Bayreuthâ€“Warmensteinach railway

The railway Bayreuth hot Steinach is a branch line in Bavaria. Of the seven branch lines, the sooner the Fichtelgebirge developed, it is the last track, which is at least partially in operation.

5.1 reactivation section to Warmensteinach

Route

The railway line will begin at the Central Station Bayreuth, whom she leaves in a northeasterly direction. Since the construction of Hoferstraße the track of the " lease car" ( railway Bayreuth New Market Wirsberg ) is also used to behind the new local bridge. After crossing under the road Green Tree the route leaves the hitherto common route and reached after a curve located in the east-west direction of the station Bayreuth St. Georgen ( today only breakpoint ). In this area, there were several times connecting and loading tracks. For now, roughly east to extend the route crosses the motorway and 9 steps behind Laineck a valley of the ( warm ) Steinach. First, it runs in the narrow valley on the hillside above the river course, then turns shortly before Döhlau to the northeast and against under Steinach to the southeast. Here the valley widens, the track moves into its center.

Behind the mountain pastures character of the valley changes again. After Menger Reuth the Steinach is crossed, which, from here, comes from the north from the southern slope of the ox head. The route follows the sharp bends of the narrow valley on the left side hanger with partially sloping rugged mountain walls. At several points in the construction of a transfer of Steinach had become necessary, it is repeatedly crossed by the route. In Neuwelt a mountain head was just before Warmensteinach broken and further north the state road 2181 crossing at the same level. The railhead is located in the center of the elongated location.

The smallest curve radius of 200 m are found at 38 sites, mainly in the upper Steinachtal. There are gradients of up to 20 ‰, "lost slopes " do not occur. The height difference between Bayreuth Central Station and the railway terminal Warmensteinach is 209 m, between Bayreuth Central Station and mountain pastures 97 m. The length of the air line between the centers of the main building of the operating stations Bayreuth and Warmensteinach is 14.8 km, the length of the line 22.9 kilometers. Apart from a 200 m long and 4 m high, interrupted by bridge openings dam between Menger Reuth and mediator hammer, there are no major engineering structures.

History

The branch line Bayreuth Hbf - mountain pastures Warmensteinach was opened on August 15, 1896. She was the first emanating from Bayreuth branch lines and is operated in its section to pastures mountain, the only remains.

As is common Bavarian local railways were the locomotives and the staff at the end of the line, the station Warmensteinach home. Stations were also Sankt Georgen Bayreuth and Weiden mountain. The places Friedrichsthal, Untersteinach, Sophienthal and Zainhammer received as a web agencies largely uniform wooden building, Untersteinach deviation with an apartment for the distance tourers. The remaining stations were pure breakpoints, partially offset by later added loading tracks (eg Friedrich Thal ) and industry connections were upgraded to stops.

The traffic initially rather low, it reversed three pairs of trains daily. In 1944 there were four pairs weekdays, Sundays one less. In 1963 there were six pairs of trains daily, plus weekdays in the evening a Buskurs. In the rainy winter sports traffic there were through trains from Nuremberg and Bamberg, which were partially covered with two tank locomotives and - unusual for a branch line - brought with them several four-axle Eilzugwagen. On winter Sundays up to four special trains in Warmensteinach could stand.

Early 1980s were Monday to Friday three trains to Bayreuth and two trains to Warmensteinach in the course book ( supplemented by a few bus rides ). The morning train to Warmensteinach drove officially only as an empty passenger train. On the weekends since May 1982 rested the train service, as was customary at lower stretches of the DB completely. 2001, there were again five pairs of trains Monday to Friday, addition there were four Buskurse; the trains were in pastures and mountain Connecting to Warmensteinach. Only since the middle of 2011 is also offered on the weekends again a regular train.

Since 1 January 1993, the section of mountain pastures Warmensteinach " for technical reasons " was not more of people and goods traveled in. On 9 and 10 June 2001, the freight and passenger were also adjusted between Bayreuth and Weiden mountain due to bridge damage.

The degradation of the track was already decided by the DB, but was prevented by the sale to the German regional rail (DRE ). On 5 May 2002, the operation was indeed resumed, however, set on 1 June 2004 again. This was due to the necessary demolition of the old highway bridge in the course of the six-lane expansion ( with "housing ") of A 9

Since the former Bavarian Minister of Transport Otto Wiesheu (CSU ) refused public funds to finance non -federal railways, the leg Bayreuth pastures mountain ( district of Bayreuth, market Weidenberg ) sent by Erbbaupachtvertrag on 1 August 2005 in municipal responsibility passed. Thus, the investment grants of Municipal Transport Financing Act could be issued. The new tenant transferred the management of this leg of the DRE.

The section Bayreuth mountain pastures was then fully refurbished in 2006 and reopened to traffic on 10 January 2007. The Roadmap 2010/2011 Monday to Friday were down seven pairs of trains in the direction of mountain pastures and eight in the direction of Bayreuth.

Presence

Passenger

Since 12 June 2011, the transport companies operated agilis the newly Diesel Power Upper Franconia on behalf of the Bavarian Railway Company and hence this range of DRE. Trains depart from the agilis 5:30 clock every hour on weekdays, weekends also generally every hour from 6:30 clock. The last train from mountain pastures goes off at 20:30 each clock, from Bayreuth at 22:06 clock.

Freight traffic

Since the temporary cessation of total traffic in 2001, there was initially no more freight on the Fichtelgebirgshalle web. As part of the roadway support most sidings were no longer tied up in Bayreuth city. There still remained two inactive sidings in Bayreuth and Görschnitz. The latter was reactivated from the garage manufacturer Zapf early September 2009 to send Fertiggaragen by train to Austria and Italy. Due to the truck toll in Austria and the restriction of the allowable truck total weight to 44 tonnes of rail transport from a distance of 400 kilometers is cheaper. 2010 a total of 132 prefabricated garages were transported with a weight of 1,720 tons to five stations in Austria, as well as the first time to Saarbrücken and France.

Rolling stock

First Bavarian local railway locomotives of Class D VII were used on the track. They could carry 540 tons from Warmensteinach tensile load in the opposite direction to mountain pastures but only 150 until Warmensteinach even only 120 tons. Until stronger locomotives available therefore had often stood bias be made. The top speed was then set at 30 km / h in Sophienthal to 15 km / hr. Later, particular steam locomotive of series 98.10 and 64, the image that could also carry long winter sports features.

The Verdieselung sat, as well as on other routes in the Bayreuth area, with rail buses VT 95, which gave way later to the stronger class VT 98. In the 1990s, even multiple units of class 614 came onto the track.

The locomotives V 100 series was concise, handovers were also drawn from V 60 and small locomotives ( Köf II and III Köf ). As of 1994, there was the garage work also inserts of locomotives of the series 218

After the reactivation of the route to operate until the operator changes mid-2011 Diesel railcar class 628 of the DB Regio. Since then be used by the new operator agilis railcars of the type Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1. The operation of the siding of the company Zapf Görschnitz is demand, in the night from Friday to Saturday with a diesel locomotive Class 294 and usually five flat cars in special design which can carry a total of 20 extra wide garages.

For special trips unusual vehicles were occasionally on the road, so 86 457 with a long passenger train in the summer of 1989. During the route reorganization "exotic " powered units the former Danish diesel locomotive My came out on the track, such as 2006 1143 (type NOHAB ).

Used vehicle types

VT 95 and sidecar VB 142 in Breitscheidstraße (Hessen)

Railcar BR 798 (VT 98) with control car in mountain pastures 1987

VT 614 in Bayreuth, 1986

VT 628 at the railroad crossing mountain pastures, 2011

Regio-Shuttle RS1 Egerlander at the railroad crossing road Bayreuth

Future

Reactivation section to Warmensteinach

On the currently disused stretch to Warmensteinach was by the tenant, the DRE, dismantled the track. The expansion of the railway traffic of mountain pastures to Warmensteinach fails currently on a decision of the district of Bayreuth, which has limited the trains on the section Bayreuth pastures mountain. Therefore, the Free State of Bavaria sees no other options to finance the reconstruction of the adjacent leg to Warmensteinach. However, there are efforts to change this council decision as quickly as possible to create the conditions for the further distance remediation.

After initial concerns itself now speaks from the community Warmensteinach for reconstruction and reactivation of the rest of the piece. The market town of Weiden Berg favors a short distance reactivation up to the villages of Menger Reuth ( up to this point the route is passable ) or Sophienthal. In the fall of 2007, the leg was cut free and subsequently degraded. 2008, a restructuring plan should be created. Supposedly the bridge at Menger Reuth ( decommissioning base 1993) can be made navigable again by raising.

From different political parties, the reactivation of the track is required to to Warmensteinach for the sake of promoting business and tourism and to increase road safety. In summer 2009 the Bavarian Landtag Free voter mandated by a resolution of the fraction, the Bavarian state government to review the reactivation and, where appropriate, to take on the cost of refurbishment with.

On 16 August 2010, the Bayreuth district Hübner has given the end for the track mountain pastures Warmensteinach known. Due to the high investment costs, which are not subsidized by the State of Bavaria, and the low expected number of passengers, a reorganization was not worth. Instead, the bus services will be expanded in the High Fichtelgebirge. The Bavarian Ministry of Transport in October 2011 stressed again that the under- forecasted number of passengers is the main reason that no funds for the route reactivation will be provided to Warmensteinach available. However, 2012 new passenger counts take place that allow a re-evaluation.