Hochwaldbahn

This article describes the Hochwaldbahn railway line . For the railway company of the same name, see HWB Verkehrsgesellschaft .

Trier turquoise mill
Route number (DB) :	3131
Course book section (DB) :	lastly 625 Trier – Hermeskeil 264 Hermeskeil – Türkismühle
Route length:	72.7 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	17.5  ‰
Minimum radius :	190 m
Legend Range from Thionville Trier central station 137  m above sea level NN 0.0 Moselle route to Koblenz Transformer loading station of RWE AG 1.7 L 145 2.4 Ruwer (DB) 4.1 Grünhaus-Mertesdorf 137.5  m above sea level NN 5.4 Chasuble (Kr Trier) 7.3 Waldrach 3 × Ruwer crossing 11.0 Sommerau 4 × Ruwer crossing 12.2 Gusterath 2 × Ruwer crossing 15.7 Pluwig 233.5  m above sea level NN Pluwiger hammer 2 × Ruwer crossing 18.2 Hinzenburg 2 × Ruwer crossing 21.7 Lampades 24.7 Lagging 26.8 Zerf 2 × Ruwer crossing 33.4 Shillings Ruwer crossing 36.9 Kell (Bz Trier) Reinsfeld / Hunsrückstrasse 44.1 Reinsfeld (Kr Trier) 495  m above sea level NN A 1 up to here dismantling B 407 Hunsrückquerbahn from Langenlonsheim 50.3 Hermeskeil 476  m above sea level NN 51.7 Lösterbachtal Bridge State border Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland 56.9 Beer field 57.4 A 1 tunnel under the junction (135 m) 57.6 Bierfelder Tunnel (260 m) 58.0 Nonnweiler place 58.5 Nonnweiler Viaduct ( Prims ) 58.8 Nonnweiler 397  m above sea level NN Primstalbahn from / to Wadern A 1 (2 ×) A 62 62.1 Otzenhausen 64.0 Schwarzenbach 64.1 Schwarzenbacher Tunnel (removed) 67.1 Sötern 67.6 A 62 68.3 Eckelhausen Bostalsee 70.0 Gonnesweiler / Bostalsee 72.3 L 135 (formerly B 269 ) Saarbrücker Strasse 72.4 Near 72.5 Nahe Valley Railway from Saarbrücken 72.7 Turquoise mill 364  m above sea level NN Nahe Valley Railway to Bingen (Rhine)

The railway line formerly running from Trier via Hermeskeil to Türkismühle is known as the Hochwaldbahn , also known as the Ruwertalbahn . The northern section from Trier to Hermeskeil was closed in 1998 and then dismantled, the southern section from Hermeskeil to Türkismühle was used by freight and museum railways until 2012 and closed in 2014. The tracks up to the Saarland / Rhineland-Palatinate border were dismantled in 2019, the remaining section to Türkismühle is threatened with immediate dismantling according to the will of local politicians, but this is extremely controversial among the population.

course

The route was largely based on the course of the Ruwer in the Ruwertal , which was crossed by 28 - mostly stone arch bridges. The valley widens on the upper reaches of the Ruwer. The plateau between Kell and Hermeskeil is mainly characterized by meadows and pastures. Only after Hermeskeil do the forests dominate again.

history

In 1994 a special train crossed one of the 28 Ruwer bridges

Waldrach station in 1996

Several railway milestones are still on the bike path today (here km 15.5 near Pluwig )

The Hochwaldbahn was opened on August 15, 1889. The route from Trier to Hermeskeil was around 50 kilometers. From Hermeskeil to Türkismühle it is another 23 km. Originally the Ruwer line led out of the Trier Hbf without crossing , by driving under the railway bridge in Trier Nord with an elongated ramp and bringing the track back to the level of the station. This line was dismantled shortly after it was closed in 1986 and a paper mill was built over it. The “back door”, the “old freight track”, still exists and ends in the northern area of ​​Trier Central Station. Several main tracks have to be crossed to reach the platform.

Passenger traffic between Hermeskeil and Türkismühle was discontinued on June 1, 1969, and freight traffic was operated here until November 5, 2000. Passenger traffic between Pluwig and Hermeskeil ceased on May 31, 1981, between Trier-Ruwer and Pluwig on June 2, 1984. Freight traffic also withdrew in stages: Waldrach – Hermeskeil until June 2, 1991, Trier-Ruwer – Waldrach to August 10, 1998.

An association founded to maintain the track system could not prevent the line from being dismantled. Since August 10, 1998, the line between Trier and Hermeskeil has been closed and the line between Ruwer and Hermeskeil dismantled, between Hermeskeil and Türkismühle there were museum trips with rail buses and historical locomotives of the Hochwaldbahn eV Hermeskeil until 2012. A private steam locomotive museum is located in the former Hermeskeil depot . In 2008, the track between Trier Nord and the Ruwerer Straße level crossing was renovated by RWE AG in order to set up a transformer reloading station on Ruwerer Straße.

From Trier-Ruwer to Hermeskeil, the Ruwer-Hochwald-Radweg uses the former railway line today .

The Hermeskeil – Türkismühle section has been closed to operations since August 31, 2012 due to the expiry of the operating license and has been closed since 2014. At that time, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate considered assuming at least part of the upcoming costs for the Saarland part of the route in order to secure the route. These considerations have been and are currently being hampered by the planning of a cycle path on the Saarland side.

Planned bike path

The district of St. Wendel and the communities of Nohfelden, Nonnweiler and Freisen are currently planning the construction of a cycle path on the route of the Hochwaldbahn. For this purpose, ownership of the stretch between Türkismühle and the state border near Bierfeld was transferred to Ökoflächen Management GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of the Naturland Foundation Saar, in October 2019. In addition, the company acquired the connecting line of the Westrichbahn in Türkismühle to Freisen. The purpose of this measure is the complete dismantling of the entire remaining 18 kilometers of the Hochwaldbahn to the state border and the approximately 5 remaining kilometers of the Westrichbahn to Wolfersweiler. Afterwards, the company should make preparations for the construction of the cycle path. The plans for the cycle path include a continuous, 30 km long connection from Freisen via Türkismühle to Hermeskeil. According to the St. Wendel District Administrator Udo Recktenwald, this is hoped for "a highlight with high recreational value, an important addition to our tourist offer" for the region.

The project is very controversial among the population. A citizens' initiative (BI Bahn + Rad im Hochwald) was founded, which opposes the plans of the St. Wendel district and the neighboring communities and raises bitter criticism of the plans. The citizens' initiative disseminated an alternative concept that promoted a holistic traffic concept, which required both the construction of a bicycle infrastructure and the maintenance and use of parts of the still existing railway infrastructure, either for a draisine operation or for use in passenger traffic using synergy effects from the nearby one Bostalsee and the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park. This is intended to preserve and secure the railway line for the future in order to enable future generations to have the option of reactivation if there is a need for the railway line. It was based on the example of the Glantalbahn from Staudernheim to Lauterecken-Grumbach in the nearby Rhineland-Palatinate, where exactly this was carried out: The route is now in operation as a trolley and a popular tourist highlight; In the meantime, however, there are voices in politics calling for a complete reactivation of the railway line. A similar concept was called for by the BI Bahn + Rad im Hochwald for the Hochwaldbahn: By building a cycle path on the route or a possible de-dedication of the route according to Section 23 AEG, however, would permanently and irretrievably deny the option of reactivation.

The current plans met with criticism from the population and the citizens' initiative. It was appropriate that the responsible decision-makers in the St. Wendel district "categorically refused" to receive the railway line from the outset without any objective examination and insisted on the construction of the cycle path; they were accused of negligent behavior. The cost increase of the cycle path was also criticized: While the planning initially assumed construction costs of 5 million euros, at the end of 2019 they amounted to at least 9.3 million euros; In addition, it became apparent that the financing was not secured until the end. In addition, it was warned that the responsible decision-makers had pushed the cycle path planning with "false claims" and torpedoed a possible preservation of the railway line, in this regard there was talk of a "playing with the wrong cards". Specifically, the citizens 'initiative refers to the approximate doubling of the planned construction costs, as well as press reports in which the district of St Wendel claimed that the track of the Hochwaldbahn, which was also affected by the cycle path construction, had been swiveled, which made the alternative concept of the citizens' initiative impossible. In fact, the latter claim proves to be untrue, since the Hochwaldbahn is a former double-track line, a construction of the cycle path next to the existing route including the revitalization of the railway infrastructure would be clearly feasible. In addition, critics repeatedly point out that there is already a nearly identical cycle path from Freisen to Nonnweiler; the IG National Park Railway Association has examined and proven this in a study it has carried out itself. Due to the controversies surrounding the planned dismantling of the line, critics even speak of an "extermination program" and therefore also express sharp criticism of the attitude of the Saarland state government.

To support its plan to prevent the destruction of the Westrich and Hochwaldbahn and to preserve the two railway lines, the BI Bahn + Rad im Hochwald initiated a signature campaign that reached more than 1,300 petitioners in the region around the line within a few days. In November 2019, the citizens' initiative wrote a fire letter to the Saarland state government demanding that the planned dismantling work be stopped and the entire railway line preserved. The citizens' initiative demanded "to refrain from dismantling existing - including disused - track systems and to take the necessary measures to secure them, to develop a comprehensive, transnational transport concept for Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland with special consideration of the requirements of climate protection, [ and] to examine the recommissioning of disused railway lines in order to improve the regional rail transport connection in rural areas ". More than 30 clubs, associations, organizations, companies and a number of representatives from politics and the public joined the fire letter to the state government and the demands contained therein as first draftsmen.

Controversial dismantling of the Hermeskeil - state border

In March 2019, the owner of the Hermeskeil - state border section, DB Netz AG, began to completely dismantle the approximately 4-kilometer section. In addition, the extensive track systems in Hermeskeil station, which had largely been preserved to date, were largely dismantled. The measure was heavily criticized by the press and rail supporters because the dismantling was carried out without a permit, which is required by law according to § 18 AEG. DB Netz AG was accused of ignoring the planned planning approval procedure and of having carried out the dismantling illegally. In a press report in the Saarbrücker Zeitung, DB Netz AG admitted the dismantling without permission, but with reference to traffic safety obligations; the corresponding applications for dismantling to the Federal Railway Authority and the State Railway Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate had been sent back several times with reference to the lack of jurisdiction. Therefore, according to the report of the Saarbrücker Zeitung, they took action without permission.

The competent authorities of the Federal Railway Authority were dealing with the case while the dismantling work was still ongoing. According to research by the Saarbrücker Zeitung at the Federal Railway Office, "the work [...] looks like a dismantling", the Federal Railway Office was quoted as follows: "Like every new building and every change, the law also requires the dismantling of railway facilities prior approval decision by the planning approval authority according to Paragraph 18 AEG ". The Federal Police also started the investigation a short time later, and DB Netz AG then temporarily stopped the ongoing dismantling work. Nevertheless, they were continued and finalized a short time later. The case has now been submitted to the Federal Ministry of Transport for investigation.

In March 2020, the remaining section of the Türkismühle - state border was also dismantled. With the exception of Hermeskeil station, the entire length of the Hochwaldbahn has been dismantled.

Web links

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

• Route description at the Hochwaldbahngruppe ( Memento from January 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
• Hochwaldbahn-Info ( Memento from September 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
• Hermeskeil Steam Locomotive Museum ( Memento from October 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive )

Remarks

1. ↑ The track of the Hunsrückquerbahn runs parallel from the motorway bridge to here. Before it was dismantled, the line up to this point was double-tracked with a siding. The end of the route is therefore at the first station switch just before the bridge over the B407.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany 2007/2008 . 6th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9 .
2. ↑ www.eisenbahntunnel-portal.de Pictures / drawings of the tunnel portals
3. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Letter of protest: State government should stop dismantling the Hochwaldbahn. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Bahnreport, issue 2/2016, p. 80
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Thorsten Grim: National Park Railway : Different bike path views. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
7. ^ Saarbrücker Zeitung: Hochwaldbahn: Citizens fight for the Hochwaldbahn. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Wolfgang Bartels: Trains instead of draisines. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Torsten Grim: Revitalization of the Hochwaldbahn: "We continue to fight for our idea". In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Appendix 2. PM Parallelradweg-Hochwaldbahn.pdf. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Dietmar Klostermann: Dispute over reactivation of railway lines: Saar-Greens criticize track dismantling in Völklingen-Fürstenhausen. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
12. ↑ IG National Park Railway Hunsrück-Hochwald. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
13. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Thorsten Grim: End at kilometer 54: Bahn removed tracks without permission. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Now Berlin should clarify whether the track dismantling is legal. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. Retrieved December 18, 2019 . 
15. ↑ https://www.lok-report.de/news/deutschland/aus-den-laendern/item/16569-rheinland-pfalz-saarland-rueckbau-der-hochwaldbahn.html