| Mainz bypass | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Kostheim Bridge over the Main | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native name | Umgehungsbahn Mainz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line number | 3525 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Rhineland Palatinate and Hesse, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 15.1 km (9.4 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Mainz bypass railway (German : Umgehungsbahn Mainz) is a bypass around the Mainz Hauptbahnhof node primarily used for freight in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland Palatinate.
Even after Mainz Hauptbahnhof was moved to its present location in 1884, it soon became a bottleneck for traffic again. This was mainly due to the need to use the Mainz Tunnel, which only had two tracks.
In 1900, the Prussian-Hessian Railway Company (Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessischen Staatseisenbahnen or K.P.u.G.H.St.E.), supported by the governments of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Hesse, decided to solve this problem by building a rail bypass. While this required a complex route involving bridges, it avoided the need for freight traffic to run through Mainz Hauptbahnhof. The line entered operation on 2 May 1904.
The 15.1 km long line begins in Mainz-Mombach station. It crosses the Rhine on the Emperor Bridge, which was built for the line, reaching an area that is now in the city of Wiesbaden and crosses the Taunus Railway south of Wiesbaden Ost station. There are grade separated entrances and exits towards Wiesbaden and Koblenz.
The line runs in a wide arc around Mainz-Kastel. In Mainz-Kostheim it crosses the Taunus Railway again; at Kostheim junction it is possible to transfer to the line to Frankfurt.
Then it reaches the Kostheim Bridge over the Main, crosses the Rhine-Main Railway and runs in a wide arc into Mainz-Bischofsheim station. From there it is possible to continue via the Main Railway to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (and formerly to the now demolished Frankfurt main freight yard) and the Rhine-Main Railway to Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof.
The construction of the bypass allows the operation of trains from Frankfurt and Mainz-Bischofsheim freight yard over the Mainz–Ludwigshafen line towards Worms, without reversal in Mainz Hauptbahnhof. This route, however, is rarely used due to the need to run through Mainz Tunnel.
A single-track connecting curve from the former Igelstein junction to the East Rhine Railway has been under construction since early 2011 under the “seaport hinterland transport emergency program” (Sofortprogramms Seehafenhinterlandverkehr). [2] According to the tender, this involves a 1,200 m long single-track connection, including two ground frames. [3] The curve allows all freight trains through the district of Mainz-Kastel to run via the bypass, avoiding conflict with regional passenger services.
This Mainz bypass runs over a series of bridges. The historic bridges on the bypass were crossings over infrastructure and rivers. These structures on a large scale had a revivalist design, while numerous details were in the Art Nouveau style, such as the bridge railings. Part of this original design has been preserved, while other parts, especially the Kaiser Bridge, were destroyed or damaged during the Second World War and rebuilt after the war in highly simplified forms. Monuments that will be evaluated under the Hessian Heritage Act include:
The northern section of the line, north of Kostheim junction, was and is used almost exclusively for freight traffic.
Scheduled passenger trains occasionally run on this section of line, such as the Jan Kiepura, which runs between Amsterdam and Warsaw via Frankfurt, (with a through coach to Moscow). In addition, passenger trains are diverted over the section during unscheduled disruptions on other lines and as a result of construction projects.
South of Kostheim junction the line is used by scheduled trains S-Bahn line S 9 operated by the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund.
Mainz Hauptbahnhof is a railway station for the city of Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is used by about 60,000 travelers and visitors each day and is therefore by far the busiest station in Rhineland-Palatinate. The station was a trial area for a CCTV scheme using automated face recognition.
The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter train system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt. The network comprises nine S-Bahn lines, eight of which currently travel through the cornerstone of the system, a tunnel through central Frankfurt. The first section of this tunnel was opened on May 28, 1978. Further tunnel sections were opened in 1983 and 1990, before its completion in 1992. The system belongs to the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) and is operated by DB Regio, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn.
Mannheim–Frankfurt railway is a German standard gauge, electrified railway line and runs in southern Hesse and northern Baden-Württemberg between Frankfurt and Mannheim. It is also called the Riedbahn. The line runs through an area called the Hessische Ried, hence the name. The term Riedbahn was originally used for the Darmstadt–Worms railway and the two lines share the central section between Groß-Gerau and Biblis.
The Taunus Railway is a double-track electrified railway line, which connects Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, Germany. It is 41.2 km long and follows the course of the Main on its north side, running quite close to it in some places. Its first stage was opened in September 1839 and is thus the oldest railway line in the German state of Hesse and one of the oldest in Germany. Today it is used by Regional-Express trains between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and the trains of line S1 of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn between Frankfurt-Höchst and Wiesbaden. Between Frankfurt Hbf and Frankfurt-Höchst, they run on the line of the former Hessian Ludwig Railway.
The Main Railway 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.
The Main-Lahn railway, also called the Limburg railway, is a double-track, electrified main railway line in Germany. The 66.5-kilometer (41.3 mi) long line extends from Frankfurt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) to Eschhofen, a borough of Limburg an der Lahn.
The Ländches Railway (Ländchesbahn) is a single-track non-electrified branch railway line between Wiesbaden and Niedernhausen, in the German state of Hesse. The 19.6-kilometre (12.2 mi) long line was opened in 1879. It is now Deutsche Bahn route 627 and route 21 of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund.
The Main-Neckar Railway is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim. It was opened in 1846 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany.
The Rhine-Main Railway, is a railway line in southern Germany from Mainz via Darmstadt to Aschaffenburg. It was built by the Hessian Ludwig Railway and opened on 1 August 1858 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. Until 1862, when the railway bridge over the Rhine river constructed and assembled by MAN-Werk Gustavsburg was finished, a train ferry operated on the river.
Frankfurt am Main Stadion station is a junction railway station in Frankfurt, Germany.
Rüsselsheim station is a transit station in the town of Rüsselsheim in the German state of Hesse on the Main Railway from Mainz to Frankfurt am Main. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station. The station is served by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn and by regional trains. There is another station in Rüsselsheim, Rüsselsheim-Opelwerk station, which is served by S-Bahn trains only.
Mainz-Bischofsheim station is the station of the town of Bischofsheim in the German state of Hesse on the Main Railway from Mainz to Frankfurt am Main. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 4 station. The station is served by the S-Bahn and regional trains. The station was opened at its current location in 1904.
Mainz Römisches Theater station is a station in the city of Mainz, the capital of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate on the Main Railway from Mainz to Frankfurt am Main. It is the most important station in the city after Mainz Hauptbahnhof. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station. The station is served by S-Bahn and regional trains.
Niedernhausen station serves the municipality of Niedernhausen in the German state of Hesse. It is the most important station on the Main-Lahn Railway between the stations of Frankfurt-Höchst and Eschhofen in Limburg an der Lahn. It is the terminus of the Ländches Railway running from Niedernhausen to Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof and of line S2 of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn from Frankfurt.
Bad Soden (Taunus) station is the northern terminus of the Soden Railway in the German state of Hesse. It is also the northern terminus of line S3 of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn over the Limes Railway (Limesbahn).
The Aar Valley Railway is a 53.7 km long line between Wiesbaden, the capital of the German state of Hesse, and Diez in Rhineland-Palatinate. From 1985 to 2009, the southern end was operated as a heritage railway with historic trains. The Hessian part of the line is heritage-listed. Currently, two bridges are unusable and several sets of points are defective and need to be repaired. Its northern end is operated with draisines.
Wiesbaden Ost (east) station is situated on the Frankfurt–Wiesbaden line in the German state of Hesse. It was opened as part of the Taunus Railway, which was opened in 1839/40. The station was opened as part of the last stage of construction of the line to Wiesbaden and was opened on 19 May 1840.
Raunheim station is a railway station in the town of Raunheim in the German state of Hesse on the Main Railway from Mainz to Frankfurt am Main. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 5 station. The station is served by the S-Bahn. The station was opened in 1863.
Darmstadt Nord (north) station is a junction station in the city of Darmstadt in the German state of Hesse. The passenger station, which is served by trains of the Odenwald Railway and the Rhine-Main Railway (Rhine-Main-Bahn), has four platform tracks. Running parallel and north of the station are two additional tracks for freight traffic.
Flörsheim (Main) station is the station of Flörsheim am Main in the German state of Hesse. It lies on the Taunus Railway, which connects Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.
