Western introduction of the Riedbahn

Mannheim Hbf – Mannheim commercial harbor – Mannheim -Waldhof
ICE on the western introduction of the Riedbahn in Mannheim (2013)
Route number (DB) :	4011
Course book section (DB) :	655
Route length:	9.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	D4
Power system :	15 kV, 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	13.891  ‰
Top speed:	160 km / h
Dual track :	Continuous
Legend Rheinbahn from Karlsruhe High-speed route from Stuttgart Line from Mannheim marshalling yard Rheintalbahn from Heidelberg Riedbahn from Ffm Stadion - Mannh-Käfertal 0.000 Mannheim Central Station Route to Mannheim's main freight station Palatine Ludwig Railway to Saarbrücken Route to Mainz 0.900 Bundesstrasse 37 ( Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke ) 1,785 Connecting canal Neckar - Mühlauhafen 2.000 Bundesstrasse 44 ( Kurt Schumacher Bridge ) 2.105 Mannheim - commercial port 2.823 Riedbahn Bridge West (242 m) Port railway to Neckarvorlandbrücke Neckar 3.065 3,490 Mannheim- Neckarstadt 4,783 Bundesstrasse 44 5.135 Mannheim industrial port railway and street from Mannheim-Neckarstadt ("Riedbahnhof") 5.470 Mannheim-Luzenberg from Mannheim Industriehafen collecting station Riedbahn from Mannheim Hbf – Mannh-Käfertal Route from Mannheim-Sandhofen 6.436 Mannheim-Waldhof 6.5902 9.6002 Change of kilometer (adaptation to Riedbahn) 10,700 Mannheim-Waldhof Gbf 12,250 Riedbahn to Frankfurt am Main Stadium

TGV Duplex passing through the Mannheim-Handelshafen stop

The western introduction of the Riedbahn ( WER ) is a 9.2 km long new line opened in Mannheim in 1985 , which serves the direct introduction of the Riedbahn from the north into the Mannheim main station without bypassing the city to the east.

description

The new line crosses under the passenger and freight tracks of the Palatinate Ludwigsbahn in the northwestern track field of Mannheim main station and then turns into a 2,200 m long carriageway, elevated on 82 pillars, which crosses several intersecting streets in the port area. This elevation is interrupted by two tied arch bridges , one over the port canal and the Riedbahn bridge west over the Neckar . An almost 2,000 m long dam is connected to the elevation, which is interrupted by a five-part prestressed concrete bridge ; it lies partly along the route of the 1971 shutdown entrance of the Hessian Ludwig Railway to the former Mannheim Riedbahnhof . At Mannheim-Waldhof station , which has been extensively adapted for this, the line joins the old line at the same level . In the course of the route, the west of Mannheim received three new stops: Mannheim-Handelshafen , Mannheim-Neckarstadt and Mannheim-Luzenberg . The route follows the course of the Neckarstadtbahn, which was shut down in the 1960s.

Heavy and slow freight trains continue to use the eastern introduction of the Riedbahn (as of 1985).

The route was developed for a top speed of 160 km / h. The limit value for the longitudinal slope is 12.5 per mille (with a 13.9 per mille ramp in Mannheim main station). In the cross-section, an extended standard clearance profile was created with a track spacing of 4.00 m and a subgrade width of 10.0 m. The section of the route can be driven at 60 km / h in the area of ​​Mannheim main station (up to 1.4 km), then at 120 km / h to the commercial port stop and at 160 km / h for the rest of the way. It is equipped with H / V signals and punctual train control, from line kilometers 5 upwards with line train control .

history

background

In a state treaty concluded in 1843 by the then states of Baden, Hesse and the Free City of Frankfurt, neither Mannheim nor Heidelberg were to be given preference in the planned Main-Neckar Railway. The new route was therefore led to Friedrichsfeld. For the later connection of the Riedbahn, on the other hand, the continuous traffic from Frankfurt via Mannheim to the Palatinate was obviously given preference over the direct traffic from Frankfurt via Mannheim towards Karlsruhe.

The Badische Hauptbahn was the first railway line to reach Mannheim from the south-east, so that the later central station was also built to the south-east of the city center. This gave rise to the problem of connecting the Riedbahn from the north, built by the Hessian Ludwigsbahn , which reached Mannheim in October 1879. This route, coming from Darmstadt and later from Frankfurt am Main , was given its own train station in Mannheim on the northern outskirts, the Riedbahnhof , north of today's Kurpfalzbrücke , without a connection to the Baden Railway. A continuous traffic to Mannheim's main station was until 1880 through the bypass Mannheim on Käfertal to Rheintalbahn possible, so that the features of Riedbahn could now enter from the southeast in the Mannheim train station to continue towards Karlsruhe and Stuttgart , however, make head had.

Shortly before the First World War and in the mid-1920s, it was proposed to introduce the Riedbahn through the port area into the main station.

Before the Second World War, the city of Mannheim suggested introducing the Riedbahn via Lampertheim, Frankenthal and Ludwigshafen from the west into the Mannheim node. The time advantage of not having to change direction would have been consumed by a detour of around 10 km. Both the 1943 B3 program developed shortly before the Second World War and weakened renovation plans from 1950/51 included the introduction of the Riedbahn into Mannheim Central Station from the west. The latter plans envisaged a roughly 9.5 km long new line from Mannheim-Waldhof with an elevation-free branch in the station area. The project was gradually abandoned in the early 1950s for cost reasons. Most recently, after 1953, the introduction “Introduction of the Riedbahn from the west” requested by the city of Mannheim was deleted.

A direct introduction of the Riedbahn at the Mannheim hub was proposed in a 1964 study for the board of the Deutsche Bundesbahn. The project was resumed in 1970 - initially as a pure local transport project for the state of Baden-Württemberg and the city of Mannheim. The Board of Directors of the Federal Railroad approved in August 1970. The western introduction of the Riedbahn was to be followed by a four-track expansion of the line between Mannheim-Waldhof and Groß-Gerau. The new Cologne – Groß-Gerau line towards Cologne would have been developed there . Both projects were not implemented.

Changing the direction of travel (including changing locomotives) required at least six minutes in the early 1980s and generated numerous shunting trips ; a total of up to 3,000 shunting trips were counted daily at Mannheim main station. Due to these operational circumstances, there were often delays. All station tracks had to be crossed for the train turns. To solve the difficulties, the western introduction of the Riedbahn was developed, with which the Riedbahn could be introduced for the first time from the northwest into the Mannheim main station.

planning

Overview of the plan approval procedure

Plan approval area	1	2	3
Route kilometers	0.0-0.9	0.9-5.9	5.9-9.5
introduction	July 20, 1978	March 21, 1978 (initial introduction May 24, 1971)	December 19, 1978
Number of objections	0	15th	1022
Public hearing	(none)	April 26, 1978	March 31, 1980
Planning approval decision	October 25, 1978	March 5th 1979	June 19, 1981
Number of lawsuits	0	17th	0
Tenacity	December 20, 1978	October 6, 1980	7th August 1981

The new line was divided into three sections for planning: the introduction to the northwestern head of Mannheim main station (section 1: km 0.0 to 0.9), the route between km 0.9 and 5.9 (section 2) and the Integration into the Mannheim-Waldhof train station (section 3: km 5.9 to 9.5).

The first plan approval procedure was initiated in mid-1971. In 1972 crossing agreements were signed with the city of Mannheim. The project later became part of the upgraded Frankfurt - Mannheim line . In March 1977 the board of directors of DB presented the entire project to the board of directors for the bombardment, which was issued in May 1977. The benefit-cost factor of the overall project was 6.73. The municipal council of the city of Mannheim approved the introduction of the western Riedbahn in November 1977. On September 7, 1978, Federal Transport Minister Gscheidle approved the construction of the 9.1 km long overall project. At the price level of 1975 the costs were 230 million DM, of which 12 million DM were local transport.

The planning approval decision for the first section became legally binding on October 25, 1978. The first engineering works began in February 1979. The height-free introduction into Mannheim Central Station required extensive reconstruction of the western end of Mannheim Central Station, including all bridge structures. No public participation was required for this section.

Between February 5 and March 5, 1979, the plans for (northern) section 3 in Mannheim City Hall were laid out. Subsequently, a citizens' initiative against the project was formed. Among other things, she demanded the relocation of the existing and new railway systems, the adjacent federal road and the tram in tunnels; The Deutsche Bundesbahn put the associated additional costs at around one billion DM. With the lowering of the railway facilities and the lowering of a federal road, which was also required for a later date, the unfavorable conditions in the center of the Waldhof district were to be rectified. The DB described an underground route as technically feasible, but financially unsustainable. The hearing in this section was initially planned for January 15, 1980 and was postponed to January 31, 1980 at the insistence of the citizens concerned, who criticized the date and manner of disclosure. It finally took place at the end of March 1980. The Bundesbahn again rejected the underground routing requested by most of the objectors. Ultimately, the demands of the citizens' initiative resulted in a joint framework plan for the city, state, federal government and railways. Improvements could have been achieved despite maintaining the above-ground line. Among other things, streets were changed, pedestrian connections were created between parts of the city separated by rail and noise barriers, and freight transport facilities were relocated. According to the railway, this solution was presented, justified and discussed in detail. No action was taken against this compromise.

In the (middle) section 2, the planning became final on October 6, 1980. Construction began here in mid-1980. With the adoption of the plan approval decision for the Mannheim-Waldhof area, the plan approval procedure was completed after four years in August 1981. A total of 1,037 objections to the construction of the line were dealt with and 17 administrative court proceedings were conducted. These 17 individual lawsuits were triggered by a citizens' initiative. According to the railway, all complaints have been settled amicably.

At the end of May 1979, the Mannheim city council approved the project after the Federal Railroad had committed itself to extensive noise protection.

According to the planning status from the end of the 1970s, around 35 express and local trains and 55 to 60 long-distance trains were expected in both directions on an annual average on working days. While the local trains should serve all three planned new stops, express trains should only stop at the Westkreuz stop (km 2.1), which should offer the best connection with the inner-city transport network.

construction

Stilts in the area of ​​the commercial port

In 1981 construction began on the full length. In 1983 all structures on the line were completed. In the course of the measures, three new stops were also created (Luzenberg, Neckarstadt, Handelshafen). The Waldhof station was fundamentally redesigned.

In the course of the new line at Mannheim Central Station, platforms were extended, a new platform underpass with escalators was built and a new switchboard was put into operation in 1982.

Installation

Trial operation began in January 1985. In the spring of 1985, for the first time and as an operational test, leaflets and films were issued to train drivers who would be driving on the route section in the future to gain knowledge of the route .

The new line was inaugurated on June 2, 1985 by Federal Transport Minister Werner Dollinger .

With the start of operations, a 20-minute cycle with push-pull trains was introduced between Lampertheim and Mannheim Hauptbahnhof; 36 to 38 trains a day continued to Schwetzingen / Hockenheim. At the same time, the regional transport offer on the eastern introduction of the Riedbahn was largely stopped. A bus service between Luzenberg and Käfertal was set up as a replacement.

When the western introduction of the Riedbahn went into operation, the journey time was reduced by around ten minutes. In connection with the newly built Mannheim – Stuttgart line to the south, the travel time between Frankfurt and Stuttgart was reduced by more than an hour.

business

In addition to regional trains from the Rhein-Neckar transport association, three ICE lines, which connect southern Germany with Berlin , Hamburg , Cologne and Dortmund , now operate on the route . The French TGV trains between Frankfurt and Paris as well as Frankfurt and Marseille also run here.

At the end of 2019, the speeds allowed out of town were increased. Among other things, after the last switch at the main train station, 70 km / h are now permissible instead of the previous 60 km / h, the other stages of acceleration to 160 km / h occur earlier and for higher speeds.

costs

In the preliminary design planning, at the price level in 1975, construction costs (excluding planning costs) of 215.0 million DM were planned. 26 percent of the total came from the acquisition of land, compensation and advance payments by the city of Mannheim, and another 31 percent from bridge structures. 20.5 percent was set for the substructure and superstructure, 3.5 percent for the public transport stops and 19 percent for railway equipment.

At the end of 1981 the planned costs were DM 260 million . In mid-1982 the planned costs were 280 million DM (at the price level in 1981), of which over 140 million DM had been spent. In the end, construction costs came to just under DM 300 million. By autumn 1981, around DM 100 million had been invested.

By the end of 1984, of a total of 290 million DM, almost 250 million had been invested (price as of 1985).

Operating points

Mannheim Central Station

→ Main article : Mannheim Hbf

Mannheim commercial port

The Mannheim Handelshafen stop (route kilometer 2.1) was built together with the western introduction of the Riedbahn and inaugurated on June 2, 1985 by Federal Transport Minister Werner Dollinger . The stop is named after the neighboring part of the Mannheim harbor .

Mannheim-Neckarstadt

The Mannheim-Neckarstadt stop (route kilometers 3.5) should not be confused with the Mannheim-Neckarstadt station , a former terminus of the Hessian Ludwigsbahn, where the Riedbahn originally ended in Mannheim and which was shut down in 1971. The stop is named after the Neckarstadt district of Mannheim .

Mannheim-Luzenberg

The Mannheim-Luzenberg stop (route km 5.5) is the third stop in the course of the western introduction of the Riedbahn into Mannheim's main train station. It existed from 1879 to 1971 as a station on the branch of the Riedbahn between Mannheim-Waldhof and Mannheim-Neckarstadt. The stop is named after the Mannheim district of Luzenberg .

Mannheim-Waldhof

→ Main article : Mannheim-Waldhof train station

Mannheim-Waldhof Gbf

Mannheim-Waldhof Gbf is part of the Mannheim-Waldhof station. The WER ends here at the junction with the Riedbahn.

Web links

• Location, course, operating points, signals and permissible speeds of the western introduction of the Riedbahn on the OpenRailwayMap

Commons : Western introduction of the Riedbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d e} Richard Bitterling: The construction of the western introduction of the Riedbahn in the Mannheim main station . In: The Federal Railroad . tape 54 , no. 7 , 1978, ISSN  0007-5876 , pp. 519-528 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} New route with striking structures . In: Die Bahn informs , ZDB -ID 2003143-9 , issue 2/1985, p. 4.
3. ↑ The pillars are numbered from Rheinvorlandstraße to Neckarvorlandstraße.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Erich Fein: The new railway buildings in the Mannheim area as part of the introduction of the Western Riedbahn and the new Mannheim – Stuttgart line . In: DB Bahnbauzentrale Frankfurt / M. (Ed.): Railway construction for the 21st century: line expansion at the Deutsche Bundesbahn . Frankfurt am Main, approx. 1984, pp. 52-62.
5. ^ ^{A b c} Wolfgang Roth: Operational concept for the redesign of the Mannheim main station . In: Railway technical review . tape 27 , no. 12 , 1978, ISSN  0013-2845 , ZDB -ID 240040-6 , p. 777-786 .
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} Erich Fein: The western introduction of the Riedbahn in the Mannheim main station . In: The Federal Railroad . No. 61 , 1985, pp. 401-408 .
7. ↑ Günther Lübbeke: Large-scale railway planning in space Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg . In: Railway technical review . tape 1 , no. 3 , 1952, ISSN  0013-2845 , ZDB -ID 240040-6 , p. 85-92 .
8. ↑ Günther Lübbeke: Large-scale railway planning in space Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg . In: Railway technical review . tape 1 , no. 4 , 1952, ISSN  0013-2845 , ZDB -ID 240040-6 , p. 138-144 .
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Erich Fein: The western introduction of the Riedbahn in the Mannheim main station . In: The Federal Railroad . tape 58 , no. 8 , 1982, ISSN  0007-5876 , pp. 597-602 .
10. ↑ Group for General Studies of the German Federal Railroad (Ed.): High-speed route for the main traffic flows in the Federal Railroad network . Study, completed September 1964, p. 7.
11. ↑ ^{a b c} Short distance - big impact . In: Die Bahn informs , ZDB -ID 2003143-9 , issue 2/1985, p. 2.
12. ↑ ^{a b c d} Erich Fein, Dietrich Neidhardt: New Mannheim – Stuttgart line: A project is taking shape . In: Die Bundesbahn , issue 10/1981, pp. 807–816.
13. ^ Rüdiger Block: ICE racetrack: the new lines . In: Eisenbahn-Kurier Special: High-speed traffic . No. 21, 1991, excluding ISSN, pp. 36-45.
14. ^ Gunther Ellwanger: New lines and express services of the German Federal Railroad. Chronology. In: Knut Reimers, Wilhelm Linkerhägner (Ed.): Paths to the future. New construction and expansion lines of the DB . Hestra Verlag Darmstadt, 1987, ISBN 3-7771-0200-8 , pp. 245-250.
15. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Werner Hagstotz: Concern and collective action in rural areas . Verlag Haag + Herchen, Frankfurt am Main, 1981, ISBN 3-88129-475-9 , pp. 39, 269-272, 274.
16. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Gerhard Pommersberger: The engineering structures in the course of the western Riedbahn introduction in Mannheim . In: DB Bahnbauzentrale Frankfurt / M. (Ed.): Railway construction for the 21st century: line expansion at the Deutsche Bundesbahn . Frankfurt am Main, approx. 1984, pp. 119-132.
17. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Grübmeier, Georg Fischer: The expanded lines of the German Federal Railroad . In: The Federal Railroad . Vol. 57, No. 10, 1981, ISSN  0007-5876 , pp. 781-788.
18. ^ ^{A b c} Eugen Reinhard: Traffic . In: 40 years of Baden-Württemberg. Structure and design 1952–1992 . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-1018-7 , pp. 413-478.
19. ^ Fritz Schröder: First acquisition of route knowledge with leaflet and film . In: Die Bundesbahn , 64, No. 12, 1988, ISSN  0007-5876 , pp. 1165-1168.
20. ^ ^{A b} Project group M / S of the Bahnbauzentrale (publisher): New Mannheim – Stuttgart line: A concept for all of us . 28-page brochure from January 1986, Karlsruhe, 1986, p. 5.
21. ↑ "Commuting" every 20 minutes . In: Die Bahn informs , ZDB -ID 2003143-9 , issue 3/1985, p. 6.
22. ^ Project group M / S of Bahnbauzentrale (publisher): New Mannheim – Stuttgart line: a concept for all of us . Karlsruhe, 1986, p. 5.
23. ↑ Wolfgang Löckel: Mannheim, here Mannheim. Highlights from the history of rail transport in the city of squares . Ludwigshafen 2008. ISBN 978-3-934845-40-4 , p. 206.