Prignitz Express
| Prignitz Express | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Course book section (DB) : | 206 |
| Route length: | 139 km |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Top speed: | 120 km / h |
Prignitz-Express is the name of a railway expansion project in the state of Brandenburg between Hennigsdorf and Wittenberge via Neuruppin , Wittstock / Dosse and Pritzwalk , with which the connection of the structurally weak Prignitz to Berlin is improved. Large parts of the project decided in 1994 were implemented between 1997 and 2008. An adequate connection to Berlin has not yet been established. The Brandenburger Regional Express line RE6 operated by Deutsche Bahn runs on the expanded sections between Wittenberge and Hennigsdorf . The RE6 continues via Berlin-Spandau to Berlin-Gesundbrunnen and back and is also called Prignitz-Express .
course
The total of 139 kilometers of upgraded line begins in Hennigsdorf on the outskirts of Berlin and leads via Velten and Kremmen to Neuruppin. From there it goes via Wittstock / Dosse, Pritzwalk and Perleberg to Wittenberge. The districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Prignitz are almost completely crossed and their district towns Neuruppin and Perleberg are connected. Sections of the Kremmener Bahn , the Kremmen – Meyenburg and the Wittenberge – Strasburg railway were expanded . The former branch lines were expanded to the main line standard throughout and the maximum speed increased to 120 km / h on many sections.
history
Planning
In order to react to the changed traffic flows after the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, a concept called Zielnetz 2000 was developed in the state of Brandenburg between 1992 and 1994 for the restructuring of rail traffic and contractually agreed with Deutsche Bahn in August 1995. The political guidelines at the time placed value on strengthening the peripheral regions of the country outside the Berlin bacon belt, including the Prignitz in the north-west of the country. A route was chosen that represents a certain detour compared to the direct route to the Prignitz, but also opens up the Neuruppin regional center and includes a connection from there to the former district town of Wittstock / Dosse.
The concept envisaged an expansion to speeds of up to 120 km / h, which should result in travel times from Wittstock to Berlin of 80–90 minutes and from Neuruppin to Berlin of 50–60 minutes. An investment requirement of 340 million D-Marks and a passenger volume of 10,000 travelers per day were expected. The expansion from Hennigsdorf to Neuruppin should be completed by 1998; the remaining section to Wittenberge was expected to take another three years. In November 1995 an engineering company in Neuruppin presented a detailed concept for connecting Neuruppin to the cities of Hennigsdorf and Berlin.
On December 17, 1995, Deutsche Bahn closed the Neuruppin – Velten section for expansion.
expansion
The Velten – Neuruppin line lay fallow for almost two years after it was closed. The construction of the Prignitz Express route did not begin until October 21, 1997. The reason was disputes between Deutsche Bahn and the state about the financing. In May 1998 the first section between Velten and Kremmen was put back into operation. The converted Hennigsdorf station was opened in April .
The line to Neuruppin should go into operation in December 1998, but this was postponed several times until May 2000. The reasons given by Deutsche Bahn were problems with the underground, late payment of the municipalities' share of the costs for level crossings or problems with third-party companies. However, the delay in planning and the start of construction is also considered the main cause.
The Wittstock – Neuruppin section was closed for refurbishment in July 2003 and reopened at the end of February 2005. Most of the costs were borne by Deutsche Bahn and the State of Brandenburg. In the course of the route renovation, almost all stations were renewed, many stations were made barrier-free and adapted to the boarding height of the railcars in service. A new stop was created in Neuruppin West, which replaced the old Neuruppin main station.
Since 2006 the section between Wittenberge and Pritzwalk has also been renewed and upgraded to a speed of 120 km / h. In 2007 the last section from Pritzwalk to Wittstock followed. Since February 28, 2008, the route has been used continuously again; the total travel time has been reduced from more than three and a half to two hours. The total investments since 1997 amounted to 143.5 million euros. Some platforms on the section between Pritzwalk and Wittenberge were only later converted and expanded to be barrier-free. The renovation of the Pritzwalk station was originally planned for 2009, but did not begin until 2014. The Perleberg and Groß Pankow stations followed in 2017.
In some cases, there were disadvantages after the expansion: For example, switches were removed from Kremmen station and a few other stations. There are therefore no more opportunities to meet on the entire Velten – Neuruppin section. Delays can therefore hardly be reduced and further trains cannot run on this section. The situation looks similar on the Neuruppin – Wittstock section. A further meeting point was subsequently created in the Dossow (Prignitz) train station in order to reduce delays. In Wittstock (Dosse) station , the connection to the line to Mirow was removed.
The connection of the trains from Hennigsdorf directly to Berlin has been postponed again and again and has not yet taken place. With the S-Bahn from Hennigsdorf to Berlin, which reopened in December 1998, there is a connection to downtown Berlin. The trains of the Prignitz-Express run from Hennigsdorf after a change of direction over the northwestern outer ring of Berlin to Berlin Gesundbrunnen .
I2030 project
The states of Berlin and Brandenburg are striving to further expand the railway lines in the metropolitan area. A framework agreement was concluded with Deutsche Bahn in October 2017 for extensive testing of various variants and the “ i2030 ” umbrella brand was introduced for all projects . This also includes the Prignitz-Express / Velten corridor , for which a demand increase of 23 percent is forecast by 2030. In addition to the extension of the S-Bahn and the RE 6, more frequent intervals were examined. In June 2018, the steering committee decided that the service between Kremmen and Neuruppin should initially be compressed to two trains per hour. Additional meeting places are to be created for this.
Development of passenger and freight traffic
Until the end of 1995, unconnected regional train lines ran on the sections Wittenberge – Wittstock, Wittstock – Neuruppin and Neuruppin – Hennigsdorf, on most sections every two hours.
Since the Neuruppin – Velten section was closed at the end of 1995, the overall relationship appeared for the first time under the name Prignitz-Express project in a common timetable table. It included the newly introduced rail replacement service with coaches directly from Berlin Zoologischer Garten train station every hour via the A 24 to Neuruppin. There were also the three-hour clock propelled buses, which Linumer at the service area fraction Following the buses from Berlin had and Fehrbellin drove to Neuruppin and train stations southeast of the city served, as well as regional trains, on the one hand between Neuruppin and Wittstock with piglets taxes , on the other hand, between Wittstock and Wittenberge (and further via Nauen to Berlin, with 628 railcars ). The trains running between Hennigsdorf and Velten and the buses running between Velten and Kremmen appear in a separate table.
The first trains under the name Prignitz-Express only ran between Berlin-Charlottenburg and Neuruppin, i.e. not to the eponymous Prignitz in the north-west of Brandenburg. To open the line, Deutsche Bahn was initially unable to use the promised GTW 2/6 articulated multiple unit, but only the class 628. Since then, the trains have been running between Berlin-Charlottenburg and Wittstock. Traffic was broken in Wittstock. The RB 71 ran between Wittstock and Wittenberge. It was not until 2004 that the continuous Wittenberge – Neuruppin – Berlin-Charlottenburg traffic was introduced, initially on the old tracks. Traffic between Berlin-Spandau and Berlin-Charlottenburg was canceled at the end of 2005 by the State of Berlin.
From Monday to Friday the RE 6 runs on the entire route every hour , on the weekend only the Neuruppin – Berlin-Spandau section was served every hour, the rest of the section was operated every two hours. Alternating with the RE 6, the RB 55 runs every hour between Kremmen and Hennigsdorf and also goes to Bärenklau, Vehlefanz and Schwante. Since December 2019, the line has also been running every hour on the entire section on weekends.
The Prignitz-Express was able to achieve an increase in passenger numbers of 183 percent on the entire route between 2000 and 2008, with a six-fold increase in passenger numbers on the Neuruppin – Wittstock section.
There is hardly any freight traffic on the route. Only on the Wittenberge – Pritzwalk – Liebenthal – Wittstock section does a freight train run by the Potsdam Railway Company three times a week , which is used to operate the local Kronotex plant in Heiligengrabe . Even DB Cargo Germany operate the port.
Integration in Berlin
For better integration into Berlin, the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg are investigating various options for guiding the Prignitz Express from Hennigsdorf to Berlin-Gesundbrunnen in 2012 in order to enable a direct connection to the city center without changing trains.
The preferred variant provides for the construction of a third long-distance line between Schönholz and Tegel for regional and freight traffic, building on the basic renovation that is still to be carried out and establishing the two-track system of the Kremmener Bahn in Berlin. A mixed operation of the Prignitz-Express with the S-Bahn is planned further to Hennigsdorf, whereby the second track would have to be built between Tegel and Berlin-Schulzendorf . The Prignitz-Express is to stop at a new regional platform in Tegel station. The investment costs for this variant are estimated at 20 million euros.
Individual evidence
- ^ Bahn-Report , edition 2/1996, p. 38
- ↑ a b Erich Preuß : Prignitz Express . In: Pro-Bahn-Zeitung , 1/2001, p. 42
- ↑ Peter Neumann: Express service between Berlin and Neuruppin does not begin until May 2000: Prignitz Express is delayed again . In: Berliner Zeitung . October 29, 1999 ( berliner-zeitung.de [accessed July 18, 2018]).
- ↑ Press release No. 096/2003. (No longer available online.) Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Planning, 2003, formerly in the original ; Retrieved August 12, 2008 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Development concept for rail infrastructure signed. In: Press release VBB. October 4, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Susanne Henckel: Review and Outlook: Prignitzexpress, planning for the future and current projects at VBB. (PDF; 1.7 MB) Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg, May 3, 2018, pp. 7–9 , accessed on August 2, 2018 .
- ↑ Third steering committee i2030 - first decisions. In: Press release VBB. June 18, 2018, accessed May 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Pro-Rail Alliance: 15 successful regional railways. (PDF; 851 kB) (No longer available online.) In: der Fahrgast, 1/2010, p. 21. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; Retrieved December 5, 2010 .
- ↑ Feasibility study for the integration of the Prignitz-Express via the Kremmener Bahn to Berlin-Gesundbrunnen. Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture of the State of Brandenburg, March 19, 2012, accessed on March 20, 2012 .