Plauen–Cheb line
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Plauen–Cheb line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line number | 6270 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route number | DB 544 ČD 147 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 73.938 kilometres (45.943 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Plauen–Cheb Line is a mainline railway in
History
Planning and construction
The origins of the present mainline between Plauen–Cheb stem from the
To overcome the height difference between the Saxon-Bavarian Railway and the floor of the White Elster valley a considerable amount of earth had to be moved. In Plauen a large arched viaduct was constructed over the Syra, and on 1 November 1874, the twin-tracked section was opened.
Operation
The section from Plauen–Eger developed into the most important route from central Germany and Thuringia to Bohemia.
The express trains from Dresden to Munich used the tracks as it was shorter than the route through Hof. After the First World War when Czechoslovakia was formed, the whole line remained in the control of the Royal Saxon State Railways and the subsequent Deutsche Reichsbahn.
During World War II
After the Anschluss or annexation of Sudetenland in Autumn 1938 the Vojtanov -Františkovy Lázně section became double track.
At the end of the Second World War, the line was the target of heavy American bombing. On 8 April 1945, the station at Cheb was severely bombed so that rail traffic was no longer possible. Photographs from May 1945 show the impact of the bomb explosions and the severely damaged locomotives. On 12 April 1945 the viaduct across Ohře in Cheb was damaged. Till the end of the war the Plauen Oberer Bahnhof station was attacked and almost totally destroyed.
Post War
At the end of the war on 9 July 1945, the section in the Czech Republic passed over to the
Cross border goods traffic resumed in 1957, and passenger trains in the Czech section between Plesná and Cheb. From the start of the 1960s crossborder passenger trains resumed, then an express DR Class VT 18.16 Karlex from Berlin to Karlovy Vary. The goods traffic regained its importance, and the ČSD build a new border station at Vojtanov.
From the beginning of the 1980s the Czech section was electrified to the normal southern standard of 25 kV 50 Hz. The tracks between Vojtanov and Cheb went live 17 October 1983. The Deutsche Reichsbahn began to double the tracks in the 1970s, and the section Pirk–Adorf and Raun–Bad Brambach were completed by the end of the 1980s. Though the line is principally used by Regional Express trains there is still a need for some goods traffic. Since 1997
Future developments
During the 1990s, restoring the second track through Bad Bambrach was discussed and in the long term this may happen. Similarly, it is possible that the line may be electrified- this was tied to the Leipzig
Description of the route
From the Oberer Bahnhof (upper station) in Plauen, the route uses the tracks of the
From Pirk station, the section becomes doubled tracked, it passes through Oelsnitz/Vogtl. and on to Adorf/Vogtl. where it joins the tracks of the
Shortly after Bad Brambach station the tracks cross the Czech border again and reach the Czech station of Plesná, and again pass over to Germany on the south side of the
More important is the station at the famous spa town of Františkovy Lázně, from here there is an express train to Prague and on into Slovakia.
Shortly before the final station in Cheb, the line passes over the imposing Ohře viaduct, one of the largest bridges built by the Royal Saxon State Railways.
References
- This article is sourced from German Wikipedia
Further reading
- Preuß, Erich; Preuß, Rainer (1991). Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen. Berlin: transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.