Letmathe–Fröndenberg railway
The railway line Letmathe - Fröndenberg is a two-pronged, partially electrified and partially disused railway branch line in North Rhine -Westphalia. It led from Letmathe On Iserlohn, Hemer and Menden (Sauerland ) to Fröndenberg. The section between Iserlohn and Hemer and the branch line from Hemer to Sundwig are decommissioned and dismantled.
- 2.1 Hemer - Iserlohn
- 2.2 Menden - Hemer
- 3.1 Letmathe - Iserlohn
- 3.2 Fröndenberg - Menden
History
During the construction of their national railway lines, the Bergisch- Märkische Railway Company ( BME) had initially bypassed several unfavorable Nearby towns such as Iserlohn widely. Based on their highways then also because of their topographical position harder to reach places of the western Sauerland started the BME in the second half of the 19th century to open up.
Letmathe - Iserlohn
First, the BME opened on 31 March 1864 branch line to Iserlohn train station, it is locally called Iserlohn web.
The starting point of this compound was the Letmathe station in the district Genna, which is on the five years earlier inaugurated Ruhr -Sieg- range of BME von Hagen Central Station to Station victories.
The line was expanded in subsequent years, these extension works the Dechenhöhle was then discovered in 1868. In the immediate vicinity of the show cave located until today the breakpoint Letmathe Dechenhöhle.
Fröndenberg - Menden
Eight years later built the BME another branch line, this time starting from the station Fröndenberg at their railway station Hagen- Warburg to Menden (Sauerland), and was completed on 7 August 1872.
This distance was then ( PSE) in 1878 initially continued to be built by the royal railway Direction Elberfeld the Prussian state railways after Roedinghausen, from this emerged later Hönnetal train to Neuenrade.
Menden - Hemer
The plans for the further construction of the line from Menden (Sauerland) to Hemer go back to the 1860s.
On April 17, 1873, the BME had signed a contract to build a railway line and for secured financial resources of the Prussian Ministry of Commerce. 1881 received the BME the concession, the line was completed but only on September 1, 1882, shortly after the complete takeover of BME by the PSE.
Hemer - Iserlohn
On June 15, 1885 Finally, the last section between Hemer and Iserlohn was completed. Thus, a continuous movement of Letmathe On Iserlohn, Hemer and Menden after Fröndenberg was made possible.
It was not until another 25 years later reached the Ardey track of the sword from a second railway line Iserlohn.
Closures
Hemer - Iserlohn
Well one hundred years after the opening of the passenger traffic was set to the middle section between Iserlohn and Menden on May 28, again in 1989, at the same time shut down the route between East and Hemer Iserlohn and completely dismantled in the next three years. Reason for the closure was a ramshackle bridge the L 680 that spanned the railway line. In the last years before the closure they even had to be additionally supported with steel beams. Six years later the remaining, nearly one and a half kilometer section in the Iserlohn city on 27 May 1995 it was decommissioned.
Menden - Hemer
On 31 March 2006, the freight on the stretch Menden was - Hemer set and advertised the continued use half a year later to the public. On April 14, 2007, the conversion was carried out in a railway siding with transfer station in Menden (Sauerland). From 11 June 2007 to 31 May 2008, this port was then hired by the city of Hemer, to perform Holztransporte for the discharge of storm wood can.
Early stage was planned to open the route to the State Garden Show 2010. In November 2007, then decided the Transport Committee Hemer, the railway not want to reactivate, because the railway operations According to experts, would not count. Alternatively, it has been thinking about the conversion to a bike path.
To really get the distance yet, the Bonn Rhein- Sieg-Eisenbahn GmbH (RSE ) has the Administrative Court of Arnsberg filed suit against the Federal Railway Authority because of the impending demolition of the railroad in the fall of 2008 and submitted an application for an operating license for the route as a railway infrastructure company. The RSE will withdraw the lawsuit if the city Hemer negotiate a cooperation agreement for the reactivation and operation of the route.
Subsequently, the city Hemer has the track eventually acquired December 23, 2008, to south of the station Hemer use the no longer required for the reactivation of railway land for their own urban development measures.
After the end of the operation during the State Garden Show 2010, the line was closed again on 1 November 2010 following the closure of the request of the RSE.
In 2012, there was great controversy in the policy to rebuild the route between Hemer and Menden into a cycle path. On September 7, 2012, announced that the CDU and the Green - Alternative List of Menden stay with her no to an immediate reduction track on the railway line Menden - Hemer. Lt.. the CDU leader Martin guardian should be before deciding on a possible rail degradation when the results of a potential study of SMICTOM passenger rail Ruhr -Lippe ( ZRL ) would be available regarding the chances of realizing the route Hemer - Menden -Dortmund. This study will now be launched in the autumn to illuminate questions of a technical condition of the infrastructure and the investment required for reactivation. For the CDU faction a direct connection Menden -Dortmund would have top priority and such a connection would be more likely with the involvement of the part to Hemer.
Current situation
Currently, only the two sections at both ends of the rail line in operation, which had been originally opened as the first.
Letmathe - Iserlohn
The Iserlohn Railway, the oldest section of the route, is still in operation and runs since the incorporation of the former city Letmathe completely within the city of Iserlohn area. This stretch has remained a single-track branch railway line, in contrast to Ardey train but electrified since 30 May 1965. Since the dismantling of the Iserlohn this station has become a curiosity, as it is seen operationally termination stop by two different railway lines. Currently there is no possibility of a route to another switch, but there are plans to enable by installing a switch connecting the route change again.
By the end of 2007, the stretch of DB Regio NRW by the RB 56 ( The Iserlohn ) of Hagen Central Station had been operated by Iserlohn, was used a locomotive of class 143 with a single double-deck cars. The timetable change on 9 December 2007 Abellio Rail NRW has taken over the rail passenger transport services in the Ruhr -Sieg- network after the tender for twelve years until 2019 was won by the summer of 2005.
Between Letmathe and Iserlohn currently operate the regional train RE 16 (Ruhr -Sieg- Express) and the regional train RB 91 ( Ruhr-Sieg -Bahn ) each hourly. In both lines while the curve of Essen Hauptbahnhof via Hagen Hauptbahnhof (RE 16) and von Hagen Hauptbahnhof (RB 91) is winged in Letmathe station. The other draft part of both lines continues to Siegen.
Used it a special two-part version of the electric railcar FLIRT second is through the Flügelzugkonzept the number of direct connections to Hagen was doubled, additional new direct services have been created in the central Ruhr area.
Fröndenberg - Menden
The route part of Fröndenberg to Menden was not electrified. He is now expanded as a double-track branch line and forms with the Hönnetal train to Neuenrade an operating entity.
Between Fröndenberg Menden and the regional train RB 54 runs ( Hönnetal train) every hour from Unna to Neuenrade (weekends between Mendenhall and Neuenrade only two hourly traffic). DB Regio NRW had been awarded the contract for the tender for the period from 2004 to 2016 and is a two-part diesel railcar of type LINT 41 ( DB class 648 ).