Jelenia Góra – Kořenov railway line

	from Wałbrzych Głowny
-3.124	Jelenia Góra formerly Hirschberg (Rsgb) Hbf	342.67 m
	after Lwówek Śląski
	Bóbrviadukt
0.000	to Görlitz / Zgorzelec
0.031	Above Dębowa Góra
1.101	Jelenia Góra Zachodnia formerly Hirschberg (Rsgb) West	342.46 m
2.158	Jelenia Góra Celwiskoza
5.290	Jelenia Góra Cieplice formerly Bad Warmbrunn	341.65 m
	Kamienna
7.636	Jelenia Gora Orle
9.261	Jelenia Góra Sobieszów formerly Hermsdorf (Kynast)	355.05 m
11,582	Piechowice Dolne formerly Niederpetersdorf	387.88 m
	Kamienna
13,316	Piechowice formerly Petersdorf (Rsgb)	395.08 m
17.282	Górzyniec formerly Hartenberg
~ 19.3	Seifershau
	Mała Kamienna
	earlier Moltkefel tunnel (150 m)
22.801	Szklarska Poręba Dolna formerly Nieder-Schreiberhau	594.43 m
25.889	Szklarska Poręba Średnia used to be the central clerk's house	655.84 m
28,438	Szklarska Poręba Górna formerly Ober-Schreiberhau	708.87 m
29.844	Infrastructure boundary PLK / DSDIK
30.905	Szklarska Poręba Huta, formerly the Josephine Hut	749.11 m
	Czerwony Potok loading point
37.111	Szklarska Poręba- Jakuszyce formerly Jakobsthal (Rsgb)	886.28 m
~ 41.98	Nowy Świat earlier New World	778.08 m

43.138 40.111	State border Poland - Czech Republic (infrastructure border DSDIK / SŽDC )

	(State border until 1958)
38,940	Harrachov formerly knitting houses, 1945–58: Tkacze	740.03 m
	Harrachovský tunnel (Iser tunnel; 279.74 m)
36,570	Iserviadukt (116 m; state border until 1958)
34.792	Former Prussian infrastructure border. Stb. / RGTE
34.257	Kořenov formerly Polaun / Grünthal	699.52 m
	to Liberec (formerly RGTE )

The Jelenia Góra – Kořenov railway is a branch line in Poland and the Czech Republic . The earlier than Pip web known distance extends Isergebirge of Jelenia Góra ( Hirschberg ) via Szklarska Poręba ( Schreiberhau ) to Kořenov (formerly Griinthal or Polaun). It was one of the first electrified railway lines in Germany and became known for the use of the Rübezahl multiple units of the DR series ET 89 . In August 2010, cross-border traffic that had been abandoned shortly after the Second World War was resumed .

history

Prehistory and construction

The first sections of the route were built in 1891 at the foot of the Giant Mountains. The further construction in the direction of Schreiberhau initially failed due to the difficult topographical conditions. Finally, a route was built that overcame the great difference in height in an artificial length development on the flanks of the Jizera Mountains . With the Jakobsthal station on the Neuweltpass, the highest station in Prussia was built ; today it is the highest station in Poland. A common border station with Austria was established in the Bohemian Grünthal . There was a connection to the route of the Reichenberg-Gablonz-Tannwalder Railway (RGTE) to Reichenberg . The line to Oberschreiberhau was opened on June 25, 1902. On October 20, 1902, the cross-border section to Bohemia also went into operation.

View from the tunnel in front of the Nieder-Schreiberhau train station to the snow pits

Operation until the end of World War II

Train traveling uphill in the Moltke section near Niederschreiberhau, in the background the "highest signal mast in Germany" (around 1910)

Due to the difficult topography of the route, the development of freight transport fell short of expectations in the following years. The reason for this was also the cumbersome cogwheel railway operation on the Bohemian connecting route, which did not allow high transport performance. As early as 1911, the decision was made to be one of the first in Germany to convert the line to electrical operation. Due to the First World War , however, the electrical systems could not be completed until 1923.

In April 1945, the electric locomotives of the Silesian lines were evacuated in several locomotive trains, but some of the vehicles remained in the Bohemian border station Polaun at the end of the war. When the Bober Viaduct was blown up by the German Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945, traffic finally came to a standstill at the end of the war.

Dismantling and reconstruction after the Second World War

After the damage to the power supply had been repaired, electric train operations could be resumed in 1945 with the few remaining vehicles between Hirschberg West and Polaun. However, as early as July 1945, the electrified lines in Silesia also fell under the reparation claims of the Soviet Union . In 1945 all electrical systems had to be dismantled. Only the electrical catenary was dismantled between Hirschberg and the state border, the masts and supporting structures remained inoperable from then on. However, the catenary was initially retained on Czechoslovak territory.

Disused line between Jakuszyce and Harrachov (2006)

After the end of the war, there was no longer any regular train service across the state border. Individual trains ran for the Soviet occupying power until October 27, 1945, then the Polish State Railways (PKP) dismantled some yokes at the state border. This made the cross-border section impassable. In the territory of Czechoslovakia, the track remained unused up to the Iserviaduct.

The PKP operated the line after 1945 in passenger traffic with two pairs of trains from Hirschberg West (now: Jelenia Góra Zachodnia) to Strickerhäuser (now: Tkacze). The travel time of the steam-driven trains in this relation was two hours and 15 minutes in the 1946 timetable. However, due to a lack of demand, passenger train traffic was withdrawn to Szklarska Poręba Huta ( Josephinenhütte ) in the early 1950s . The timetable from 1953 now recorded five pairs of passenger trains, all of which ran to and from Szklarska Poręba Huta. Freight trains still ran to Jakuszyce, the rest of the route to Skacze was no longer used.

The exchange of territory between Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1959

Area swap map

On October 10, 1958, the Republic of Poland and Czechoslovakia signed a state treaty on an exchange of territory in the border area between Szklarska Poręba and Harrachov. This contract came into force on April 27, 1959. The section from the Tkacze stop to the Iserviadukt, which previously ran in Poland, was now entirely in the territory of Czechoslovakia, and the new state border was drawn parallel to the track at a distance of around 50 meters. The infrastructure border between PKP and ČSD was now at kilometer 43.138, instead of the border that already existed here. In return, Poland received a forest area on the northern slope of Mrtvý vrch ( Todtenberg ). The background to the contract was the desired use of the former Tkacze stop by Czechoslovakia for the nearby winter sports resort of Harrachov .

The repair work on the more than 15 years unused section of the line from there to Kořenov lasted until 1963. The catenary systems still in place between the Iserviaduct and the Kořenov train station also disappeared. The station received a new road connection to the winter sports resort Harrachov and was renamed “Harrachov”. On May 26, 1963, the railway service was extended from Tanvald via Kořenov to Harrachov.

In the PKP company between Jelenia Góra and Jakuszyce

Passenger train in Szklarska Poręba Górna (2006)

From the 1960s the PKP tried to re-electrify the railway lines in Lower Silesia. Already in 1969, the electric traction of Wrocław (could Wroclaw ) to Jelenia Góra be resumed, but now with a catenary voltage of 3000 volts DC. Work on electrifying the line to Szklarska Poręba Górna then began in the 1980s. The PKP continued to use some of the old contact line masts that were still in existence. In particular between Piechowice and Szklarska Poręba Dolna, the round concrete masts from 1923 that were still there were used again as guy masts. The electric train service from Jelenia Góra to Szklarska Poręba Górna was resumed on September 30, 1987.

The remaining freight traffic up to the end of the line in Jakuszyce declined more and more in the 1990s. In 1997 the last trains ran on this section.

The 2009 timetable provided for a total of eight pairs of passenger trains running every two hours between Jelenia Góra and Szklarska Poręba Górna, most of which were connected to and from Wrocław. In addition, there were direct night express trains from Szczecin , Gdynia and Warsaw in the winter and summer seasons . Because of the poor condition of the track from Piechowice (2009), the trains needed well over an hour for the 32 km to Szklarska Poręba Górna.

Reconstruction of the cross-border route

From 1991, individual cross-border special passenger trains ran on the provisionally reopened route. This ensured that this route was not completely forgotten. The highlight of these trips was the multiple use of a seven-part rail bus set ( ČD series 810 ) on the occasion of the centenary of the route in July 2002.

On January 25, 2008, the section from Szklarska Poręba Górna to the state border became the property of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship . The voivodeship infrastructure company Dolnośląska Służba Dróg i Kolei we Wrocławiu (DSDIK) has owned the stretch between kilometer 29.844 and the state border .

On February 5, 2008, the rebuilding of the cross-border route to Harrachov was agreed with the Czech side. The resumption of continuous rail traffic was planned for December 2009. A draft timetable from 2008 envisaged the management of five continuous pairs of trains between Szklarska Poręba Górna and Tanvald, which have connections from and to Jelenia Góra in Szklarska Poręba Górna.

In June 2009, work on track renewal began on the Polish side. Within two months, the old track was dismantled and the track body prepared for the new laying. In August 2009, the assembly of the new track was in full swing. A track in K-Oberbau S49 with wooden sleepers was installed , whereby some reconditioned old material was used. A line speed of 40 km / h is planned.

Jakuszyce Station (August 2009)
New track at Jakuszyce (August 2009)
New track at the former Neuwelt loading point (August 2009)
Closing the gap at the state border (August 2009)

Work on the Czech side began on October 12, 2009 with the demolition of the old track between Harrachov and the state border. By the end of October, an S 49 superstructure with wooden sleepers was installed analogous to the Polish section. The branch track in Harrachov was retained because of the planned museum train service.

Przewozy Regionalne uses modern low-floor multiple units in border traffic (2010)

Construction work on the Polish side was completed in June 2010. On July 2, 2010, a special train for officially invited guests ran for the first time across the state border to Kořenov.

On July 3, 2010, regular passenger traffic between Szklarska Poręba Górna and Jakuszyce was started by Przewozy Regionalne . A replacement rail service was initially set up between Jakuszyce and the Harrachov stop, as there was no valid cross-border operation agreement. The reason for this was the lack of a telephone connection between the Polish dispatcher and the dispatch office in Tanvald .

Scheduled passenger traffic across the state border with five pairs of trains between Szklarska Poręba Górna and Harrachov / Kořenov began on August 28, 2010. The train operators were initially the railway companies Przewozy Regionalne (in Poland) and Viamont Regio (in the Czech Republic). In 2013, the Viamont successor GW Train Regio drove six pairs of trains across borders, three of which, however, only run during the season.

From December 2015, the L1 line will be running continuously on the Liberec – Szklarska Poręba Górna route. The train crossings on the hour (minute 55/57) take place in Harrachov station.

Route description

course

simplified elevation profile of the route

The line leaves the Jelenia Góra station parallel to the Silesian Mountain Railway to Görlitz. After crossing the Bober Viaduct, the route turns left towards the Giant Mountains. First of all, the extensive Hirschberg Valley is crossed to Piechowice ( Petersdorf ) , always parallel to the Kamienna ( Zacken ), which used to give it its name . The long climb of 40 ‰ (1:25) begins from Piechovice. In a large S-curve, the route quickly gains height on the flanks of the Jizera Mountains, with deep cuts and high dams being crossed. The “Moltke cut” carved into the rock at the entrance to the Szklarska Poręba Dolna train station ( Nieder Schreiberhau ) used to be one of the deepest railway cuts in Germany. An oversized signal mast (“Germany's highest signal mast”) used to make it possible to see the entry signal there. At the Jakuszyce station, the line reaches its apex at 886 meters above sea level. The track leads down the flanks of the Jizera Mountains on a steady gradient. Shortly before the end point Kořenov, the Jizera ( Iser ) is crossed on a viaduct, where the state border was until 1959. At Kořenov station there is a connection to the Bohemian line that continues to Liberec.

Operating points

Jelenia Gora

The Jelenia Góra train station (until 1945: Hirschberg (Rsgb.) Hbf) is the central train station of the city of Jelenia Góra. It was opened on August 20, 1866 during the construction of the Silesian Mountain Railway from Görlitz to Waldenburg-Dittersbach. In addition to the Zackenbahn, the routes to Zebrzydowa ( Siegersdorf ), Kamienna Góra (state hat ) and Karpacz ( Krummhübel ) have their starting point here.

Seifershau

Seifershau station was an open-air operations station. It was only used for train crossings, passenger trains could not stop. It was abandoned before 1945.

Szklarska Poręba Górna

Szklarska Poreba Gorna Railway Station

Szklarska Poręba Górna station (until 1945: Ober-Schreiberhau) is the most important intermediate station on the entire route. Express and express trains from Berlin and Breslau ended here. Since the 1960s, the station has been the end and starting point for PKP travel for long-distance connections to Warsaw, Poznan and Bialystok, among others .

Szklarska Poręba Huta The Szklarska Poręba Huta station (until 1945: Josephine Hut) is located in the upper part of Szklarska Poręba near the Josephine Hut , which was named after it . In the past, the station was primarily important for freight traffic. The station was served by the PKP in passenger train traffic until the 1960s. The wooden entrance building has been preserved and is now used as a residential building.

In the course of the renovation work in 2009, the station was dismantled to a stop.

Czerwony Potok junction The Czerwony Potok junction served a quarry and was regularly serviced until 1997. The connecting switch was removed as part of the renovation work in 2009.

Jakuszyce

Jakuszyce Station (2006)

Jakuszyce station (until 1945: Jakobsthal / Rsgb. ) Is the highest station in Poland. It existed since the line opened and was used by passenger trains until after the Second World War. In contrast, freight traffic continued until 1997. The main cargo was wood and quartz sand.

Jakuszyce station was retained as a station so that train crossings are possible. Since July 3, 2010 Jakuszyce is back to scheduled passenger services.

Nowy Świat

Nowy Świat (until 1945: Neuwelt ) was a depot on the open line between Jakuszyce and Harrachov. The station had a siding for train crossings and a loading track, which was mainly used by forestry. After the Second World War, the station was abandoned but not dismantled. The tracks that have now grown into the forest were only removed in the course of the renovation work in 2009.

Harrachov

Harrachov stop (2009)

The Harrachov stop (until 1945: Strickerhäuser ; until 1958: Tkacze ) was once the last German train station before the state border with Bohemia. The stop came in 1959 through an exchange of territory from Poland to Czechoslovakia and has been used as a train station for the Czech winter sports resort Harrachov since 1963 .

The operating point was preserved in its original state until 2015, only the point switch to the loading track was expanded in the 1990s. In autumn 2015, Harrachov was expanded to become a crossing station.

Kořenov

Kořenov railway station (2006)

Kořenov station (until 1945: Grünthal ; later Polaun ) was formerly a border station with passport and customs control. This is where Hirschberg's electric train operation ended from 1923 to 1945. Passengers had to change from the trains of the Prussian State Railroad or Deutsche Reichsbahn to the trains of the Reichenberg-Gablonz-Tannwalder Railway or later the ČSD. There were no through-going passenger trains beyond Polaun before 1945, only goods traffic existed.

After 1945 Kořenov lost its special operational function. The facilities fell into disrepair and were later partially dismantled. A small railway museum ("Muzeum ozubnicové dráhy") of the railway association Železniční společnost Tanvald has been located in an extension of the station since 2008 .

Vehicle use

DR series ET 89 "Rübezahl"

In the first years of operation, the Prussian State Railroad used steam locomotives of the classes T 15 and T 16 .

After the line was electrified, the electric locomotives of the DR series E 90.5 were used in front of all trains from 1923 . From 1927 the then ultra-modern electric multiple units of the DR class ET 89 were used by passenger trains to reach Polaun, which became known under the nickname Rübezahl .

After the Second World War, the PKP handled the train traffic with the series Ty2 (formerly DR series 52) and TKt48 . A traction change to diesel locomotives did not take place until the re-electrification in 1987.

After electrification came the electric multiple units of the EN57 and EN71 series to Szklarska Poręba Górna. Electric locomotives such as the EU07 series are used in front of the through express trains in the direction of Wrocław .

Przewozy Regionalne used diesel locomotives of the SU42 series for local trains . For passenger traffic between Szklarska Poręba Górna and Jakuszyce, a diesel multiple unit of the PKP series SA134 was used since July 3, 2010 .

The ČSD operated its section from 1963 first with the cogwheel diesel locomotives of the T 426.0 series , and later with the M 240.0 series diesel railcars . The traffic to and from Harrachov was handled with the class 810 , 843 and 854 railcars . Locomotives of the 743 series were also occasionally used.

With the timetable change in December 2011, 16 new railcars of the ČD series 840 ( Regio-Shuttle RS 1 from Stadler) in a design approved for steep routes took over the operation between Liberec and Harrachov. The first vehicle in this series was handed over to ČD in October 2011. GW Train Regio used ČD class 810 railcars between Kořenov and Szklarska Poręba Górna .

literature

Klaus Christian Kasper (Ed.): The Zackenbahn. Hirschberg-Schreiberhau-Grünthal / Polaun. Memories of Prussia's highest mountain railway from back then to 1945, combined with a foray through the western Giant Mountains. Pictures, reports and documents. Verlag Klaus Kasper, Bonn-Oberkassel 2002, ISBN 3-930567-17-2 .
Václav Haas: 100 let trati Tanvald - Kořenov - Harrachov. SAXI, Prague 2002.
Miroslav Jelen: Zrušené železniční tratě v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku. Dokořán, Praha 2009, ISBN 978-80-7363-129-1 .
Dominik Kara: Kolej w Szklarskiej Porębie Szklarska Poręba 2010, ISBN 978-83-924363-9-3 .
Ryszard Stankiewicz and Marcin Stiasny: Atlas Linii Kolejowych Polski 2014 . Eurosprinter, Rybnik 2014, ISBN 978-83-63652-12-8 , pp. F2–3.

Web links

Commons : Jelenia Góra – Kořenov railway line - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikisource: State treaty between the German Empire and Austria-Hungary for the establishment of the railway connection from Tannwald to Petersdorf. From November 5, 1898 - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

↑ http://www.plk-sa.pl/files/public/user_upload/pdf/Reg_przydzielania_tras/Regulamin_2016_2017/11.01.2017/N_ZAL_2.1P_20170110071558.pdf

↑ From the opening trip of the Schreiberhau-Grünthal railway line . In: RGV (Hrsg.): The Wanderer in the Giant Mountains . No. 241 , 1902, pp. 161 f .

^ The railroad in Silesia, Eisenbahnkurier Special 3/2005, p. 85.

↑ HAAS p. 38 ff.

↑ Eisenbahn-Kurier 9/2002, pp. 34/35.

↑ Dominik Kara: Kolej w Szklarskiej Porębie Szklarska Poręba 2010, ISBN 978-83-924363-9-3 , p. 63.

↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated February 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ http://www.zubacka.cz/aktualne/20080206_revitalizace_trate_szklarska_poreba_harrachov/navrh_jizdniho_radu_tanvald_szklarska_poreba.pdf ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.zubacka.cz
↑ Description of the project (Czech) ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ current information on www.zubacka.cz ( memento of the original from September 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on September 30, 2016) @1@ 2
↑ Timetable (Tanvald) - Kořenov - Jelenia Góra from Viamont Regio, valid from 28th to 31st August 2010 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.viamont.cz
↑ Timetable Liberec - Tanvald - Szklarska Poręba Górna in the timetable of the Czech Railways valid from December 2013
↑ Annual timetable 2016
↑ Motorový vůz 840.001 je v České republice ( Memento of May 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

[1] ttp://www.plk-sa.pl/files/public/user_upload/pdf/Reg_przydzielania_tras/Regulamin_2016_2017/11.01.2017/N_ZAL_2.1P_20170110071558.pdf

[2] From the opening trip of the Schreiberhau-Grünthal railway line . In: RGV (Hrsg.): The Wanderer in the Giant Mountains . No. 241 , 1902, pp. 161 f .

[3] The railroad in Silesia, Eisenbahnkurier Special 3/2005, p. 85.

[4] HAAS p. 38 ff.

[5] Eisenbahn-Kurier 9/2002, pp. 34/35.

[6] Dominik Kara: Kolej w Szklarskiej Porębie Szklarska Poręba 2010, ISBN 978-83-924363-9-3 , p. 63.

[7] Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[8] Archive link ( Memento of the original dated February 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2