Rhine-Nahe Railway Company
The Rhein-Nahe-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (RNE) in Bad Kreuznach , founded in 1856, pursued the goal of establishing a direct connection from the coal mines of the Saar area to the Rhine near Bingen , which largely followed the Nahe valley . With the construction and operation of the web, today Nahe Valley Railway , which was Prussian state mandated. This concluded contracts with the Landgraviate of Hessen-Homburg and the Oldenburg Principality of Birkenfeld , as some sections of the route touched their territory.
The railway was opened in three stages:
- July 15, 1858 Bingerbrück (today: Bingen (Rhein) Hauptbahnhof ) - Bad Kreuznach - 16 kilometers
- December 15, 1859 Bad Kreuznach– (Idar-) Oberstein - 52 kilometers
- May 26, 1860 Oberstein – Türkismühle – Neunkirchen - 53 kilometers.
In Neunkirchen (Saar) there was a connection to the state " Saarbrücker Eisenbahn ". There was also a trajectory from Bingerbrück to Rüdesheim on the right bank of the Rhine.
Arthur von Mayer describes the 121 kilometer long route as "the most expensive railway in Germany, which is explained by the infinitely difficult construction work", which included a large number of tunnels, bridges, dams and cuts.
Since the passenger traffic, which was only lively to the health resorts of Kreuznach and Münster am Stein, did not meet the expectations of the builders, a dividend could not be paid to the shareholders at any time.
The Birkenfeld train station in the Nahe valley was 5 kilometers from the capital of the Principality of Birkenfeld. Therefore, the RNE built a railway from the station, renamed Neubrücke, to the city at the expense of the city of Birkenfeld and also took over the management of the Birkenfeld railway , which opened on October 15, 1880.
Because of the great strategic importance of the line, which was to be extended by a second track, the Prussian state acquired the railway with effect from April 1, 1881. The RNE was dissolved.