Heimbach (Nahe)–Baumholder railway
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Line number | 3200 |
| Service | |
| Route number | 271a (old) |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 9 |
| Track gauge | 1435 |
| Minimum radius | 300 |
| Operating speed | 50 max. |
| Maximum incline | Adhesion A % Rack rail 19 % |
|}
The Heimbach (Nahe)–Baumholder Railway was opened in 1912. Today it is used exclusively for freight and military transport. It links to the Nahe Valley Railway west of Heimbach (Nahe).
History
Approval was given in 1897 to build a short railway from Heimbach to Baumholder. Preparation for the railway began in 1902. In 1908 Prussia passed an act to allow the railway to be built. The railway was open on December 15, 1912. A military training area was build in Baumholder between 1937 and 1938. As a result of this, the line experienced more activity and the number of tracks at the Baumholder station was increased.
The passenger service on the line was stopped on May 31, 1981. Since then, this stretch has been served by passenger bus. Service today is by Line 322 of the Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund|Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund (RNN). There is no public transit service on the weekend. One exception to this was Rheinland-Pfalz Day in 2007. On this occation there was service from June 29, 2007 to July 1, 2007, the first time since 1981 that there was service on this strectch.
The railway's infrastructure was accuipered by the Baumholder Municipality from DB Netz in 2006. Both the sale price of 310,000 Euro and the investment of about 1.5 Million Euro were taken on by the Rhineland-Palatinate government. The yearly operational deficit of 100,000 Euro has been covered by the main users of the line, the US Army and the Bundeswehr with a ratio of 80 to 20.[1] Since December 10, 2006, Rheinland-Pfalz has used DB Schenker Rail for management of the line. [2]
Future
The rail authority Rheinland-Pfalz Süd (ZSPNV Süd) decided in its meeting on December 10, 2008 to reactivate the line for passenger in December 2014. The program is planned under the Dieselnetzes Südwest and will have hourly service between Baumholder and Kirn. Stops will be made in the town of Heimbach and Ruschberg.[3]
Locomotives
In the beginning of the Prussian line, the Prussian Locomotives T9, G8, and G10 were used. Later the Reichsbahn Class 50 and Class 52 were used and for passenger service the Class 38 (Prussian P8) and Class 23. After that DB railbuses Class 795 and Class 798 were used for passenger traffic. After 1975 the military trains used the Diesel Locomotives Class 218 and BR 211/212. Today the DB Class 232 and Class 290 are used.
References
- ^ Rhein-Zeitung from December 29, 2006
- ^ „Europäische Privatbahnen '07“, DVV Media Group, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-7771-0365-5, S. 295
- ^ Schienenstrecke Baumholder – Heimbach wird im Dezember 2014 reaktiviert (Railway Baumholder - Heimbach will be reactivated in December 2014)