Wehra Valley Railway

Wehra Valley Railway
(Wehratalbahn)
Schopfheim–Bad Säckingen
Line length:19.7 km (12.2 mi)
Track gauge:1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Legend
 Wiesen Valley Railway from Basel Bad Bf
 0,0 Schopfheim
 Wiesen Valley Railway to Zell (Wiesental)
 2,6 Fahrnau T.(closed in 1924)
 2,66 Fahrnau Tunnel (3169 m)
 6,3 Hasel (Baden)
 9,2 Wehr (Baden)
 Wehra
 11,2 Öflingen
 13,9 Brennet (Wehratal)
 Bundesstraße 34
 Upper Rhine Railway von Basel Bad Bf
 19,7 Bad Säckingen
 Upper Rhine Railway to Konstanz
The Wehra Valley Railway as part of the construction of strategic railways in the German Empire between 1887 and 1890

The Wehra Valley Railway (German: Wehratalbahn) was a 19.7 km long branch line from Schopfheim to Bad Säckingen in southwestern Germany, that was electrified in 1913 at the same time as the Wiesen Valley Railway. For part of its length it followed the river of the same name. The line runs through the Fahrnau Tunnel (Fahrnauer Tunnel) which, at that time, was one of the longest railway tunnels (3.169 km) in Germany. The Wehra Valley Railway was intended as a strategic railway circumnavigating Switzerland near Basle and was laid ready to take a second track.

Passenger services were withdrawn from the line on 23 May 1971. Goods traffic between Bad Säckingen and Wehr continued to run until 1 September 1990. On 31 December 1994 the line was closed.

In a local council meeting on 19 April 2005, the town of Wehr (Baden) called for an expert opinion to determine whether the line could be reactivated. The report from Tübingen-based local transport advisor Ulrich Grosse was positive, although its restoration would be relatively expensive and only possible for a short time. Initially the route will be protected from being built on. Currently checks are being carried out to see whether the Fahrnau Tunnel can be reopened.

Eastern entrance of the Fahrnau Tunnel in Hasel

External links

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