to the heavy goods traffic with heavy ore trains from the North Sea ports to the Dillinger Hütte and other iron and steel works in the Saarland, coal removal from the Saar pits also dominated in earlier years. Today, in addition to the heavy ore trains, normal cargo trains of the combined transport operate .
vehicles
The locomotives typical of the time were always used on the Moselle route. First Prussian steam locomotives , including the Prussian P 8 , the also Prussian T 18 (later series 38 and 78). In express train traffic, it was the 39 and 01 series . All Prussian freight train locomotive types were used in freight transport, and the heavy class 44 during the Reichsbahn era . This type of locomotive continued after the Second World War. The post-war class 23 steam locomotive was also used in local transport . But class 50 steam locomotives also dominated the scene after the war.
When the line began to be "dieselized", diesel locomotives such as the V 100 and V 160 series were the usual means of traction, and from 1964 there were also railcars with vehicles of the VT 24 series .
With the electrification of the 1973/1974 summer timetable, mainly electric locomotives of the 181 series were used for all types of train , rarely locomotives of the 110 series in express train traffic, but also the 140 and 151 series in freight traffic and the 141 series in local traffic before Silberling - Push- pull trains , later used as Citybahn cars in green / light gray regional paintwork.
In 2001, the 141-hauled trains switched to the new 425 and 426 multiple units. Before the express trains to Koblenz, the 143 series machines from the Deutsche Reichsbahn dominated the double-decker trains . In October 2011, the four-part class 442 multiple units ( Bombardier Talent 2 ) received their approval from the Federal Railway Authority for use on the Moselle route; their commissioning was originally planned for 2009.
In addition to the 151 in front of heavy ore trains in double traction, the freight trains are now often hauled by locomotives of the 185 series ( Bombardier TRAXX ) and Siemens ES64F4 . In addition, locomotives from the Alstom Prima series of the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) have recently been added .
Since December 2014, RE trains have been made up of railcars of the Stadler Flirt type from DB and Stadler KISS from CFL. These trains run jointly between Koblenz and Trier and are " winged " in Trier main station .
Picture gallery
Map of the railway facilities in the greater Koblenz area, where the Moselle Railway joins the left-hand Rhine route
Map of the Cochemer Krampens
Cochem portal of the Kaiser Wilhelm tunnel ; the remains of the ventilation system can be seen
Cochem train station
Prinzenkopf tunnel (west portal)
Pünderich slope viaduct around 1880
Alf-Bullay double-decker bridge around 1880
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
- ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
- ↑ | Information and pictures about the tunnels on route 3010 on eisenbahn-tunnelportale.de by Lothar Brill
- ↑ Entry on the former railway viaduct (Ehrang-Quint) in the database of cultural assets in the Trier region ; accessed on October 9, 2015.
- ^ "Announcements Deutsche Bahn" from January 4, 1995 (# 1), message 7
- ↑ Janina Allmendinger, Steffen Gräbitz: In the tunnel through the tunnel under the Petersberg . In: DB Netz AG (Ed.): Infrastructure projects 2018 . Building at Deutsche Bahn. PMC Media House, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-96245-163-9 , pp. 178-183 .
- ↑ Bodo Tauch, Steffen Gräbitz, Franz-Hubertus Beck: Renewal of the Petersberg tunnel . In: The Railway Engineer . tape 70 , no. November 11 , 2019, ISSN 0013-2810 , p. 34-38 .
- ↑ Press release from Deutsche Bahn AG
- ↑ Horchheim, Goldgrube, Bendorf: New train stops are planned rhein-zeitung.de, July 26, 2016, accessed on September 23, 2016
- ↑ New platforms: Deutsche Bahn is planning more stops - the city relies on Trier-Nord and Kaiserthermen volksfreund.de, July 14, 2016, accessed on October 15, 2016
- ^ Association meeting, 55th meeting. (PDF; 8.52 MB) (No longer available online.) In: TOP 3. SPNV Nord , p. 6 , formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 26, 2016 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ SPNV-Nord: Replacement for canceled long-distance trains ( page no longer available , search in [tt_news = 100541 & tx_ttnews [backPid] = 972 & cHash = 182f555bc1 web archives]), on: spnv-nord.de , November 29, 2011
- ^ "A kind of long-distance traffic" In: Volksfreund , October 17, 2017
- ↑ a b SPNV-Nord: Decision made in the “RE-Netz Südwest (E-Traktion)” award procedure ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). On: spnv-nord.de , July 5, 2011
- ^ "Talent 2": Federal Railway Authority grants approval for 160 km / h. In: eba.bund.de. October 28, 2011, archived from the original on August 2, 2012 ; Retrieved November 28, 2011 .