Deggendorf – Kalteneck railway line

Deggendorf – Kalteneck
Route number (DB) :	5841
Course book section (DB) :	formerly 876
Route length:	54.0 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C2 D4 (only Hbf to port)
Legend by Bayerisch Eisenstein 0.0 Deggendorf central station 321 m to Metten to Plattling 1.6 Siding MAN DWE 2.7 Deggendorf harbor Siding port Deggendorf 4.2 Infrastructure border DB Netz AG / DHB 6.2 Half mile 7.4 Seebach 7.9 Deggendorf Textile Works 11.6 Hengersberg 311 m Schwaiger sawmill siding 16.6 Swan churches 20.2 Iggensbach 24.2 Schöllnach 376 m 26.5 Gunzing 29.2 Ausernzell 33.3 Eging 398 m 37.2 Nammering 41.0 Fürstenstein 43.0 Englburg 44.6 Tittling West 45.6 Tittling Market 510 m 49.3 Witzmannsberg from Freyung 54.0 Kalteneck 334 m to Passau

The Deggendorf – Kalteneck railway was a branch line in Bavaria . It connected the Bavarian Forest Railway from Plattling via Zwiesel to Bayerisch Eisenstein with the Passau – Freyung (Ilztalbahn) line from Passau via Waldkirchen to Freyung . Based on the Plattling – Bayerisch Eisenstein forest railway, it was also called the Vorwaldbahn .

Building history

After the construction of the forest railway from Plattling via Deggendorf to Bayerisch Eisenstein , completed in 1877 , and the Ilztalbahn from Passau to Freyung , completed in 1892, the communities between these lines, u. a. Aicha, Eging am See and Tittling , a rail connection. They favored a branch line from Vilshofen to the north. However, on the one hand the steep gradients from the Danube valley and on the other hand the requirement for a bridge over the Danube stood in the way of implementation. After a long struggle, the Bavarian State Railroad decided to build a cross connection between the two existing railways as the more cost-effective option.

Thus the Bavarian decided parliament with Law of 26 June 1908, construction of a single-track branch line from Deggendorf Eging Kalteneck with connections to the Ilztalbahn. This route also made it possible to connect Deggendorf harbor and Markt Hengersberg to the rail network. Deggendorf, Hengersberg and Passau had assumed liability for disputed land assignments vis-à-vis the state railway.

Railway construction began in the summer of 1910 from both endpoints. This enabled the 11.62-kilometer route from Deggendorf to Hengersberg and the 20.75-kilometer route from Kalteneck to Eging to be opened with large celebrations on November 26, 1913. The middle section, 21.66 kilometers long, went into operation on the eve of the First World War on August 1, 1914, without causing a stir.

Train traffic

The Bavarian local railway machines from the Plattling and Passau depots were available for train traffic. In the first few months, three pairs of trains ran daily on the Deggendorf – Hengersberg route, and four pairs of trains between Eging and Kalteneck. The four continuous train pairs initially used after full commissioning were gradually reduced to two train pairs during the First World War. Since these trains also had to take freight wagons with them, the journey times were long on the route. In 1936 five pairs of trains ran on the route, with trains from both directions ending in Eging in the evening and returning in the morning. In mid-April 1945, the route was used by a prisoner transport coming from Buchenwald concentration camp (54 freight wagons with around 5000 people on board), which then had to stop at Nammering station for five days . The “ Memorial KZ-Transport 1945 ” on the former station area commemorates the almost 800 people who perished in Nammering during this time . In 1976 the five pairs of trains ran on the Deggendorf – Kalteneck railway line only on working days. On Sundays they were replaced by three bus courses.

Shutdowns

With the increase in private transport, the number of users on this railway line also fell steadily, although a number of additional stops were set up and operations switched to rail buses. Freight and general cargo traffic also suffered losses. This also resulted in gradual shutdowns. It all started with passenger traffic, which was discontinued between Eging and Kalteneck on October 1, 1972. On June 3, 1973, scheduled freight traffic between Tittling Markt and Kalteneck was discontinued. It is noteworthy that the last-mentioned section for occasional diversion traffic to and from Waldkirchen, Jandelsbrunn and Freyung was kept operational for over 20 years, although there was no longer any train traffic on it as planned. This section was also used, if only occasionally, for other purposes; so is z. In the early 1990s, for example, various ballast trains from the Mayersäge stop on the Ilz Valley Railway via Kalteneck and Deggendorf to Munich were handed down. In addition, special trains occasionally ran over this section. An example of this is the “Bayerwaldrundfahrt” from Passau via Kalteneck, Eging and Deggendorf to Viechtach in July 1986. The next shutdown was again for passenger traffic, which was discontinued from Deggendorf to Eging on September 25, 1981. Freight traffic between Eging and Tittling was discontinued and the Eging - Kalteneck section was closed on April 2, 1995. On September 1, 2002, the section between Hengersberg and Eging was also closed. After the tracks between Kalteneck and Eging were dismantled in autumn 1999 and the tracks between Eging and Hengersberg were dismantled in 2004, the Danube-Ilz Cycle Path was opened in 2006 between Hengersberg and Kalteneck on the former railway line. Freight traffic still takes place on the remaining 11.6 kilometer stretch from Deggendorf main station via Deggendorf Hafen to Hengersberg.

Today's operation

The section from Deggendorf Hafen (exclusively) from kilometer 4.245 to Hengersberg became the property of DHB Grundstücks GmbH + Co. KG on September 1, 2007 as a private siding. This section is used for freight transport by the Schwaiger sawmill. The Deggendorf Hafen – Deggendorf Hbf section is also used for freight traffic to and from the Danube harbor. The track is in the operating procedures Zugleitbetrieb operated.

There were proposals to use the railway line in 2014 to connect the state horticultural show grounds; however, this was not realized. However, the city of Deggendorf is pursuing the idea of ​​reactivation with a stop at the Technical University.

literature

• Walther Zeitler: Railways in Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate. 2nd edition, Amberg 1997, ISBN 3-924350-61-2 .
• Siegfried Bufe: Branch lines in the Passau region . Egglham 1998, ISBN 3-922138-66-7 .
• Bernhard Rückschloß: branch line Deggendorf – Eging, Deggendorf 2004, Modell-Eisenbahn-Verein Deggendorf e. V. (editor) ISBN 3-934726-16-X .

Web links

• spurensuche-eisenbahn.de Pictures of the current state

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Federal Railway Office : List of disused routes in Bavaria (since January 1, 1994) ( Microsoft Excel file, 16 kB) on eba.bund.de, September 11, 2017, accessed on December 19, 2018.
2. ↑ Service facilities Deggendorf Hafen. In: https://railway.tools/#/de . DB Netz AG, October 1, 2018, accessed on January 23, 2018 . 
3. ^ Deggendorfer Zeitung: "Gartenschau-Bahn: Minister Brunner supports OB" , December 5, 2012, accessed on April 6, 2013
4. ^ City suggests train to Hengersberg