Oberkirchen tunnel

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Oberkirchen tunnel
Oberkirchen tunnel
Oberkirchen tunnel from the inside
use Railway tunnel , bike and hiking trail
traffic connection Türkismühle – Kusel railway line , Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg , Saarland cycle path
place Oberkirchen
length 216 m
Number of tubes 1
construction
Client German Reichsbahn
start of building 1932
business
release November 15, 1936
location
Oberkirchen Tunnel (Saarland)
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Coordinates
West portal 49 ° 32 ′ 4 "  N , 7 ° 15 ′ 54"  E
East portal 49 ° 32 ′ 7 ″  N , 7 ° 16 ′ 4 ″  E

The Oberkirchen tunnel is one of two tunnels on the largely disused railway line from Türkismühle to Kusel . The 216-meter-long structure has been part of the Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg since 1993 , which in its western section between Schwarzerden and Freisen is signposted as the Saarland Cycle Route .

location

The 216 meter long and slightly curved tunnel is located north of the Oberkirchen settlement area . It was located along the disused railway line at line kilometer 20.0 from Türkismühle between the Oberkirchen Nord and Schwarzerden stations . Around one and a half kilometers to the east, the Ostertalbahn , which still exists today, joins the disused railway line.

history

Development through to decommissioning

The first efforts aimed at a rail link in the region go back to 1856. In the course of the construction of the Rhein-Nahe-Bahn , an initiative aimed to set up a route via Lauterecken, Altenglan and Kusel to St. Wendel and Neunkirchen. However, the efforts were unsuccessful, as Prussia wanted such a railway line primarily within its own territory, while some communities along this route belonged to Bavaria .

As early as the 1860s, efforts were made to establish a rail link between Türkismühle and Kusel, but this was unsuccessful. Only Kusel received a connection to the railway network in 1868 through the line from Landstuhl . After everything pointed to closing the gap between Kusel and Türkismühle at the beginning of the 20th century, the First World War prevented further planning. It was not until 1931 that the Reich Ministry of Transport gave the green light to the construction of the line in order to counteract unemployment in the region in the wake of the global economic crisis. Construction began in 1932. Depending on the geographic situation, it was necessary to build a tunnel between the planned Oberkirchen Nord and Schwarzerden stations, the so-called "Oberkirchener Tunnels".

After the section Türkismühle – Freisen had already been released in 1934 and the section Kusel – Diedelkopf on May 15, 1936, the gap between Friesen and Dieselkopf including the Oberkirchen tunnel was closed on November 15, 1936. Traffic between Freisen and Grügelborn had to be stopped on May 21, 1955 due to damage to the substructure. Between Schwarzerden and Grügelborn there was only freight traffic. With the official closure of the Freisen – Schwarzerden section, the first-mentioned section was officially just a siding of the Schwarzerden station. Freight traffic lasted until 1969, after which the line between Schwarzerden and Freisen was dismantled. Since then, the Oberkirchen tunnel has been without tracks.

After the shutdown

After the line was dismantled, the tunnel was initially walled up for a long time. On June 27, 1993, a bike and hiking trail, the Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg , was opened between Freisen and Kusel on the former railway line. In its western section between Schwarzerden and Freisen, however, it is signposted as the Saarland cycle path . As early as the late 1970s, the railway line in the eastern part had actually been used as such. This path leads through the tunnel, among other things. In the course of its construction, the tunnel was equipped with lighting that is activated when users approach and cross the path.

Web links

literature

  • Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways on Glan and Lauter . Self-published, Waldmohr 1996, ISBN 3-9804919-0-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ achim-bartoschek.de: SL02 Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg: Freisen - Altenglan . Retrieved February 11, 2012 .
  2. ↑ eisenbahntunnel-portal.de: Pictures of the route: 3201 (freight traffic, closed, cycle path / KBS 271c, 271e) . Retrieved February 10, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 7th ff .
  4. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 29 ff .
  5. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 31 .
  6. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 49 ff .
  7. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 67 .
  8. ↑ achim-bartoschek.de: SL02 Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg: Freisen - Altenglan . Retrieved February 10, 2012 .
  9. ↑ fritz-wunderlich-radwanderweg.de: route . Retrieved February 10, 2012 .