The West Rhine railway (German: Linke Rheinstrecke, literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It is situated close to the western (left) bank of the river Rhine and mostly aligned to allow 160 km/h operation between Cologne and Koblenz and between Bingen and Mainz. Line speed between Koblenz and Bingen is restricted by the meandering nature of the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
Ludendorff Bridge on 17 March 1945 four hours before the collapse
The first section of the line opened on 15 February 1844, by the Bonn–Cologne Railway Company (Bonn-Cölner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) between the former station of Cologne St. Pantaleon Cologne and Bonn. It was extended on 21 January 1856, south to Rolandseck station and in 1859 north to the Cologne central station.[2]
After the takeover by the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft, RhE) on 1 January 1857 the line was extended in 1858 through Remagen and Andernach and crossed the Moselle to Koblenz via the Moselle railway bridge, opened on 11 November 1858. The particularly beautiful section of the line between Koblenz and Bingerbrück (now called Bingen Hbf), which runs close to the river through this winding section of the Rhine Valley was opened on 15 December 1859. Bingerbrück station was at the time on the border of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Here it connected with the Rhine-Main line of the Hessian Ludwig Railway (Hessische Ludwigsbahn), opened on 17 October 1859, from Mainz and the Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrücken.
In Koblenz, the Pfaffendorf Bridge over the Rhine was completed in 1864 to connect to the Right Rhine line to Niederlahnstein and Wiesbaden. With the construction of the Horchheim Bridge south of Koblenz, opened in 1879, and the Urmitz Bridge north of Koblenz, opened in 1918, this bridge was progressively given over to pedestrian, vehicular and, eventually, tram traffic and the last train used it at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.
During the First World War three strategic Rhine crossings were built at the request of the German generals in order to bring troops and war materials to the Western Front. The Bingen–Rüdesheim ferry was replaced by the Hindenburg Bridge, built between 1913 and 1915 and connecting the East Rhine line with the West Rhine railway and the Nahe Valley Railway. From 1916 to 1918, the Neuwied–Koblenz line, including the Crown Prince Wilhelm Bridge, was built between Urmitz and Neuwied-Engers. The Ludendorff Bridge between Erpel and Remagen was built from 1916 to 1919. It connected the East and West Rhine railway lines and the strategically important Ahr Valley Railway. The Hindenburg, Ludendorff and Kronprinz-Wilhelm Bridges were destroyed in World War II. Only the Crown Prince Wilhelm Bridge was rebuilt, as the Urmitz bridge, in 1954.
Until the opening of the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line, the line was one of the busiest in Germany. The fastest trains connecting the Rhineland and southern Germany ran on the line. The importance of the line for long distance travel has diminished since the opening of the high-speed line. The line is now generally used by one InterCity or Intercity-Express service (stopping at Bonn, Koblenz and Mainz) each hour, one Regional-Express train each hour (the Rhein-Express to Koblenz Hauptbahnhof and one RegionalBahn (stopping) train each hour in each direction, as well as by many freight trains. Before the opening of the high-speed line, freight trains were largely restricted to the Right Rhine line, but with the increased availability of train paths on the Left Rhine line many of them are now routed over it.
Notes
^Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN978-3-89494-139-0.
^"Line 2630: Köln - Bingen". NRW Rail Archive (in German). André Joost. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
References
Semmler, Horst (1994). 150 Jahre Eisenbahn Bonn-Köln [150 years of the Bonn-Cologne Railway] (in German). Nordhorn Kenning. ISBN978-3-927587-23-6. OCLC 75399335.
Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland [Railway Atlas of Germany] (in German) (2005/2006 ed.). Aachen: Schweers + Wall. 2005. ISBN978-3-89494-134-5. OCLC 190850467. Also OCLC 71200092 and OCLC 217548594.
Kandler, Udo (2007). "Eisenbahn wie auf einer Ansichtskarte. Die Linke Rheinstrecke" [A picture postcard railway: the left Rhine railway line]. Lok Magazin (in German). GeraNova Zeitschriftenverlag. 46 (305): 36–55. ISSN 0458-1822.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Rhine Railway.
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The West Rhine railway German Linke Rheinstrecke literally left bank of the Rhine route is a famously picturesque double track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn Koblenz and Bingen to Mainz It is situated close to the western left bank of the river Rhine and mostly aligned to allow 160 km h operation between Cologne and Koblenz and between Bingen and Mainz Line speed between Koblenz and Bingen is restricted by the meandering nature of the Rhine Gorge a UNESCO World Heritage Site West Rhine RailwayOverviewOther name s Left Rhine RailwayNative nameLinke RheinstreckeLine number2630LocaleNorth Rhine Westphalia Rhineland Palatinate and Hesse GermanyTerminiCologneMainzServiceRoute number470TechnicalLine length152 km 94 mi Track gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gaugeElectrification15 kV 16 7 Hz AC Overhead catenaryOperating speed160 km h 99 mph max Maximum incline lt 0 02 Route mapLegendSieg Railway HSL East Rhine RailwayLine from Koln Mulheim including S Bahn Koln Messe DeutzLine from Koln MulheimHohenzollernbrucke 2 0 Koln HbfLine to NeussLines to Monchengladbach and Aachen0 4 Koln West Wf station part from Koln Bbf1 1 Koln WestStadtbahn lines 1 amp 7Stadtbahn line 93 2 Koln Sud Koln Sud junctionVorgebirge Railway Stadtbahn line 18 3 0 Coln PantaleonOriginal start of lineCologne freight railway bypass5 8 Koln Eifeltor freight stationA 48 0 Koln Eifeltor freight station9 4 Hurth KalscheurenEifel Railway to Euskirchen10 1 Hurth Kalscheuren Sudkopf junction12 9 Bruhl freight stationVorgebirge Railway to VochemHGK Cross Railway14 6 Bruhl19 5 Sechtem25 8 RoisdorfVorgebirge Railway Stadtbahn line 18 Voreifel Railway from Euskirchen31 1 Bonn freight station31 9 Bonn HbfBonn Oberkassel train ferryBonn UN Campus37 2 Bonn Bad Godesberg Nord39 0 Bonn Bad Godesberg41 3 Bonn Mehlem43 6 Bonn Neuer WegNRW RLP border45 9 Rolandseck48 2 Oberwinter52 7 RemagenAhr Valley Railway to AhrbruckTo former Ludendorff BridgeFrom former Ludendorff Bridge56 7 Sinzig62 5 Bad BreisigBrohl Valley Railway65 7 Brohl69 2 Namedy73 2 AndernachCross Eifel Railway to Kaisersesch76 9 Weissenthurm81 6 Urmitzline form Neuwied East Rhine lineKoblenz substation siding link to Koblenz Rhine portformer line from Mayen87 0 Koblenz Lutzel Nord DB Museum original route from Mayen89 4 Koblenz LutzelMoselle railway bridgeformer port railwayformer Koblenz RhE stationfreight line to Moselle lineKoblenz StadtmittePfaffendorf Bridge now road bridge formerly to East Rhine lineMoselle line from Trier91 2 Koblenz HbfHorchheim Railway Bridge Lahntal railway to East Rhine line94 3 Konigsbach99 8 Rhens103 3 SpayHunsruck Railway to Emmelshausen110 7 Boppard Hbf115 6 Boppard Bad Salzig119 4 Boppard Hirzenach122 4 Werlau125 3 St GoarBank tunnel 367 m 127 4 Urbar NordBett tunnel 236 m Kammereck tunnel 289 m 128 8 Urbar Sud132 1 Oberwesel138 5 Bacharach142 0 Niederheimbach146 6 Trechtingshausen150 6 Bingen Vorbf152 0 Bingen Rhein HbfNahe Valley Railway to Saarbrucken andAlsenz Valley Railway to Kaiserslautern152 40 0 Nahe route change former Prussia Hesse border1 0 Bingen Rhein StadtNahe Valley Railwayformer Hindenburg BridgeRheinhessen Railway to Worms4 6 Bingen Gaulsheimline from Bad Kreuznach9 4 Gau Algesheimformer Selz Valley Railwayfrom Jugenheim Partenheim12 5 Ingelheimformer Selz Valley Railway to Frei Weinheim17 5 Heidesheim Rheinhessen 20 2 Uhlerborn23 1 BudenheimLenneberg viaduct27 3 Mainz MombachTo Emperor Bridge freight bypassand Taunus lineFrom Alzey30 6 Mainz HbfMain Railway to Frankfurtto LudwigshafenSource German railway atlas 1 Contents 1 History 2 Current operations when 3 Notes 4 ReferencesHistory Edit West Rhine railway near Remagen Map of railway lines in the Koblenz area Ludendorff Bridge on 17 March 1945 four hours before the collapse The first section of the line opened on 15 February 1844 by the Bonn Cologne Railway Company Bonn Colner Eisenbahn Gesellschaft between the former station of Cologne St Pantaleon Cologne and Bonn It was extended on 21 January 1856 south to Rolandseck station and in 1859 north to the Cologne central station 2 After the takeover by the Rhenish Railway Company Rheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft RhE on 1 January 1857 the line was extended in 1858 through Remagen and Andernach and crossed the Moselle to Koblenz via the Moselle railway bridge opened on 11 November 1858 The particularly beautiful section of the line between Koblenz and Bingerbruck now called Bingen Hbf which runs close to the river through this winding section of the Rhine Valley was opened on 15 December 1859 Bingerbruck station was at the time on the border of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Hesse Here it connected with the Rhine Main line of the Hessian Ludwig Railway Hessische Ludwigsbahn opened on 17 October 1859 from Mainz and the Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrucken In Koblenz the Pfaffendorf Bridge over the Rhine was completed in 1864 to connect to the Right Rhine line to Niederlahnstein and Wiesbaden With the construction of the Horchheim Bridge south of Koblenz opened in 1879 and the Urmitz Bridge north of Koblenz opened in 1918 this bridge was progressively given over to pedestrian vehicular and eventually tram traffic and the last train used it at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 From 1861 the Nassau State Railways established a train ferry between Bingen and Rudesheim am Rhein this was converted to a passenger ferry in 1900 From 1870 to 1914 another train ferry operated between Bonn and Oberkassel to transfer trains between the West Rhine line and the East Rhine railway During the First World War three strategic Rhine crossings were built at the request of the German generals in order to bring troops and war materials to the Western Front The Bingen Rudesheim ferry was replaced by the Hindenburg Bridge built between 1913 and 1915 and connecting the East Rhine line with the West Rhine railway and the Nahe Valley Railway From 1916 to 1918 the Neuwied Koblenz line including the Crown Prince Wilhelm Bridge was built between Urmitz and Neuwied Engers The Ludendorff Bridge between Erpel and Remagen was built from 1916 to 1919 It connected the East and West Rhine railway lines and the strategically important Ahr Valley Railway The Hindenburg Ludendorff and Kronprinz Wilhelm Bridges were destroyed in World War II Only the Crown Prince Wilhelm Bridge was rebuilt as the Urmitz bridge in 1954 The line was electrified in 1959 Current operations when EditUntil the opening of the Cologne Frankfurt high speed rail line the line was one of the busiest in Germany The fastest trains connecting the Rhineland and southern Germany ran on the line The importance of the line for long distance travel has diminished since the opening of the high speed line The line is now generally used by one InterCity or Intercity Express service stopping at Bonn Koblenz and Mainz each hour one Regional Express train each hour the Rhein Express to Koblenz Hauptbahnhof and one RegionalBahn stopping train each hour in each direction as well as by many freight trains Before the opening of the high speed line freight trains were largely restricted to the Right Rhine line but with the increased availability of train paths on the Left Rhine line many of them are now routed over it Notes Edit Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland German railway atlas Schweers Wall 2009 ISBN 978 3 89494 139 0 Line 2630 Koln Bingen NRW Rail Archive in German Andre Joost Retrieved 30 October 2011 References EditSemmler Horst 1994 150 Jahre Eisenbahn Bonn Koln 150 years of the Bonn Cologne Railway in German Nordhorn Kenning ISBN 978 3 927587 23 6 OCLC 75399335 Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland Railway Atlas of Germany in German 2005 2006 ed Aachen Schweers Wall 2005 ISBN 978 3 89494 134 5 OCLC 190850467 Also OCLC 71200092 and OCLC 217548594 Kandler Udo 2007 Eisenbahn wie auf einer Ansichtskarte Die Linke Rheinstrecke A picture postcard railway the left Rhine railway line Lok Magazin in German GeraNova Zeitschriftenverlag 46 305 36 55 ISSN 0458 1822 Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Rhine Railway Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Rhine Railway Coordinates 50 21 40 N 7 35 25 E 50 36111 N 7 59028 E 50 36111 7 59028 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title West Rhine Railway amp oldid 1099827315, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
