Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway

Rhine Valley Railway
Overview
Native name Rheintalbahn
Locale Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Termini Mannheim Hbf
Basel Bad
Line number
  • 4002 (Mannheim–Heidelberg)
  • 4000 (Heidelberg–Karlsruhe)
  • 4280 (Karlsruhe–Basel)
Technical
Line length 270.7 km (168.2 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed 250 km/h (160 mph) (max)
Route number
  • 665 (Mannheim–Heidelberg)
  • 701 (Heidelberg–Karlsruhe)
  • 702 (Karlsruhe–Basel)
Route map
Legend
Palatine Ludwig Railway from Ludwigshafen
S 1S 2S 3S 4 (RheinNeckar)
 Riedbahn from Frankfurt via MA-Luzenberg
 0.0 Mannheim Hbf 95 m
 Rhine Railway from Karlsruhe
 Riedbahn to Frankfurt via MA-Käfertal
 HSL from Stuttgart (Container terminal bridge)
 4.0 Mannheim Rbf station
 4.3 Mannheim ARENA/Maimarkt 95 m
 Mannheim marshalling yard
 6.1 Mannheim-Seckenheim 96 m
 8.5 Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld Süd junction
To Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld and Frankfurt
via the Main-Neckar line
 Schwetzingen–Mannheim line
 9.0 Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld Süd 102 m
 Main-Neckar line from Darmstadt
 14.5
Heidelberg-Wieblingen (junction)
(flying junction)
 A 5
 14.8 Heidelberg-Pfaffengrund/Wieblingen 108 m
 to Heidelberg Hbf (old)
 16.6 Heidelberg marshalling yard
17.5
19.1

 Heidelberg Hbf 107 m
 to Heidelberger Hbf (old)
 Neckar Valley line to Jagstfeld S 1S 2S 5
 from Heidelberger Hbf (old)
 Former route from Heidelberg Hbf (old)
 22.1 Heidelberg-Kirchheim/Rohrbach 107 m
 26.5 St Ilgen-Sandhausen 106 m
 32.1 Wiesloch-Walldorf 111 m
 37.5 Rot-Malsch 106 m
 40.1 Bad Schönborn-Kronau 108 m
 42.4 Bad Schönborn-Süd 109 m
 44.185 Stettfeld-Weiher (from Dec 2019)
 46.2 Ubstadt-Weiher 110 m
 46.6 Ubstadt-Weiher (junction)
 Connecting line to Bruchsal Rollenberg
Katzbach Railway from Odenheim S 31
and Kraich Valley Railway from Menzingen S 32
 Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway
 Connecting line from Bruchsal Rollenberg
 49.6 Bruchsal Nord (junction)
 Bruchsal Stegwiesen 111 m
 Bruchsal Schloßgarten 113 m
 Bruhrain Railway from Graben-Neudorf S 33
 51.6 Bruchsal terminus of S 33S 4/S 9 114 m
 Western Railway to Stuttgart S 9
 53.6 Bruchsal Bildungszentrum 111 m
 55.9 Untergrombach crossover
 56.8 Untergrombach 115 m
 60.5 Weingarten (Baden) 115 m
 Karlsruhe Stadtbahn S 4S 5
 From Pforzheim
 68.2 Karlsruhe-Durlach 116 m
 to Karlsruhe freight yard
 Karlsruhe-Hagsfeld–Karlsruhe freight yard line
 Former route of the Rhine Valley Line
 Rhine Railway Mannheim
 former connection from Ausbesserungswerk (until 199x)
 Karlsruhe freight yard (old) (until 199x)
 Karlsruhe Hbf (until 1913)
 former route of the Hardt Railway, Maxau Railway
 72.9 Karlsruhe Hbf terminus of S 3 121 m
 Alb Valley Railway S 1S 11
 (former route of the Rhine Valley Line until 1913)
 from Karlsruhe Albtalbf (where system changes)
 Palatine Maximilian Railway to Wörth
 Rhine Railway to Rastatt
 Karlsruhe West–Karlsruhe Rbf freight line
 Karlsruhe-Dammerstock–Karlsruhe Rbf freight line
 freight line from Karlsruhe Rbf (marshalling yard)
 Rüppurr (until 1913)
 76.2 Karlsruhe-Brunnenstück (junction)
 (former route of the Rhine Valley line until 1913)
76.4
77.4

 Km change as a result of route shortening)
 79.6 Ettlingen West 121 m
 Ettlingen branch line to Alb Valley Railway
 82.5 Bruchhausen 118 m
 87.9 Malsch 120 m
 88.5 Malsch Süd 120 m
 91.7 Muggensturm 123 m
 Rastatt Tunnel from Karlsruhe (planned)
 Rhine Railway from Karlsruhe S 4S 41
 96.5 Rastatt 120 m
 Murg Valley Railway to Freudenstadt S 31S 41
 Former route of Rhine Railway to Haguenau
 Rastatt Tunnel (south portal, planned)
 A 5
 101.3 Rastatt Süd junction (current start of parallel HSL)
 102.6 Baden-Baden-Haueneberstein
 103.2 Sandweier crossover
 105.3 Baden-Baden 126 m
 Former line from old Baden station
 108.3 Sinzheim Nord 127 m
 109.5 Sinzheim (b. Bühl) 126 m
 112.5 Baden-Baden-Rebland 133 m
 116.9 Bühl (Baden) 135 m
 119.2 Ottersweier
 125.3 Achern Terminus of S 4S 32 145 m
 Acher Valley Railway to Ottenhöfen
 127.7 Önsbach
 128.4 Önsbach crossover
 131.7 Renchen 144 m
 To Strasbourg
 Rench Valley Railway from Bad Griesbach
 137.9 Appenweier 147 m
 138.7 Appenweier-Muhrhaag junction from Strasbourg
 141.0 Windschläg junction to Offenburg freight yard
 141.7 Offenburg Nord junction
 145.5 Offenburg 159 m
 146.1 Offenburg Süd Current end of the HSL
 Black Forest Railway to Singen
 former bypass curve from the Black Forest Railway
 148.3 Schutterwald Schutterwald
 154.4 Niederschopfheim 153 m
 158.7 Friesenheim (Baden) 155 m
 163.7 Lahr (Schwarzwald) 161 m
 former railway to Lahr town
 166.1 Kippenheim
 171.8 Orschweier 166 m
 former Rhine–Ettenheimmünster Local Railway
 174.8 Ringsheim 169 m
 177.7 Herbolzheim (Brsg) 172 m
 181.0 Kenzingen 175 m
 Kaiserstuhl Railway from Breisach
 185.9 Riegel-Malterdingen 180 m
 HSL will have a separate alignment from here
 188.8 Köndringen (crossover)
 188.8 Köndringen 187 m
 190.6 Teningen-Mundingen 194 m
 192.7 Emmendingen 201 m
 196.5 Kollmarsreute 221 m
 Elz Valley Railway from Elzach
 199.8 Denzlingen 235 m
 202.6 Gundelfingen (Breisgau) 241 m
 202.7 Gundelfingen junction
 Freight bypass railway to Freiburg Gbf
 205.0 Freiburg-Zähringen 253 m
 207.0 Freiburg-Herdern 264 m
 Line from Breisach
 208.3 Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf 269 m
 Höllentalbahn to Donaueschingen
 212.5 Freiburg-St. Georgen 253 m
 Freight bypass railway from Freiburg Gbf
 214.6 Leutersberg (junction)
 215.7 Ebringen 239 m
 217.0 Schallstadt 235 m
 219.9 Norsingen 230 m
 Münster Valley Railway from Münstertal
 222.9 Bad Krozingen 231 m
 224.1 Tunsel
 Eschbach-Tunsel (planned)
 228.8 Heitersheim 226 m
 Flying junction (planned)
 End of separate HSL alignment
 231.8 Buggingen 223 m
 232.8 Hügelheim
 237.3 Müllheim (Baden) 233 m
former level crossing of
Müllheim–Badenweiler railway (metre gauge)
 Line to Mulhouse
 239.7 Auggen 233 m
 239.7 Auggen (siding)
 242.7 Schliengen (junction) HSL has a separate course
 243.2 Schliengen 241 m
 Portal extension to reduce tunnel boom
 245.4 Start of Katzenberg Tunnel (9,385 m)
 246.8 Bad Bellingen 254 m
 250.0 Rheinweiler 257 m
 252.8 Kleinkems 258 m
 255.3 Klotz Tunnel (242 m)
 256.0 Kirchberg Tunnel (129 m)
 256.4 Istein 258 m
 256.8 Hartberg Tunnel (307 m)
 254.8 End of Katzenberg Tunnel (9.385 m)
 258.3 Efringen-Kirchen 258 m
 262.2 Eimeldingen 266 m
259.2
262.8

 End of separate HSL alignment
Kander Valley Railway from Kandern
(heritage railway)
264.3
265.3

 Haltingen 269 m
 Former railway from Saint-Louis (1878–1937)
 267.6 Weil am Rhein Terminus of S 5 (Basel) 261 m
 Garden Railway to Lörrach S 5
 267.6 German/Swiss border
 270.7 Basel Bad Bf Terminus of S 6 261 m
 Basel Trams
 Wiese Valley Railway to Zell S 6
 Connecting line to Basel SBB and Olten
 Upper Rhine Railway to Konstanz
Source: German railway atlas[1]

The Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway, also known as the Rhine Valley Railway (German: Rheintalbahn), is a railway line that runs from Mannheim, Germany, via Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, and Freiburg to Basel, Switzerland. It is part of the Baden Mainline (Badische Hauptbahn).

History

Further information: Baden Mainline

The line was financed and built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway (Großherzogliche Badische Staatsbahn). The first section between Mannheim and Heidelberg was opened in 1840, and it was completed in several sections to Basel in 1855.

Date Start of section End of section
12 September 1840 Mannheim Hbf Heidelberg Hbf
10 April 1843 Heidelberg Hbf Karlsruhe Hbf
1 May 1844 Karlsruhe Hbf Rastatt
6 May 1844 Rastatt Baden-Oos
1 June 1844 Baden-Oos Offenburg
1 August 1845 Offenburg Freiburg Hbf
1 June 1847 Freiburg Hbf Müllheim (Baden)
15 June 1847 Müllheim Schliengen
8 November 1848 Schliengen Efringen
22 January 1851 Efringen Haltingen
1855 Haltingen Basel

The line was originally built to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Irish gauge, but since the surrounding countries built their railways to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge, the line was converted to standard gauge between 1854 and 1855.

Since Schwetzingen and Hockenheim missed by the line through Heidelberg, another line was opened in 1870 on the Mannheim–Schwetzingen–Graben–Eggenstein–Karlsruhe route. A shorter and more direct line from Graben to Karlsruhe via Blankenloch was added in 1895 as a strategic railway. This converted the Karlsruhe–Eggenstein–Graben section of the old line into a branch line, now known as the Hardt Railway and partly incorporated into the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn.

Bad Schönborn-Kronau station

In the northern section between Mannheim and Karlsruhe there are two different lines, the Mannheim–Graben-Neudorf–Karlsruhe line (the Baden Mainline as such) as well as the Mannheim–Heidelberg–Bruchsal–Durlach–Karlsruhe line (the Baden-Kurpfalz Railway). Particularly after World War I it became a major line for international traffic. Beginning in the 1950s,the Rhine Valley line was progressively electrified, with the whole line fully electrified by the middle of 1958.

Under a German-Swiss convention, the entire line was supposed to be converted to at least four lines by 2008, so that it can serve as the main northern approach route to the new Gotthard Base Tunnel line to Italy. Deutsche Bahn is building a high-speed line for this project from Karlsruhe to Basel, including new and upgraded sections.

Between Karlsruhe and Rastatt two lines run relatively near each other, effectively providing four tracks. The double-track section between Rastatt station and Rastatt-Niederbühl is to be widened to four lines, probably by the construction of a parallel tunnel. Between Rastatt Niederbühl and Offenburg two new high-speed tracks have been completed next to the old double-track line. A new section of line from Schliengen to Haltingen between Freiburg and Basel, including the 9385 metre-long Katzenberg Tunnel, was opened on 9 December 2012 to avoid a narrow, winding section between the Rhine and the Isteiner Klotz hills.[2] The remaining sections between Offenburg, Freiburg and the Katzenberg Tunnel are still being planned.

Operations

Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn train between Mannheim and Heidelberg

The Rhine Valley line is today one of the most important lines of Germany both for passenger and goods traffic, including international traffic to and from Switzerland and France. The main railway stations are Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg and Basel Bad. Other stations are Baden-Baden, Rastatt and Bruchsal.

Since December 2003, line S3 of the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn has operated on the Mannheim–Karlsruhe section of line and S4 (Speyer–Bruchsal) on the (Speyer–Karlsruhe) section. Lines S31, S32, S4 and S41 of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe operate between Bruchsal and Achern.

At each end of the line are two of the largest marshalling yards in Europe: Mannheim marshalling yard and Basel SBB marshalling yard in Muttenz. The other marshalling yards of this line in Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg im Breisgau and Basel Badischer Bahnhof have been closed.

Karlsruhe–Basel high speed line

On 21 January 1987 the Federal Minister of Transport Werner Dollinger wrote to Deutsche Bundesbahn agreeing to the construction of a new line from Karlsruhe to Offenburg and Basel as part of the 1985 federal transport plan. The cost was estimated at the time to be about 2.3 billion D Mark and building should have begun by the end of 1987. Once finished, travel time between Hamburg and Basel was expected to be reduced by over two hours to five and a half hours. The maximum speed between Karlsruhe and Offenburg would have been 250 km/h and 200 km/h between Offenburg and Basel.[3]

In March 1993 the first section between Bühl and Achern (9 km) was put into service.[4]

The current plan of the project manager, DB ProjektBau, is the continued development of the line as the Neu- und Ausbaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel (i.e. a mixture of new high-speed line and upgraded line). This line forms the most important northern access route to the Swiss AlpTransit project and is therefore part of a bilateral convention for an increase in the efficiency in rail transport between Switzerland and Germany.

Between Appenweier and Karlsruhe the line is also part of the Magistrale for Europe from Paris to Budapest, which is supported by the European Union as part of its Trans-European Networks.

The federal transport plan forecast that there would be 38 long-distance trains daily each way on the Offenburg–Basel section. It forecast that there would be 137 daily goods trains running from north to south and 147 daily goods trains running from south to north.[5]

Construction arrangements

The project is arranged into nine sections:

Katzenberg Tunnel shell during construction

The line between Rastatt south and Offenburg has a speed limit of 250 km/h. This speed limit will also apply to the sections of new line between Offenburg and Kenzingen and between Buggingen and Basel. Although new lines in Germany are now planned to allow running at 300 km/h, the uncompleted sections of the Karlsruhe–Basel lines are continuing to be built on alignments suitable for 250 km/h running because little saving of time would be achieved with higher speeds.[5]

Time frame

Originally the project was to have been completed in 2008, in accordance with an agreement with Switzerland. By 12 December 2004, sections 2-6, from Rastatt-Süd to Offenburg, were complete, and other sections were under construction, notably the Katzenberg tunnel. The remaining sections were still in the planning phase. With Federal Budget cuts the project will now not be completed until 2020.[13] The Federal Government has indicated that it intends to make funds available for further sections as planning approvals are achieved.[5]

Cost and finances

According to unofficial estimates the cost of the project is about €4.6 billion.[14] In 2006 about €108 million was invested in it.[15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  2. 1 2 "Katzenberg cut-off inaugurated". 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Bau der ABS/NBS Karlsruhe–Basel genehmigt". Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau (in German) 36 (1/2): 102. 1987.
  4. ↑ "Erster Abschnitt der Neubaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel fertig". Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau (in German) 42 (5): 361. 1993.
  5. 1 2 3 "Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten Winfried Hermann, Alexander Bonde, Kerstin Andreae, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN, Bundestags-Drucksache 16/5037" (PDF). Answers to parliamentary questions (in German). Parliament of Germany. 14 April 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "D-Karlsruhe: railway construction works". Tenders Electronic Daily. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012 (Document 2012/S 39-063501)
  7. ↑ "D-Karlsruhe: railway construction works". Tenders Electronic Daily. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012 (Document 2012/S 39-063501)
  8. ↑ "Bund stellt Finanzmittel für den Rastatter Tunnel bereit" (Press release) (in German). Federal Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Development. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  9. ↑ DB ProjektBau (ed.). "Ausbau- und Neubaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel: Planfeststellungsabschnitt 7.1: Offenburg Süd–Hohberg" (PDF, 2.0 MB) (in German). Karlsruhe: Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 3 August 2012 (12 page brochure with status of December 2008)
  10. ↑ "Aus- und Neubau der Rheintalbahn: Erste Bewertung des Regierungspräsidiums Freiburg im Anhörungsverfahren für Offenburg: Antragstrasse der Bahn in der vorgelegten Form nicht genehmigungsfähig" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). Regierungspräsidium Freiburg. 18 January 2011.
  11. ↑ DB ProjektBau (ed.). "Ausbau- und Neubaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel: Planfeststellungsabschnitt 7.3: Lahr–Mahlberg" (PDF, 1.7 MB) (in German). Karlsruhe: Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 4 August 2012 (12 page brochure with status of December 2008)
  12. ↑ "Planning approval for Section 9.2 (Haltingen – Weil am Rhein)" (PDF) (in German). Eisenbahn-Bundesamt. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. ↑ "400 Millionen Euro für weiteren Aus- und Neubau der Bahnstrecke Karlsruhe–Basel" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). Deutsche Bahn. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  14. ↑ Holzhey, Michael (31 May 2005). "Wachstumskerne der Schiene – Investitionsschwerpunkte der Zukunft" (PDF) (in German). BDZ Workshop. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  15. ↑ Investitionsbilanz 2006 der DB AG Eurailpress of 2 January 2007 (German)

References

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