Limburg-Staffel–Siershahn railway

The Limburg-Staffel–Siershahn railway is a railway line between Limburg-Staffel, Montabaur and Siershahn in the Westerwald. The line, which is also known as the Unterwesterwaldbahn (Lower Westerwald Railway), runs through the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

Siershahn–Limburg-Staffel railway
Overview
LocaleRhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Germany
Line number3071
Technical
Line length29.8 km (18.5 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed50 km/h (31.1 mph) (maximum)
Route number629
Route map
Holzbach Valley Railway from Altenkirchen
29.5
 Siershahn
Brexbach Valley Railway to Engers (heritage railway)
27.2
 Wirges
25.8
 Dernbach (Westerw)
A 3
(former route until July 2000)
HSL from Cologne
21.8
 Montabaur
(former / current station)
HSL to Limburg Süd
(former route until July 2000)
A 3
Westerwaldquer Railway to Wallmerod
17.2
 Goldhausen
14.9
 Girod
12.1
 Steinefrenz
(268 m)
10.5
 Dreikirchen
9.9
 Steinefrenz siding
5.9
 Niedererbach
RP/Hesse state border
1.4
 Elz Süd
Upper Westerwald Railway from Westerburg
A 3
Montabaur–Limburg Süd HSL
0.0
 Staffel
Upper Westerwald Railway to Limburg
Source: German railway atlas[1]

History

The Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE) planned the line and also received the concession to build it. It was opened to Staffel on 30 May 1884, by which time the Prussian state railways had taken over operations of the RhE. The Prussian government took control of the RhE on 1 January 1886.

The Lower Westerwald Railway connected to the Hadamar–Limburg line in Staffel. The Lower Westerwald Railway connected with the Brexbach Valley Railway (Brexbachtalbahn), which connected to the East Rhine Railway (Rechte Rheinstrecke) in Siershahn.

Operations
Old Montabaur station (2005)

While the Deutsche Bundesbahn ceased passenger services on the Holzbach Valley Railway on 1 June 1984, it continued to operate services on the Lower Westerwald Railway. Since 12 December 2004, services have been operated by Vectus Verkehrsgesellschaft every hour or every two hours using LINT diesel multiple units.

The modern Montabaur station was opened in 2002 to provide interchange with the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway.

Due to an accident at a level crossing near Girod on 30 September 2011, the line was severely damaged over a length of 7 km to Montabaur. During the period required for its repair, a steam-hauled freight train of the Hanau railway museum (Museumseisenbahn Hanau) railway ran over the Taunus to Steinefrenz station to supply the concrete sleepers. After the restoration of the line, services were resumed on 19 October 2011.[2][3][4]

Notes
  1. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  2. "Bahnstrecke bleibt gesperrt". Nassauische Neue Presse (in German). 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  3. "Schwellenzug mit Dampf" (in German). Museumseisenbahn Hanau. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  4. "Güterzüge werden über Altenkirchen umgeleitet". Rhein-Zeitung (in German). 13 October 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
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