Dresden–Děčín railway

Dresden-Neustadt–Děčín hl.n.
Double-decker train approaching the spa town of Rathen
Section of a Saxon network map of 1902
Route number:	241.1, 241.2, 241.4
Line number:	6240
Line length:	65.785 km (40.877 mi)
Gauge:	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Voltage:	State border–Děčín: 3 kV DC
Voltage:	Dresden–State border: 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC
Maximum incline:	1  %
Minimum radius:	300 m (984 ft)
Maximum speed:	160 km/h (99.4 mph)
Legend from Görlitz from Leipzig and from Berlin 66,333 Dresden-Neustadt 118 m 62,242 Bundesstraße 170 railway bridge (31 m) 66,170 Dresden V city viaduct (80 m) from Dresden-Pieschen 66,070 Dresden-Neustadt Stw 8/6 siding 66,069 Güterbahnhofstraße railway bridge (16 m) 66,000 Dresden IV city viaduct (40 m) 65,960 Leipziger Straße railway bridge (29 m) 65,470 Elbe Bridge (-Marien Railway Bridge; 472 m) 65,030 Bundesstraße 6 railway bridge (25 m) 64,960 Dresden III city viaduct (120 m) 64,890 Friedrichstraße railway bridge (25 m) 64,688 Dresden Mitte 117 m 64,616 Jahnstraße railway bridge (25 m) 64,540 Dresden II city viaduct (117 m) 64,520 Dresden-Mitte W 8 siding to Dresden Friedrichstadt 64,225 Dresden I city viaduct (163 m) from (Berlin–) Dresden Friedrichstadt 63,928 Dresden-Mitte W 1 siding 63,870 Freiberger Straße railway bridge (19 m) 63,617 Rosenstraße railway bridge (17 m) to Werdau Bogendreieck Bundesstraße 173 underpass 62,490 Dresden Hbf 117 m 62,328 Bundesstraße 170 railway bridge (55 m) 62,097 Dresden Hbf station curve, east side (92 m) 62,011 Andreas-Schubert-Straße railway bridge (24 m) 61,844 Uhlandstraße railway bridge (20 m) 61,496 Franklinstraße railway bridge (20 m) 61,088 Bundesstraße 172 railway bridge (28 m) ~60,500 Dresden-Strehlen Königsbf (1897) 60,457 Franz-Liszt-Straße railway bridge (22 m) 60,140 Dresden-Strehlen* 123 m 59,499 Rayskistraße railway bridge (28 m) 57,823 Lohrmannstraße railway bridge (18 m) ICE workshop siding at Dresden (being built) 57,630 Dresden-Reick* 121 m 56,940 Seidnitzer Weg railway bridge (11 m) Industrial siding to Pirna Industrial siding Dresden-Reick–Pirna 56,300 Dresden-Dobritz* 121 m 56,173 Moränenende railway bridge (34 m) 54,891 Reisstraße railway bridge (34 m) 54,220 Dresden-Niedersedlitz* 122 m 54,161 Bahnhofstraße railway bridge (17 m) 54,107 Lockwitzbach Bridge (10 m) 54,000 Dresden-Niedersedlitz Gbf 53,395 Kleinlugaer Straße railway bridge (12 m) 52,660 Dresden-Zschachwitz* 121 m 52,574 Sporbitzer Straße railway bridge (11 m) Industrial siding from Dresden-Reick 52,445 Elbgelände Railway 51,232 Heidenau formerly Mügeln (b Pirna) 120 m to Altenberg spa town 51,118 August-Bebel-Straße railway bridge (39 m) Industrial siding to Pirna 50,330 Mühlenstraße railway bridge (13 m) 50,196 Müglitz Bridge (53 m) 49,988 Dohnaer Straße railway bridge (13 m) 49,960 Heidenau Süd* 121 m 49,438 Geschwister-Scholl-Straße railway bridge (14 m) 49,420 Bk Heidenau 48,760 Bk Sedlitz 47,960 Heidenau-Großsedlitz* 120 m Dresden-Reick–Pirna industrial siding 47,180 Kahrenweg railway bridge (10 m) Industrial siding from Dresden-Reick 45,892 Gottleuba Bridge (18 m) from Bad Gottleuba and from Großcotta S-Bahn from Dresden-Neustadt 45,440 Pirna since 1875 118 m to Arnsdorf and Neustadt (Sachs) ~45,000 Pirna until 1875 120 m 44,624 Dohnaische Straße railway bridge (16 m) 44,022 Railway bridge (10 m) 43,726 Ziegelstraße railway bridge (11 m) 42,800 Bk Posta 40,620 Obervogelgesang 125 m 38,800 Bk Zeichen 37,040 Stadt Wehlen (Sachs) 125 m 36,940 Bk Basteiblick 33,860 Kurort Rathen 127 m 31,450 Bk Strand 29,770 Behnebach Bridge (20 m) 28,617 Elbstraße railway bridge (11 m) 27,955 Königstein Viaduct (470 m) 27,927 Bielabach Bridge (26 m) 27,660 Königstein (Sächs Schw) 127 m 26,370 Königstein (Sächs. Schweiz) Gbf 127 m from (Bautzen–) Neustadt (Sachs) 22,760 Bad Schandau 126 m 21,200 Krippen until 1877 Schandau 129 m 20,622 Krippenbach Bridge (22 m) 20,556 Bächelweg railway bridge (20 m) 20,090 Bad Schandau Ost 130 m 17,060 Bk Hirschmühle 16,306 Hirschgrund Bridge (83 m) 15,550 Schmilka-Hirschmühle formerly Hirschmühle 130 m 13,870 Schöna formerly Herrnskretschen 130 m 12,658 Schöna Ldst 11,859 Germany–Czech Republic state border 11,858 Gelobtbach Bridge (13 m) 10,350 Dolní Žleb formerly Niedergrund (Elbe) 135 m 9,950 Dolní Žleb Bridge 9,280 Dolní Žleb zastávka 6,680 Děčín-Čertova Voda 135 m 4,070 Děčín-Prostřední Žleb formerly Mittelgrund 135 m to Děčín východ–Kolín (old ÖNWB) 1,980 Děčín-Přípeř formerly Obergrund ~1,700 Červená skála (Rotberg Tunnel; 149 m)Tunnel ~1,200 Ovčí stěna Tunnel (Schäferwand Tunnel; 279 m) ~1,000 Railway bridge (15 m) from Varnsdorf und Česká Lípa (old BNB) 0,548 Děčín hl.n. formerly Bodenbach 135 m to Oldřichov u Duchcova (–Chomutov) (old DBE) to Prague (old Austrian North railway and StEG) * Halt since 2001/2002 on the parallel Pirna–Coswig S-Bahn

The Dresden–Děčín railway, also called the Elbe Valley Railway (German: Elbtalbahn) is an important, electrified main line in Saxony and the Czech Republic. Formerly called the Saxon-Bohemian State Railway (Sächsisch-Böhmische Staatseisenbahn), the line is part of the Dresden to Prague route and is one of Europe's most important trunk routes (Magistralen). It runs along the Elbe Valley from Dresden via Pirna and Bad Schandau to Děčín (Tetschen-Bodenbach). The first section of the line was opened in 1848 and is one of the oldest lines in Germany.

Importance

The Dresden-Děčín line is part of line 22 of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T; Athens–Sofia–Budapest–Vienna–Prague–Nuremberg/Dresden) and received € 11 million in 2000 to 2006 from the European Regional Development Fund.^[1] The line is also the most northern section of Pan-European railway corridor IV connecting Dresden and Istanbul. The track is the only electrified line that directly connects Germany with the Czech Republic. It is part of the most important line for rail freight between Scandinavia and Southern Europe.

Direct EuroCity trains on the Elbe Valley line connect Berlin with Vienna and Budapest. The Dresden–Schöna section of the line is part of the Dresden S-Bahn network.

History

History and Construction

Shortly after the completion of the Leipzig-Dresden Railway in 1839, the first plans were developed to continue the route south towards Vienna. The first proposal considered was for a line via Zittau and Liberec (German: Reichenberg) through Upper Lusatia. High costs and the danger that Saxony could be bypassed by such a route led to this project being dropped. Later the German South-North Connecting Railway (Südnorddeutschen Verbindungsbahn) was built on this route. Austria preferred, however, from the start a line through the Elbe valley. Saxony and Austria agreed to this in a treaty signed on 9 August 1842, which provided for a construction time of eight years.

On 1 August 1848, the first section of Dresden was opened to Pirna. The first service over the whole Dresden–Děčín line ran on 6 April 1851. Royal Saxon State Railways owned the section to the border only. The rest of the line to Děčín was leased from Austria.

Saxon-Bohemian State Railway

In the following years, the route became one of the most important lines in Europe. Much of the north-south traffic connected with the Prussian lines in Upper Silesia.

Royal Saxon State Railways

A Saxon IIIb in Pötzscha (now Stadt Wehlen)

The line below Königstein Fortress

Vindobona Express service, comprising high-speed class VT 18.16 DMU, in the late 1970s

In 1898 large parts of the railway’s premises in Dresden were refurbished. The line’s old Bohemian station (Böhmische Bahnhof) was demolished and in its place the new Dresden Hauptbahnhof was built. The ground-level route through the city of Dresden was raised to a higher level, allowing a number of level crossings to be removed. Section by section, the Dresden–Pirna line was expanded to four tracks from 1915, allowing a separation of long-distance and regional services. Suburban trains ran every 15 minutes between Dresden and Pirna.

After the Second World War

After the end of World War II on 8 May 1945, the portion of the state border to Děčín was taken over by the Czechoslovak State Railways (CSD). All passenger trains from Dresden now terminated at Schöna station before the national border. CSD served its own section of the line from then on with passenger trains from Děčín to Dolní Žleb.

On 20 May 1945 German and Czech railway workers were advised that rail operations would resume across the re-established border. However, at first only freight trains operated, with a service between Berlin and Prague starting in 1946. Large parts of the German railway tracks were dismantled in the course of 1946, as reparations to the Soviet Union. As a result the Dresden–Schöna section was reduced to a single track throughout.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction

Between 1949 to 1951, the second track was rebuilt. At the end of the 1950s double-decker commuter trains were introduced to the route. Gradually, high-quality long-distance trains returned to the through route. From the late 1950s, an international express service, called Vindobona ran on the line between Berlin and Vienna. Other services on the line included the [Hungaria (Berlin–Budapest) and the Pannonia Express (Berlin-Sofia). Freight traffic also increased steadily.

A new opportunity for tourist traffic arose with the introduction of visa-free travel between East Germany and Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1972. From 29 January 1972, for the first time since 1945, a passenger train pair ran between Dresden and Děčín. At the same time an express service was introduced to Prague which in particular allowed day trippers to visit the Czech capital of Prague.^[2]

From 1973 the line from Dresden to Pirna was integrated into the new S-Bahn tariff zone. In subsequent years, the Dresden–Pirna line was restored as a four-track line in preparation for the conversion of Dresden suburban services into a real S-Bahn. However, this did not commence immediately.

Electrification

In the early 1970s, the Dresden-Schöna section was electrified. The electric train service began on 29 May 1976. In 1987, electric overhead line was installed on the section of the line within Czechoslovakia between Děčín hl. n. (Bodenbach) and Děčín vychod (Tetschen). Nevertheless, scheduled electric trains did not begin operating across the border until 1992. The problem was the different electrical systems in use. The German section is electrified at the German standard of 15 kV AC at 16.7 Hz. In the north of the Czech Republic, lines are electrified with the 3000-volt DC system. In order to operate the route continuously using electrical traction, a dual-system locomotive (class 180) was developed. 50 m of the contact wire between Schöna and Dolní Žleb carries no current. In this section of the line the driver lowers the pantograph and coasts through the neutral section while changing the locomotive's electrical setting. Afterwards, the pantograph is raised again.

Until 1990, suburban trains operated to Schöna at approximate 60-minute intervals, starting in the late 1980s on the service from Meissen-Triebischtal.

Since 1990

The political changes in the former Communist countries in South-Eastern Europe in 1990 led to a sharp decline in traffic on the line. From the mid-1990s, the remaining long-distance passenger services were converted to EuroCity services. As an alternative to the congested B 170 highway via Zinnwald, a ‘’rolling highway’’ rail service was introduced in 1992 between Dresden and Lovosice.

On 7 June 1995 Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria signed an agreement to upgrade the line between Dresden, Prague and Vienna. In order to implement this agreement, two new intercity rail tracks were built between Dresden and Pirna, designed for 160 km/h operations. Parallel to the mainline tracks, separate S-Bahn tracks have been built between Pirna and Dresden-Neustadt for the Pirna–Coswig S-Bahn route. The new mainline and S-Bahn services began operations on 12 December 2004.^[3]

Since the late 1990s, freight services have returned to the line, but the high utilisation of the 1980s has not yet been reached. After the European Union enlargement of 1 May 2004, utilisation of the rolling highway service decreased shaply and the service was closed. The completion of the A 17 autobahn as part of a European corridor has favoured road transport.

In August 2002, the line in the Elbe Valley was severely affected by the flood of the century. Because of flood damage to the track, it was completely closed in October 2002. All freight traffic was diverted via Ebersbach and Bad Bramstedt. Long-distance passenger traffic was stopped completely.

Seasonal long-distance trains and regular Regional-Express trains run on the Elbe Valley line. In the winter sports season trains run on the line to the Müglitz Valley Railway and Altenberg. A weekend excursion train (RE 20, Bohemica) has from Dresden to Děčín since 2004, during the summer months.

Since the timetable change in May 1999, there are also several daily connections with the regional trains of České dráhy that run between Bad Schandau and Děčín, operating as Elbe-Labe-Sprinter. Since 15 June 2008 these trains run seven times a day at two-hourly intervals. This is the first time since 1945 that there has been a regular cross-border local passenger service stopping at all intermediate stations. Since 3 April 2010, the Wanderexpress Bohemica Express has operated via Děčín to Litoměřice. This train is a class 642 diesel multiple unit.

Notes

1. ^ "Reply to parliamentary question from Jan Mücke, Horst Friedrich (Bayreuth), Patrick Döring and other members of the FDP; 16/4893" (in German). Bundestag. 16 April 2007. http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/16/050/1605024.pdf. Retrieved 10 October 2010. 
2. ^ Flügelrad and Elbsandstein p. 169
3. ^ "Reply to parliamentary question from Horst Friedrich (Bayreuth), Patrick Döring, Joachim Günther (Plauen) and other members of the FDP; 16/8996" (in German). Bundestag. 29 April 2008. http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/16/089/1608996.pdf. Retrieved 10 October 2010. 

References

• Hilbert, Peter; et.al. (2001) (in German). Flügelrad und Elbsandstein: 150 Jahre erste sächsisch-böhmische Eisenbahnverbindung Bodenbach-Dresden. Pirna: Pirnaer Redaktions- und Verlagsgesellschaft. ISBN 3-9808416-1-8. 
• Raddatz, Johannes (2007) (in German). Witzschdorf: Böttger Bildverlag ISBN 978-3-937496-06-1 (Vol 1)  ISBN 3-937496-06-8 (Vol 2) 
• Preuß, Erich; Preuß, Reiner (1991) (in German). Berlin: transpress Verlagsgesellschaft. ISBN 3-344-70700-0. 

External links

• Web site on the Dresden-Bodenbach railway
• Děčín–Bad Schandau at www.zelpage.cz