Naumburg – Reinsdorf railway line
The Naumburg – Reinsdorf ( Unstrutbahn ) line is a branch line in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia . It runs in the valley of the Unstrut from Naumburg (Saale) via Freyburg (Unstrut) and Nebra to Reinsdorf , where it joins the main Sangerhausen – Erfurt line.
geography
Between Naumburg / Saale and Roßleben, the route mostly runs directly along the Unstrut and the Unstrut cycle path and often offers views of the hilly landscape and castles. At Karsdorf , the new Erfurt – Leipzig / Halle railway line crosses the Unstrutbahn line and the river of the same name on the 2668 meter long Unstruttal bridge .
To the east, the Naumburg-Teucherner Bahn joins the Unstrutbahn , on which passenger trains only run between Naumburg (Saale) Hbf and Naumburg (Saale) Ost. These are tied through with the Unstrutbahn. To the west, the Unstrutbahn was joined by the Kyffhäuserbahn from Bretleben to Sondershausen, which was closed in 2006 . In Laucha the now closed Finnebahn branches off from the Unstrutbahn, a functional connection no longer exists.
history
Planning and construction
With the abolition of customs barriers and the beginning of industrialization, the call for a railway line through the Unstruttal became louder, as salt, coal and red sandstone were expected to be found here. Transport by ship did not seem economical.
In 1872 a stock corporation was founded to build the line through the then industrial Unstruttal. However, the project failed due to funding. The implementation of the project was then transferred to the German Railway Construction Company in Berlin; However, this went bankrupt. As a result, the Unstrutbahn company dissolved in 1874.
The first activities that were supposed to initiate the actual construction of the railway began on June 19, 1882. The Prussian Minister for Trade, Industry and Public Works Albert von Maybach commissioned the Erfurt Railway Directorate to begin preparatory work for the line. This was also associated with the start of surveying work. This all happened quickly and appropriately. In the section between Naumburg and Roßbach, the survey was relatively problem-free, but rather difficult on the rest of the route. This is due to the fact that the desired route was not on public grounds. The farmers also did not want to accept that their fields would be divided by the railroad. Furthermore, the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen made special demands regarding the routing, which were not considered acceptable. For this reason, there was no alternative to crossing a floodplain near Donndorf and Helped. A Prussian law of April 4, 1884 approved the construction and operation of the line, which was to lead from Naumburg via Freyburg, Laucha, Karsdorf, Nebra, Roßleben and Donndorf to Artern. The planning had already been completed and the financing was secured for the time being. Due to long-standing controversial issues, the start of construction lasted until September 1887. In addition to the swamp crossing, embankments were also built up and red sandstone slopes were demolished. The route was already approved by the state police on September 20, 1889. However, a number of construction accidents were associated with the construction, some of them with personal injury.
opening
In order to prepare the festivities for the opening of the route, a festival committee was set up. In the vicinity of Artern , an indicator reported about it from September 24th. As reported in another edition, well over 200 people registered for the opening ceremony in advance. The inauguration finally took place on September 30, one day before the official commissioning. At 8:50 a.m., a fully occupied special train started from Naumburg in the direction of Artern. Important representatives from politics and business were on board, including Trade Minister Albert von Maybach . All intermediate stations along the route were stopped. A longer stop was made in Laucha. The special train ended in Artern at around 12:00 p.m. Cannon strokes, music bands and an army of people accompanied the celebrations. At exactly 12:48 p.m. the special train drove back to Naumburg with around 240 guests. The line went into operation on October 1, 1889. Initially, four pairs of trains ran from Artern to Naumburg. The travel time on this route was two and a half hours. In the opposite direction it took about 20 minutes longer due to several train crossings.
Two days after commissioning, on the morning of October 3, traffic on the section between Donndorf, Roßleben, Nebra and Naumburg had to be stopped again. Serious mistakes in the construction shortly before the opening are considered to be the cause of dam slide, track subsidence and warping. The repair work was completed quickly, so that trains could run again on October 6th. But the first year of operation was characterized by a steady upswing, despite a few breakdowns and accidents. In the winter of 1890 there was a flood that washed away a dam. In addition, there was the derailment of a passenger train in March 1890 and a fatal accident involving a shunter.
According to a report by the Querfurter Kreisblatt, passenger traffic was around 23,000 in the first third of its existence. The timetables were changed several times for this. Likewise, five pairs of trains now drove daily and the connections in Artern and Naumburg were improved. The region benefited greatly from the railroad. Other small railways later branched off from various stations along the route. Numerous connecting railways as well as freight and loading tracks for the local potash and cement industries were also built.
First years of operation
Although the first years of operation were characterized by a steady upward trend, this development did not continue from 1895 until the turn of the year 1905/06. One reason can be seen in the fact that the transport needs in the catchment area did not grow any further. The necessary income to start with expansion measures did not materialize. The Finnebahn in Laucha, which opened in 1914, involved a complete conversion of the station into a separation station. The platforms were moved south to make room for new freight and loading tracks. There were also two Jüdel type signal boxes. The Unstrutbahn got its own platform. A newly built pedestrian tunnel served as access to the platforms. Some of these platforms were also covered. The platform of the Unstrutbahn even had a small kiosk.
Initially, limestone and sandstone as well as agriculture shaped the volume of goods traffic on the Unstrutbahn. Over time, the two major customers, the Karsdorf cement works and the Roßleben potash mine, also became more important. Without the railway, these transport services would not have been possible. Therefore, in the mid-1970s, the idea of increasing the permeability of the route arose. So a two-pronged expansion and electrification were considered. Freight trains with a length of up to 120 axles lacked space for the train crossings. The Unstrutbahn also had a certain importance as a diversion route on the connection between Naumburg and Erfurt .
Operation after the turn
Freight traffic on the Reinsdorf (b Artern) –Nebra section has been suspended since December 31, 2001.
Local rail passenger transport (SPNV) on the Thuringian side was no longer ordered by the state government on December 9, 2006 due to inefficiency. As a result, DB Netz AG put the Thuringian section of the route out to tender in early 2007 in order to sell or lease it to another company. The application period ended on April 30, 2007. According to DB, two companies had applied. One applicant was the Deutsche Regionalisenbahn (DRE), the other applicant the Westfälische Almetalbahn GmbH (WAB). The WAB wanted to reactivate the railway for freight transport, especially cement transport. Finally, in May 2008, DRE was able to conclude the 20-year lease contract with DB Netz AG for the Nebra – Artern section.
On January 22, 2009, the DRE received the operating license for the Nebra – Artern line. After the DRE built a makeshift platform in Wangen , which was inaugurated by Transport Minister Karl-Heinz Daehre on April 9, 2009 , the trains ordered by the state have been traveling the approximately two-kilometer route from Nebra to Wangen (Unstrut) since April 10. This means that there is a direct train connection from the direction of Naumburg for visitors to the Arche Nebra (the visitor center to the Nebra Sky Disc ), which opened in summer 2007 , without having to change to the bus in Nebra.
From October 8, 2011 to January 31, 2012, the route was completely closed to rail traffic. During this time, the Saale bridge near Naumburg, which dates back to 1887, was rebuilt. In addition to this construction project, the stations and stops along the route were renovated. New platforms were built at the stations and stops in Kleinjena, Balgstädt, Laucha, Kirchscheidungen, Karsdorf, Reinsdorf (b Nebra) and Nebra, with the platforms in Karsdorf, Reinsdorf (b Nebra) (formerly Vitzenburg) and Freyburg (Unstrut) being integrated into one more convenient location postponed. A completely new stopping point in the Roßbach district of Naumburg was put into operation on March 10, 2012, as was the new stopping point in Freyburg (Unstrut), which was relocated.
The upgrading planned by the DRE for the western section of the Nebra – Artern route to maintain freight traffic until the start of the route closure in 2011 did not take place. This did not take place until the beginning of May 2012 when, for the first time in four years, a train traveled the previously closed Roßleben – Artern section. However, since no freight traffic was possible on this section of the route due to a dilapidated railway bridge east of Roßleben, this was removed in summer 2014 and the embankment closed. This means that the entire route between Artern and Naumburg is once again accessible for heavy freight trains.
In November 2011, the siding to the former potash works in Roßleben was opened by members of IG Unstrutbahn e. V. made it passable again, as bulk goods transports were planned to cover the potash dump, but this has not yet taken place.
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North of Naumburg, the line's top speed was increased from 50 to 80 km / h at the beginning of 2015, so that the travel time to Freyburg could be reduced by one to two minutes. In the DRE section, too, the line speed was increased to 40 and 50 km / h, respectively, by plugging around 1200 meters of track between Nebra and the state border. This shortens the total travel time between Nebra and Roßleben by up to 6 minutes.
In November 2015, already disconnected points and the underpass towards the city center were dismantled in Laucha station. The remaining part of the listed building after Stadtfeld was renovated and a barrier was installed on the level crossing to the bus stop. In addition, the Vitzenburg train station was converted into an alternative junction. The Naumburg-based Saale-Unstrut-Bahn UG (SUB), which was founded in 2011 by members of IG Unstrutbahn e. V. was founded, has acquired tracks there in order to park rail vehicles and enable loading and unloading. Until the timetable change on December 8, 2018, the regional rail transport was the Burgenlandbahn with railcars of series 672 in hourly performed.
Current operation
Since the timetable change on December 9, 2018, the regional rail transport on the Saxon-Anhalt line section Naumburg - Wangen has been operated by Abellio Mitteldeutschland with Lint 41 multiple units at hourly intervals. The train crossings take place shortly before half an hour in Laucha (Unstrut) station and shortly before the hour in Nebra station. The further section from Wangen to Artern in Thuringia is only rarely used for special trips. Around 550 passengers use the Unstrutbahn on working days, 800 on Saturdays and around 700 on Sundays and public holidays (as of 2017). Festivals along the route such as the Saale Wine Mile and the Freyburger Winzerfest ensure high traffic peaks.
Freight traffic currently takes place regularly to the connecting railway in the Karsdorf cement works. There, tank cars from Großkorbetha and Leuna are mainly parked on the tracks of the Erfurter Bahnservice GmbH and, if necessary, picked up again by locomotives from InfraLeuna.
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Special trains in the Unstruttal can be observed regularly, which mainly bring tourists from the Chemnitz, Leipzig and Eisenach area to the wine town of Freyburg to visit the sparkling wine cellar or the annual wine festival. In addition, the "Unstrut-Schrecke-Express", a project of the IG Unstrutbahn e. V. Several times a year it travels from Naumburg via Erfurt and Artern to Roßleben, in order to bring excursionists closer to the scenic mountain range of the Hohe Schrecke, located on the lower reaches of the Unstrut, through hikes or visits to local excursion destinations. On May 1, 2018, the Förderverein Finnebahn eV (FFB) carried out the first special trip under the name “Finne-Unstrut-Xpress” (FUX) on the occasion of the Freyburg Wine Spring, which led from Sömmerda via the peppermint railway into Unstruttal.
In the 2019/2020 timetable period, the Naumburg-Roßbach, Kleinjena and Balgstädt stops are on-demand stops.
future
In 2005, the non-profit interest group (IG) Unstrutbahn e. V. founded, which is committed to the use and maintenance of the Unstrutbahn. By helping with the construction of the platform in Wangen, the association contributed to the extension of the train connection from Nebra there. Above all, he is committed to organizing special trips to ensure that regular rail passenger transport takes place on the entire route to Artern. For this purpose, work on the route, such as clearing vegetation and platform maintenance work, is carried out.
literature
- Paul Lauerwald, Johannes Leipold, Werner Niemeyer: 100 years Unstrutbahn Naumburg (S.) Hbf . - Artern: 1.10.1889 - 1.10.1989, history and present of the railway line Naumburg (Saale) Hbf - Artern . Published on behalf of the organizing committee for the preparation and implementation of the centenary of the Artern train station, Möbius printer, Artern 1989
- Paul Lauerwald: The Unstrutbahn Artern – Naumburg . Updated new edition. Herdam, Gernrode 1999, ISBN 978-3-933178-05-3
- Paul Lauerwald: Naumburg (Saale) central station - Artern . In: Secondary and narrow-gauge railways in Germany then & now . 104. Supplementary delivery , GeraMond Munich 2014, ISSN 0949-2143 , 26 p. DIN A 4
Web links
- Interest group Unstrutbahn eV
- The Unstrutbahn picture page with current and historical pictures
- The Unstrut-Schrecke-Express
- Abellio Rail Central Germany
- Erfurter Bahnservice GmbH, connecting railway operator in Karsdorf
- Railway construction. In: unstrutbahn.de. Retrieved August 18, 2016 .
- Opening of the railway. In: unstrutbahn.de. Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
- Orbit development. In: unstrutbahn.de. Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rail traffic from Naumburg to Teuchern suspended. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. March 3, 2010, accessed March 26, 2014 .
- ↑ DRE leases the Nebra - Artern railway line from DB Netz. (No longer available online.) In: DRE press release on eisenbahn-webkatalog.de. May 21, 2008, archived from the original on June 3, 2008 ; Retrieved May 21, 2008 .
- ↑ See DRE press release, reproduced in: Kyffhäuser Nachrichten. January 26, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2009 .
- ↑ Gerd Stöckel: With the platform soon a regular stop. Opening move with Minister announced for April 9th. From May the railcars run daily. In: Naumburger Tageblatt. March 27, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2009 .
- ↑ Cf. Christian Kirchner, pictures of the opening of the Hp Wangen in the forum Drehscheibe Online. Retrieved April 12, 2009 .
- ↑ Cf. By train now to Arche Nebra , in: Wochenspiegel Zeitz. Retrieved April 10, 2009 .
- ^ Gerd Stöckel: With weather house and clock. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. February 10, 2011, accessed July 27, 2011 .
- ↑ Deutsche Bahn puts modernized Unstrutbahn line into operation. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn AG, January 31, 2012, formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 1, 2012 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Deutsche Bahn puts modernized Unstrutbahn line into operation. In: bahnaktuell.net Railway news archive. January 31, 2012, accessed April 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Oliver Schumacher: Deutsche Bahn puts modernized Unstrutbahn into operation. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn AG (published on www.unstrutbahn.de), January 27, 2012, archived from the original on May 25, 2015 ; Retrieved May 25, 2015 .
- ↑ Thomas Müller: DRE rehabilitates track. (No longer available online.) July 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 20, 2011 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Dieter Jäger: There are no activities on the Thuringian side. Interest group complains in an open letter. (No longer available online.) November 7, 2011, archived from the original on June 1, 2015 ; accessed on June 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Grit Pommer: Unstrutbahn completely passable. Thüringer Allgemeine, May 2, 2012, accessed on May 2, 2012 .
- ↑ Thomas Müller: Long-winded bottleneck was eliminated. (No longer available online.) IG Unstrutbahn eV, October 2014, archived from the original on November 7, 2014 ; Retrieved November 7, 2014 .
- ↑ The side track to the potash heap is passable. (No longer available online.) In: Naumburger Tageblatt. IG Unstrutbahn eV, November 14, 2012, archived from the original on January 2, 2014 ; Retrieved November 21, 2012 .
- ↑ Naumburg - Freyburg now with Tempo 80. In: Naumburger Tageblatt . November 14, 2012, accessed May 25, 2015 .
- ↑ The route to the national border is worked through ( Memento from July 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The tunnel is cut ( memento from January 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Series 672 (LVT S). In: unstrutbahn.startbilder.de. Retrieved April 3, 2018 .
- ^ Signed the transport contract for the Saxony-Anhalt diesel network. In: abellio.de. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Rides for the 120th birthday of the Unstrutbahn - Activities 2009. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 2, 2014 ; Retrieved October 27, 2009 .
- ^ Naumburg - Wangen: Around 550 passengers a day. In: Naumburger Tageblatt. April 5, 2018, accessed May 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Special trains (KBS 585). In: unstrutbahn.startbilder.de. Retrieved April 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Unstrut-Schrecke-Express. IG Unstrutbahn eV, accessed on April 3, 2018 .
- ↑ With the FUX into the vineyards. In: Thuringian General. April 13, 2018, accessed May 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Abellio: Timetable 2019/20 Naumburg-Ost-Wangen