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RB 40/41: Mittelhessen-Express | |
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Technical | |
Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) (maximum) |
The Mittelhessen-Express is a train service operated by Hessische Landesbahn in the German state of Hesse on the Main-Weser Railway and the Dill Railway, using Alstom Coradia Continental sets.
Services were operated by DB Regio Hessen, a wholly owned subsidiary of DB Regio, from the commencement of the 2007 timetable in December 2006 until December 2023 with Bombardier Talent 2 electric multiple units.
The Mittelhessen-Express runs on the Treysa – Gießen – Frankfurt ( RB 41 ) and Dillenburg – Giessen – Frankfurt ( RB 40 ) routes, although many services on the RB 41 have not run over the entire route since 13 December 2015. The RegionalBahn services on the Gießen – Fredberg – Hanau route ( RB 49 ) are also branded as Mittelhessen-Express. When Hessische Landesbahn took over operations in December 2023, the existing lines were supplemented with a new Frankfurt – Friedberg – Gießen (– Kirchhain) line ( RB 37 ) as an hourly addition to the RB40/RB41 that stops at all stations between Friedberg and Gießen. In a second operating stage from December 2026, the RB37 is planned to run hourly between Frankfurt and Gießen, while all trains running as coupled portions (RB 40 and RB 41) will run with limited stops between Frankfurt and Gießen. [1]
On the Gießen–Dillenburg and Gießen–Treysa sections, the Mittelhessen-Express serves all stations, with many trains ending in Marburg, Kirchhain or Stadtallendorf instead of Treysa, and some trains towards Dillenburg ending in Wetzlar or Herborn. Between Giessen and Frankfurt, trains that stop at a few stations alternate with those that have many intermediate stops. The trains running according to the original Mittelhessen concept only have intermediate stops at Butzbach, Bad Nauheim, Friedberg and Frankfurt West. The other trains have an extended stop in Giessen (to be overtaken by an IC service) and stop at all stations until Friedberg. There is also a stop in Bad Vilbel, which results from the fact that the Mittelhessen-Express follows an S6 service of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn from there and therefore has to make an operational stop anyway.
The Mittelhessen-Express usually runs every hour. Between Gießen and Dillenburg as well as Gießen and Marburg there is an hourly service except during low traffic times. It runs every hour between Marburg and Stadtallendorf from Monday to Friday, otherwise every two hours. The Stadtallendorf–Treysa section is hardly served at all on weekends, otherwise every hour in the morning and afternoon. The Mittelhessen-Express lines RB 40 and RB 41 run every hour between Gießen and Frankfurt. However, there is no hourly frequency because the travel times of successive trains vary greatly.
The train usually consists of two portions, which are separated in Gießen. The front part of the train continues to Treysa via Marburg, the rear part of the train continues to Dillenburg via Wetzlar. The splitting and joining of trains are discontinued during off-peak times. A three-section train also runs in the afternoon, with the middle part of the train separated in Stadtallendorf.
The best-case travel time from Frankfurt to Treysa is 1 hour and 47 minutes, and to Dillenburg 1 hour and 30 minutes. In Giessen, trains have a scheduled stop of 4 or 11 minutes. The rear part of the train then reverses and continues to Dillenburg. The front part of the train runs from Gießen to Marburg, Kirchhain or Treysa.
Since the takeover by Hessische Landesbahn in December 2023, 32 four and five-car Alstom Coradia Continental electric multiple units (class 1440) have been intended to operate on the route, although this has been delayed by problems with software. In the meantime, Bombardier Talent 2 sets and other borrowed rolling stock have been operated. [2]
The Main–Weser Railway is a railway line in central Germany that runs from Frankfurt am Main via Gießen to Kassel. it is named after the railway company that built the line and also operated it until 1880. It was opened between 1849 and 1852 and was one of the first railways in Germany.
The Erndtebrück–Bad Berleburg railway is a 20 km long branch line that branches off the Kreuztal–Cölbe railway from Erndtebrück to Bad Berleburg. In Bad Berleburg there used to be a connection to the now largely dismantled Bad Berleburg–Allendorf railway to Frankenberg. The single-track, non-electrified railway line is operated as a single block branch line.
Treysa station is a train station in Schwalmstadt, Hesse, on the Main–Weser Railway. It was formerly a railway junction, connecting to the Leinefelde–Treysa section of the Cannons Railway.
Gießen railway station is the main railway station in Gießen, Hesse, Germany. The station is a Category 2 station is used by 20,000 passengers daily. The station was opened on 25 August 1850 and is located on the Main-Weser Railway and Dill railway. The current station reception building was built between 1904 and 1911. The main original station building is a historic landmark and has been protected. Outside the station is a bus station and a taxi rank. Parking garages are located nearby.
The Sieg Railway (German: Siegstrecke is a 100-kilometre long, electrified German main line railway between Cologne-Deutz via Porz, Troisdorf, Siegburg, Hennef, Au, Betzdorf to Siegen with a through service to Cologne Hauptbahnhof. Although most of it is two-track, two five-kilometre sections are only single track. Both ends of the line are in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, but between Au and Niederschelden it runs through Rhineland-Palatinate. It is one of the oldest lines in Germany, opened between 1859 and 1862 by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company.
Dutenhofen station is a junction station in Dutenhofen, the eastmost borough of the city of Wetzlar in the German state of Hesse. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 6 station. It is much less important than Wetzlar station and is located in the north of the suburb of Dutenhofen, near the B 49. The station is located next to a level crossing over the road to Dutenhofener See. East of the station is a junction where the Dill line to Gießen separates from the freight line that bypasses Gießen, running to the junction at Bergwald on the Main-Weser Railway. Since 1962, signalling at the station has been controlled by a small relay interlocking, which is housed in the front of the entrance building.
Mücke (Hess) station is a Keilbahnhof and, along with Nieder Ohmen station, is one of two remaining stations in the municipality of Mücke, Hesse, Germany. It is located between the two Mücke districts of Flensungen and Merlau, 28.9 kilometres from Gießen on the Vogelsberg Railway (Vogelsbergbahn), which continues to Fulda. Previously, the Friedberg–Mücke railway branched off here via Laubach and Hungen to Friedberg.
Eschhofen station lies on the Lahn Valley Railway in the town of Limburg an der Lahn in the German state of Hesse. In addition, just east of the station, the Main-Lahn Railway (Main-Lahn-Bahn) branches off to Frankfurt. The station was opened in 1863. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 5 station.
Butzbach station is a station in the town of Butzbach in the German state of Hesse on the Main–Weser Railway. The station was formerly the starting point of the Butzbach–Lich railway leading to Lich and Grünberg.The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 4 station.
Herborn station is a railway station in the town of Herborn in the German state of Hesse on the Dill Railway. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station.
The Main-Sieg-Express is a Regional-Express service operated by the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Hesse from Siegen via Gießen to Frankfurt. It is operated by the Hessische Landesbahn.
Stadtallendorf station is a through station at the 82.1 km mark of the Main-Weser Railway in the town of Stadtallendorf in the German state of Hesse. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station. The platforms, underpass and the area around the station were modernised and redecorated in preparation for the Hessentag celebrations of 2010.
Niederwalgern station is a station on the Main-Weser Railway in the town of Niederwalgern in the German state of Hesse, south of Marburg. It is the only station of the town and the largest in the municipality of Weimar (Lahn). The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 5 station. The station is heritage-listed under the Hessian Heritage Act.
Kirchhain station is a through station at the 89.2 km mark on the Main-Weser Railway. It is located very centrally in the centre of the town of Kirchhain in the German state of Hesse. Formerly, the station was the starting point of the Ohm Valley Railway to Burg- und Nieder-Gemünden and the Wohra Valley Railway (Wohratalbahn) to Gemünden (Wohra). The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station.
Nidda station is a station on the Gießen–Gelnhausen railway in the town of Nidda in the German state of Hesse. It is also at the end of the Beienheim–Schotten railway from Friedberg station. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station.
Glauburg-Stockheim station is a station on the Gießen–Gelnhausen railway in the town of Glauburg in the German state of Hesse. It is also at the end of the Nidda Valley Railway from Bad Vilbel. The Oberwald Railway (Oberwaldbahn) to Lauterbach began here from 1 October 1888 until 1 June 1984. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 5 station.
Bad Vilbel station is located at the 183.6 kilometre mark of the Main-Weser Railway in the town of Bad Vilbel in the German state of Hesse. The Nidder Valley Railway branches from Bad Vilbel via Nidderau to Glauburg-Stockheim. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station.
The Lahn-Eifel-Bahn is a rail passenger service in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse that runs as the RB 23 from Limburg an der Lahn via Koblenz and Andernach to Mayen, as RE 25 from Gießen via Limburg to Koblenz and as RB 38 from Andernach via Mayen to Kaisersesch.
Leun/Braunfels is a heritage-listed station in the district of Lahnbahnhof in the town of Leun in the German state of Hesse. It is in the network of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) and is located on the Lahn Valley Railway (Lahntalbahn). Directly next to the entrance building was the Braunfels terminus of the Ernst Railway (Ernstbahn) to Philippstein of which only a few remains are visible. It operated from 1875 to 1962.
Albshausen is a station in the north of the district of Albshausen in the town of Solms in the German state of Hesse. The station is located on the Lahn Valley Railway (Lahntalbahn) and only a few metres from the Lahn river. Previously, the Solmsbach Valley Railway (Solmsbachtalbahn) branched off to Gravenwiesbach.