Kinzigtalbahn (Hessen) Route length: 80.6 (formerly 87.6) km Track width: 1435 mm (standard gauge) Line class: D4 Power grid: 15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ Top speed: 200 km / h Train control: PZB, LZB (Hanau-Hailer-Meerholz), ZUB 262 (Haitz-Höchst-Flieden) Double track: continuous, Wolfgang - Hailer-Meerholz: three-track (two lines) The Fulda - Hanau railway line is a continuous double-track, partially three-track and electrified main line in Hesse. It leads from Fulda through the ridge and along the Kinzig to Hanau, which is why it is also known as the Kinzigtalbahn. It was built as part of the Bebra-Hanauer-Bahn or Kurhessische Staatsbahn, which merged with the Frankfurt-Bebraer Eisenbahn after the Prussian annexation of Kurhessen. Expanded in places to a high-speed line, it is now part of the important main line between Frankfurt am Main and northern and eastern Germany. history: The Kinzig Valley Railway and the German division → Main article: Frankfurt-Bebra-Bahn When the traffic flows in the West German railway network were reorganized as a result of the division of Germany, traditional traffic on the Kinzig Valley Railway from Frankfurt towards Leipzig and Berlin was largely discontinued. During the Second World War, the strategically important route was the target of Allied air raids. B. on December 4, 1944 near Schlüchtern and Gelnhausen. [3] After the Second World War, traffic in the direction of Hamburg shifted from the Main-Weser Railway to the Kinzig Valley Railway. The line was electrified until 1961. In addition to around 3,000 catenary masts and 250 kilometers of catenary, a traction current line with several hundred high-voltage masts was also built to connect the Aschaffenburg power station with the new Flieden substation. In addition to several bridges that were newly built to create the necessary clearance, the porous vault of the thistle lawn tunnel had to be renovated. On September 30, 1961, the electrified line between Hanau and Fulda was officially opened as the first electrified section of the north-south line. In September 1961, the 4000th electrified kilometer in the Deutsche Bundesbahn network had been celebrated near Wächtersbach. In the course of the discussion about connecting Fulda to the new Hanover – Würzburg line, various options were considered in the first half of the 1970s to connect the new line south of Fulda to the Kinzig Valley Railway. The two-track connecting lines should be accessible both from Kassel in the direction of Frankfurt and from Fulda in the direction of Würzburg (in each case also in the opposite direction). In the construction phase of the new line, the integration of the Kinzigtalbahn in the Fulda junction was changed. Since then, both lines have left the junction in a southerly direction before the new line towards Würzburg crosses the Kinzig Valley Railway towards Hanau at the south junction. In addition, the central crossing structure, which connected the eastern track of the Kinzig Valley Railway with the main platform of the Fulda train station, was rebuilt. The scheduled use of double-decker cars on the route began on February 2, 1995, half of which was financed by Deutsche Bahn and half by the State of Hesse (from funds from the Municipal Transport Financing Act). Extension of the line from the 1980s Due to the high utilization of the mostly double-track line with long-distance, local and freight traffic, the establishment of a continuous high-speed line with speeds of over 160 km / h between Hanau and Fulda is planned in the long term, on which the high-speed long-distance trains less of the rest of the traffic and the tight curve radii in the Kinzigtal will be slowed down. The expansion of the line was already part of the expansion program presented in 1970 for the network of the German Federal Railroad. In the 1973 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan, the Flieden – Frankfurt am Main section was listed as one of eight planned expansion lines for the railways. The line was no longer included in the coordinated investment program for federal transport routes up to 1985 presented in 1976. The investment funds available were to be concentrated on the six expansion routes that were started at this point in time and the two new routes that were started. The expansion project was also not included in the 1980 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. As early as the mid-1980s, the line was considered to be congested and the operational quality in sections was very unsatisfactory. The expansion project was again included in the 1985 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. In mid-1984, the Federal Railway Directorate in Frankfurt am Main began investigations into updating the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. An iterative procedure should be used to identify sections of the route that should allow the greatest possible shortening of travel times by means of small expansion steps and new superstructure options. An expansion speed of 200 km / h was aimed for. For the individual sections of the Kinzig Valley Railway, the investigation showed very different expenditures due to changeable topographies and settlement structures. A package of measures totaling DM 460 million (price as of 1984) was derived from this. On the 103-kilometer route, based on the 1985 Intercity timetable, six to nine minutes of travel time improvements should be achieved, depending on the train parameters, compared to the 54-minute journey at that time. The line performance should be increased by around fifty trains per day and direction. A joint investigation of the Kinzigtal and Riedbahn on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport showed a benefit-cost factor of 15. With a total investment of 960 million DM (at the price of 1983 an annual contribution to the economic results of the DB of 256 million DM expected per year. The section between Fulda and Frankfurt incurred investment costs of 460 million DM. These results led to the inclusion of the Kinzigtalbahn in the urgent requirement of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 1985. The measure was to be implemented as quickly as possible and to a large extent completed in 1991 for the start of ICE traffic. Immediately after the decision of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan in 1985, the Federal Railroad began planning the expansion project. As part of the preliminary planning completed in 1986, it was planned to create three high-speed sections at 200 km / h with a total length of 55 kilometers: between Hanau-Wolfgang and Gelnhausen-Höchst, north of Wächtersbach and between the Flieden and Fulda area. Between the southern and the middle high-speed section, the route should be able to be driven at 170 km / h. The lowest speed in the target state of 110 km / h should be achieved in Hanau-Wolfgang and Schlüchtern. For the project, major line improvements were planned in Kerzell, Neuhof, Bad Soden-Salmünster and Wirtheim, and smaller dislocations in Wächtersbach and Gelnhausen. Five passing tracks were to be rebuilt and five more were to be extended. In addition, six new signal boxes and four new platform edges were to be built. Five signal boxes and a total of 41 bridges were to be built and the entire route was to be equipped with automatic line control. An examination by the headquarters of the Deutsche Bundesbahn showed that the specified cost framework of 460 million DM would be exceeded by 72 million DM. The expansion targets were therefore reduced. By reducing the expansion target in the section between Bad Soden-Salmünster and Haitz-Höchst from 200 or 170 km / h to 160 or 150 km / h, 65 million DM should be saved with a loss of driving time of 0.7 minutes. In addition, a passing track south of Gelnhausen and a transfer point with a total cost of around DM 5 million should be dispensed with. In 1990 it was planned to invest 610 million D-Marks within six years, 150 million DM of which from crossing partners to remove level crossings. Half of the DB investment costs of 460 million DM were intended to increase capacity and increase performance. Only for the third track traffic In 1993, a total of around 300 trains ran daily on the section between Gelnhausen and Hanau. Around 2006, around 175 trains per day ran in each direction in the section between Flieden and Fulda. 23 percent of this was accounted for by long-distance passenger transport, 18 percent by local passenger transport and 59 percent by freight transport. In passenger traffic, up to 9 trains per hour and direction ran at peak load (5 long-distance, 4 local trains). In 2015, too, 250 to 300 trains traveled the route every day. The line was declared a congested railway line on September 30, 2008. Since 2011, freight trains have been relocated to other routes if possible. From December 2019, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., no additional passenger train paths beyond the line concept of the 2018 network timetable will be accepted. Two relief infrastructure measures are to be implemented in 2020 and 2021, which are only intended to improve the quality of operations. The transport demand on the route is expected to increase by 25 percent in long-distance transport by 2025 and by 53 percent in freight transport (as of 2017). Infrastructure A 16-kilometer section between Hanau and Gelnhausen (route kilometers 24.8–40.3) is equipped with line train control, has three tracks and can be driven at speeds of up to 200 km / h. In the rest of the area, the line is double-track and can be driven at speeds of up to 160 km / h. The route between Wirtheim and Flieden is also equipped with ZUB 262, as there are bends in the area of Wirtheim, Wächtersbach and between Bad Soden-Salmünster and Flieden, some of which only travel at a maximum of 130 km / h (between Bad Soden-Salmünster and Schlüchtern can even only be driven at 110 km / h). With the introduction of the ICE T on line 50, travel times should be reduced. Arc-fast driving (tilting technology) is currently not being used as planned after technical problems (as of June 2018). Long-distance transport Today the route is part of the ICE lines from northern and central Germany to southwest Germany via Frankfurt. The ICE traffic on the course book route 615 is mainly driven with ICE 1 and ICE T, the IC traffic with the usual trains from a class 101 (sometimes also class 120), various IC cars and a control car. Local transport The RE50 regional express from Fulda (during peak hours from Bebra) and the RB51 regional trains from Wächtersbach to Frankfurt are also important on the route. Most Regionalbahn and Regional Express trains consist of a class 114 with 5 double-decker cars and a double-decker control car. Repeater trains with a class 114 and 3 double-decker cars as well as a double-decker control car also run several times a day. In commuter traffic, three tractions consisting of BR 114 + 2-3 double-deck cars + 1 double-deck control car + 5 double-deck cars + 114 series are used. Class 146 locomotives have also been on the line since 2021. Deutsche Bahn uses them to test locomotives that can accelerate faster and their effect on punctuality, as the route is very prone to delays. From December 2021, nine Vectron locomotives are to be rented from MRCE. Freight transport Along with the Main-Weser Railway, it is one of the most important freight routes in central Germany in a north-south direction. There is a dense freight train traffic from almost all of the major German freight centers and neighboring countries. Transport services from private railway companies can also be seen frequently. Around 60 freight trains per day and direction run between Hanau and Flieden, around 110 between Flieden and Fulda (as of 2015). The majority of freight traffic runs separately from passenger traffic between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. due to traffic jams. I would be very happy if this route could be developed for the Train Simulator 20xx. With best regards BR430
Ya I know but for me it just takes a decent amount of time to read that 9-15 paragraphs of writing.amazing suggestion though
I have preposed this route in the past. It would be a great line to have in TS and I don´t think anyone is going to attempt it as freeware (a little too much work and new assets for a lone builder). So it would to be great to have it done be DTG including both lines from Hanau to Frankfurt via Frankfurt Ost and Offenbach. Maybe even the S-Bahn Underground Line from Offenbach Ost to Frankfurt Main lower level. It would be great for multiple part scenarios with Frankfurt High-Speed and Frankfurt-Koblenz, Koblenz-Köln.
That would be a beautiful track the main service track across the lot of train station between Frankfurt, Hanau, Fulda, Bebra, Rotenburg, Kassel. More exciting in compare to a highspeed track. Because you can use it for more separate train services. in the other direction the railway station Wiesbaden is missed, never saw in any train simulator, not in the old and not in the new ones. They have a beautiful old station similar to Frankfurt from the architecture style.
