Bad Vilbel – Glauburg-Stockheim railway line

		Oberwaldbahn from Lauterbach Nord
		Lahn-Kinzig railway from Giessen
	31.0	Glauburg-Stockheim	131 m
		Lahn-Kinzig-Bahn to Gelnhausen
	28.9	Glauburg-Glauberg
	27.4	Enzheim (Hessen) (until 1927/39?)
		Nidder
	26.0	Altenstadt-Lindheim
		B 521
		A 45
	23.3	Altenstadt (Hess)
	20.8	Altenstadt-Höchst
		Nidder
	19.0	Nidderau oaks (until 1988 Bf)
		Line from Friedberg
	14.8	Nidderau	127 m
		Route to Hanau
		Nidder
		B 45
	13.7	Nidderau wind corners
		Nidder
		Büdesheim tunnel (200 m)
	10.9	Schöneck-Büdesheim (until 1999 Bf)
	8.6	Schöneck-Kilianstädten
		Nidder
		Nidder
	7.2	Schöneck-Oberdorfelden
	6.1	Niederdorfelden
		B 521
	4.1	Bad Vilbel-Gronau
		Nidda
		Main-Weser Railway from Friedberg
	0.0	Bad Vilbel	122 m
		Main-Weser-Bahn to Frankfurt

Swell:

The Bad Vilbel – Glauburg-Stockheim railway line , also known as the Niddertal Railway , popularly known as Stockheimer Lieschen , is a branch line in Hesse . It connects the Main-Weser-Bahn in Bad Vilbel with the Lahn-Kinzig-Bahn in Stockheim (community Glauburg ).

It was used as the feeder line of the Vogelsbergbahn, now known as the Oberwaldbahn , between Stockheim and Lauterbach on the Heldenbergen- Windecken (today: Nidderau) - Stockheim section on October 1, 1905 and between Vilbel Nord (today: Bad Vilbel) and Heldenbergen-Windecken on June 1 Opened in 1907. The operator was the Prussian-Hessian Railway Community .

course

The single-track route of the Niddertalbahn branches off from the Main-Weser-Bahn at Bad Vilbel station and turns east shortly after the northern exit, crosses the Nidda and, roughly following it, reaches the Bad Vilbel-Gronau stop after a short journey . There is also the mouth of the eponymous river Nidder , whose course leads upstream along the further route. After the passing point at Niederdorfelden station , the originally shorter Büdesheim tunnel, which was extended to 200 meters during the renovation phase in 2004 , will be driven through between the municipalities of Schöneck and Nidderau . The original keystone of the tunnel portal with the carved-in construction years 1904–1906 was erected on the side of the original Büdesheim station as the last remaining relic of the old tunnel. The Nidderwiesen nature reserve is crossed directly after the tunnel and the town of Nidderau is soon reached with wind corners .

After crossing under the Friedberg – Hanau railway line without crossing , there is often a connection to the line to Friedberg and Hanau at Nidderau station , which was known as Heldenbergen-Windecken for decades . After about two kilometers through the forest, a floodplain of the Nidder is crossed on a low dam in order to reach the forest again near oaks. After crossing the Nidder before Höchst, Altenstadt is soon reached. Until 1984 an industrial track branched off there to the forest settlement just under four kilometers away . Less than an hour after departure from Bad Vilbel, after some meadows and another crossing of the Nidder, the train finally reaches Glauburg and the end of the route in the Stockheim district at the Lahn-Kinzig train station . There is now the option of continuing towards Gießen or the Barbarossa town of Gelnhausen .

Up until the beginning of the 1990s, an important traffic factor was the "beet trains" that ran daily in November, with the help of which the region's sugar beets were transported to the Friedberg sugar factory and, after its closure in 1981, to Groß-Gerau. Since the trains were discontinued, these transports have been carried out by road by truck.

The distance between the terminus stations is 31 kilometers long. The maximum route speed is 80 km / h. In the course of the route, 35 paths or streets cross the route, six of which are still not technically secured. One of these crossings should be closed, but the city of Bad Vilbel wanted to keep it. There is now a speed limit stop at 30 km / h.

business

The Niddertalbahn was one of three in the Frankfurter Verkehrsverbund (FVV) integrated, not operated as an S-Bahn local transport lines and was called the N-Bahn . Today the DB Regio Mitte operates the course book route 634 on behalf of the FVV successor Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) as route 34. Almost all regional trains on weekdays and around two-thirds on Saturdays run to Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof , the rest of them begin and end in Bad Vilbel.

Since May 4th, 2008 there is also a weekend service again. On this day, the RMV bus route 5150 (formerly the 650 rail bus) between Bad Vilbel and Nidderau was completely closed. In addition, with the 2008 summer timetable, the maximum speed of the trains was increased from 60 to 80 km / h and the frequency was also reduced on weekdays. The contract with Deutsche Bahn AG runs from this point in time for 20 years. According to the deputy chairman of the supervisory board of the RMV to a local newspaper for the Wetterau district, an additional 260,000 train kilometers are to be provided on the route.

In the early 2000s, millions were invested in modernizing the line. The entire superstructure was renewed. Instead of the steel sleepers that are mainly recycled using the flash butt welding process (and to a lesser extent wood and concrete sleepers), Y-sleepers , wooden sleepers , concrete sleepers and stone sleepers were installed. In addition, all the stops and the platforms in the Nidderau and Stockheim stations were rebuilt and increased to the exit height of 76 centimeters for the double-decker cars used here . In Nidderau, initially only the platform of the Niddertalbahn was expanded, that of the Friedberg – Hanau line was not renewed until 2010.

On October 19, 2007, the line received an electronic signal box in Altenstadt with two outsourced modules in Niederdorfelden and Nidderau; previously, the technology in Niederdorfelden and Altenstadt was still operated mechanically by rope pull. At the same time, new tracks were laid in both stations , new signals and new platforms were built, whereby temporary platforms were initially created to shorten the full closure. At the same time, traffic in the intermediate stations was switched from left-hand to right-hand traffic. Modernization work continued until spring 2008. The line speed could be increased after all the work was completed.

Nonetheless, no railway company initially bid for the operation in 2010. DB only agreed to do so after the RMV had made concessions. The reason given by the RMV is the cost of keeping diesel locomotive-powered double-decker sets available for peak load times, thus motivating the expansion plans.

The route has seen an increase in passenger numbers of 330% from 1,800 to 6,000 per day since 1985 - when a closure was already being discussed; the expansion that has taken place should continue to have a positive effect on passenger numbers . As of 2015, around 7,000 passengers are traveling every day.

vehicles

Until the end of the 1990s, trains hauled by locomotives ran on the Niddertalbahn during rush hour, and diesel railcars in the valley times .

Two-axle wagons with open platforms ( Donnerbüchsen and MCi ) were used until the 1950s , after which three-axle conversion wagons dominated the scene for decades . After they were taken out of service, a colorful mix of four-axle passenger cars mastered the traffic, including express train cars with compartments. Until the 1960s, it was mainly steam locomotives of the 86 series that pulled the trains, with 50kab , G8 and P8 retrofitted with leading axles occasionally helping out. Thereafter, diesel-hydraulic locomotives with a central driver's cab ( V100 ) took over until they were replaced by diesel-hydraulic locomotives with final driver's cabs (series 216, 215 and 218). The locomotive-hauled trains were supplemented by three-part Uerdinger rail bus sets , with the motor vehicle i. d. R. drove uphill. A pair of trains with this set drove from Stockheim via Heldenbergen-Windecken to Hanau and back. Class 628 railcars later took over their services on the Niddertalbahn. Double-deck coaches hauled by class 218 locomotives have been in use since 2002 , sometimes also n-coaches. Since the beginning of 2006, a class 628 set has been commuting between Stockheim and Bad Vilbel during off-peak hours to replace a train consisting of 218 and n-cars.

In December 2012, most of the transport services were converted to diesel multiple units of the DB class 642 , mostly in double or triple traction. The remaining four transport services continued with the 218 series and double-decker cars.

At the December 2014 timetable change, the class 218 diesel locomotives were replaced by class 245 locomotives.

particularities

In the evening hours, two trains of the Niddertalbahn start in Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof as a combined line 34/48 and are winged in Bad Vilbel . While the front part of the train travels to Stockheim , the rear part of the train continues via Friedberg (Hesse) to Nidda . Since this network only works if the two locomotives are placed at the very front and the back, the Stockheim section runs “locomotive ahead”. On this trip, the fifth car is cordoned off, as this is only ordered by the Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund for the morning trip to Frankfurt.

When the steam locomotive was operating, special trains ran when there was enough snow to transport skiers and winter sports enthusiasts from Frankfurt via the Niddertalbahn to the Vogelsberg to Hartmannshain and back.

Expansion plans

The RMV is planning to expand the route under pressure from the neighboring communities and districts. Thanks to electrification, the current cost-intensive island operation with diesel multiple units or double-decker trains hauled by diesel locomotives should be a thing of the past in time for the new operation in 2028. At the same time, selective expansion measures (crossing stations, double-track sections) should enable the further consolidation of the cycle. On the basis of the feasibility study, it was decided that the Büdesheim - Kilianstädten section should be expanded to two tracks, the line should be electrified and the maximum speed should be increased so that the frequency should be increased.

Trivia

The Stockheimer Lieschen owes its popular name to the former train station restaurant in Stockheim, where travelers and railway employees alike liked to stop by landlady Liesel Brand. Initially among railroad workers, soon also among the population, the trip “to Lieschen” to Stockheim became a popular phrase.

After many years of decline, the station building was sold in 2006 and parts of it were renovated. The station restaurant has been modernized and reopened as a bistro , a model railway layout with a representation of the southern part of the former Vogelsbergbahn between Stockheim and Ober-Seemen in the time frame of Era III can be viewed in the former service rooms of the station .

In 2006 and 2007, for the 100th anniversary of the route sections, a special train hauled by a steam locomotive from the Hanau Museum Railway commuted and in 2007 a free double-decker passenger train and a four-part set of Uerdingen rail buses operated by the Upper Hessian Railway Friends. A special train also commuted once at the end of the modernization ceremony, and the use of the plan trains was free.

literature

State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Railway in Hessen. Railway buildings and routes 1839–1939 , 1st edition. Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1917-6 .
- Vol. 2.2, p. 906ff (route 095) "Niddertalbahn (I)"
- Vol. 2.2, p. 936ff (route 099) "Niddertalbahn (II)"

Web links

Commons : Niddertalbahn - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Niddertalbahn.de u. a. with photos from the 1980s and 1990s
Reference report on the renovation of the Büdesheim tunnel
Timetable from 1944 still as course book route 193d to Lauterbach.
Nidderau / Heldenbergen-Windecken - Glauburg / Stockheim (Niddertalbahn (I); Stockheimer Lieschen). Railway lines in Hessen. (As of April 15, 2016). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
Bad Vilbel / North - Nidderau / Heldenbergen-Windecken (Niddertal Railway (II)). Railway lines in Hessen. (As of April 15, 2016). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

Individual evidence

↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register

↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .

^ Bad Vilbeler Neue Presse (ed.): RMV plans to expand the line: Niddertalbahn will soon run electrically . ( fnp.de [accessed on January 3, 2017]). RMV plans to expand the line: Niddertalbahn will soon run electrically ( memento from September 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

^ Jochen Dietz: Main-Kinzig / Wetterau - start signal for "Lieschen". In: FR-Online. Frankfurter Rundschau GmbH, July 12, 2015, accessed on May 11, 2016 .

↑ NN: DB class 245 also in use in Hesse . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 3/2015, p. 145.

[1] DB Netze - Infrastructure Register

[2] Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .