Main Railway (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Railway in Germany

Main Railway
Overview
Native name Mainbahn
Status Operational
Owner Deutsche Bahn
Line number 3520 (Mainz–Frankfurt Hbf) 3650 (Frankfurt Stadion–Frankfurt Süd) 3538 (drittes Gl. Gustavsburg–Bischofsheim)
Locale Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Germany
Termini Mainz HbfFrankfurt (Main) Hbf
Stations 12
Service
Type Heavy rail, Passenger/freight railRegional rail, Commuter railIntercity rail
Route number 471, 645.8, 645.9
Operator(s) DB Regio, Rhein-Main S-Bahn
History
Opened 3 January 1863
Technical
Line length 37.5 km (23.3 mi)
Number of tracks Double track
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed 160 km/h (99 mph)
Route map Legend West Rhine Railway from Boppard From rail bypass andTaunus line to Wiesbaden Line from Alzey From Mainz harbour 0.000 Mainz Hbf Mainz railway tunnel north (northbound) New Mainz tunnel (southbound) Mainz railway tunnel south (northbound) 1.800 Mainz Römisches Theater Former line from Mainz Hauptbahnhof Line to Ludwigshafen 3.076 South bridge (Mainz), border RP/Hesse Former train ferry Rhine-Main Railway Mainz-Gustavsburg harbour siding 4.580 Mainz-Gustavsburg Mainz rail bypass, from Taunus Railway 7.780 Mainz-Bischofsheim To Mainz-Bischofsheim Rhine-Main Railway to Darmstadt 9.560 Mainz-Bischofsheim Ültg II junction 11.206 Rüsselsheim-Opelwerk 12.220 Rüsselsheim 15.875 Raunheim 17.373 Raunheim Mönchwald junction Connecting curve to HSL to Frankfurt A 3 Frankfurt Airport–Cologne HSL 19.1 Raunheim Caltex & Ticona siding 19.349 Raunheim Brunnenschneise junction Connecting curve from HSL to Cologne Industrial sidings 23.812 Kelsterbach Frankfurt Airport loop 26.9 Frankfurt-Schwanheim[1] Frankfurt Airport loop 29.096 Frankfurt-Schwanheim Fernbahn junction A 5 Mannheim–Frankfurt railwayto Riedstadt-Goddelau 31.375 Frankfurt (Main) Stadion bypass line via Forsthaus (see below) connecting line from Forsthaus 33.192 Frankfurt-Niederrad Old Niederräd bridge / new Niederräd bridge 34.250 Frankfurt-Niederrad Brücke Frankfurt City Link Line to Main-Lahn line to Frankfurt-Höchst Main-Lahn Railwayfrom Frankfurt-Höchst to Taunus Railway to Frankfurt-Höchst line from Frankfurt-Griesheim 35.358 Frankfurt (Main) Gutleuthof (junction)Taunus Railway from Frankfurt-Höchst Homburg embankmentfrom Mainzer Landstraße 35.360 Frankfurt outer yard to Galluswarte Main-Weser bridge – Galluswarte line 36.444 Frankfurt (Main) Hoch/Tief (station part) to the City Tunnel lines from Darmstadt and from Offenbach Main-Weser Railway from Gießen former line from Peace Bridge (see below) 37.508 Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (since 1888) Frankfurt western stations (until 1888) Originally part of route (now bypass line) line from Mainz (see above) 31.4 Frankfurt am Main Stadion current line via Frankfurt-Niederrad(see above) 33.2 Forsthaus (Frankfurt)(junction, former station) connecting curve to Darmstadt, Frankfurt Main-Neckar Railway from Darmstadt current line to Main-Neckar Bridge(see above) former Lokalbahn, Main-Neckar Railway 36.6 Frankfurt South South Main line to Hanau North Main line to Hanau City Tunnel to Frankfurt Hbf (underground) Peace Bridge (old Main-Neckar Bridge) former route of the Main-Neckar railway current bridge (see above) Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (since 1888) Frankfurt (Main) Hbf underground(since 1978) City Tunnel to South Station/Offenbach and ??.? Frankfurt western stations (until 1888) Source: German railway atlas[2]

The Main Railway (German: Mainbahn, pronounced 'mine barn') is a 37.5 km-long double-track electrified railway line, which runs on the south side of the river Main from Mainz to Frankfurt central station.

Immediately after the opening of the Rhine-Main Railway from Mainz to Aschaffenburg by the Hessian Ludwig Railway Company in 1858, it was anxious to also own a connection to Frankfurt. Therefore, it built the new line from a branch off the Rhine-Main line at Bischofsheim along the left (southern) bank of the Main to Frankfurt. It thereby put itself into competition with the parallel Taunus Railway, which runs on the right bank of the Main. The concession for building and operating the line was awarded by Grand Duchy of Hesse on 15 August 1861 and by the senate of the Free City of Frankfurt on 17 January 1862.

The building of the line took only one and a half years. A test run took place on 20 December 1862 and it was opened on 3 January 1863. The line originally ran through the former Forsthaus station and today's Friedensbrücke (Peace Bridge, now a road bridge) in Frankfurt across the Main to the former Main-Neckar station. This entry was replaced on 16 January 1882 by the current alignment through Goldstein station (later: Frankfurt-Sportfeld, now: Frankfurt (Main) Stadion), Niederrad station and the Niederräder Main bridge.

On 1 February 1897, it along with the rest of the Hessian Ludwigs railway became part of the Prussian-Hessian Railway Company. Electrification of the line was completed on 15 December 1958.

On 2 February 1990, one of the worst train accidents in the Rhine-Main area occurred near Rüsselsheim when a train from Frankfurt collided with one from Wiesbaden and derailed, killing 17 people and injuring over 80, some seriously.

Since 1999 the Raunheim Mönchwald–Raunheim Mönchhof connecting curve has provided a connection with the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line, allowing long-distance trains to and from on the Left Rhine line to use the Frankfurt Airport long-distance station.

The following structures are original and those marked are listed monuments:

Location Building Year km Monument
Bischofsheim Station building 1958 8.25 *
Rüsselsheim Linesmen house 1863 12.80 *
Raunheim Station building 1863 15.87 *
Raunheim Linesmen house 1863 17.39 *
Kelsterbach Rail bridge 1863 21.75
Kelsterbach Linesmen house 1863 23.60 *
Kelsterbach Station building 1863 23.81 *
Stadion Station building 1879 31.37 *
Niederrad Station building 1882 33.19 *
Sachsenhausen Rail bridge 1864 34.47

The Main Railway is used by long-distance and local passenger services as well as freight traffic,

ICE 1 on the connecting curve from the Main Railway in Frankfurt-Louisa station

The line is used by "individual services" (not at regular intervals through the day) of ICE lines 20, 31, 50 and 91 as well as IC line 31.

The long-distance services depart from Mainz Hauptbahnhof, passing through Raunheim Mönchwald junction via the connecting line to the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway to Frankfurt Airport long-distance station.

From here trains run non-stop to Frankfurt am Main Stadion station and via the current route to Frankfurt South station or via the current route to Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof. A few trains use the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway to Mannheim Hauptbahnhof.

S8 service in Mainz-Bischofsheim station running towards Hanau Hbf

Regional and Rhine-Main S-Bahn services run between Kelsterbach station and Frankfurt-Schwanheim Fernbahn junction over the Airport loop.

Line Route Frequency
RE 55 Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt South – Offenbach – Hanau – Aschaffenburg Individual services
RB 75 Wiesbaden – Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Darmstadt 60 min
RE 2/3 Koblenz or Saarbrücken – Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf 60 min
Wiesbaden – Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Kelsterbach – Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (underground) – Frankfurt City Tunnel – Offenbach City Tunnel – Hanau 30 min
Wiesbaden – Mainz-Kastel – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Kelsterbach – Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (underground) – Frankfurt City Tunnel – Offenbach City Tunnel – Hanau 30 min
  1. ^ Passenger services had stopped serving the halt of Schwanheim by 15 November 1901 ("Sammlung der herausgegebenen Amtsblätter" (in German). 5 (53). Eisenbahndirektion Mainz. 9 November 1901: 372. , item 508)
  2. ^ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. pp. 151–53. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.