51-638: The Elsenz Valley Railway ( Elsenztalbahn ) or Neckargemünd–Bad Friedrichshall railway is an electrified, partly double-tracked main line in the German state of Baden-Württemberg , running from Heidelberg via Sinsheim to Bad Friedrichshall , that, for part of its course, follows the Elsenz river that gives it its name. The crossing stations on the single-tracked sections were controlled by mechanical signal boxes until 2008, but are now controlled by electronic interlockings . The section from Heidelberg to Meckesheim
102-457: A double track and often contain multiple parallel tracks. Main line tracks are typically operated at higher speeds than branch lines and are generally built and maintained to a higher standard than yards and branch lines. Main lines may also be operated under shared access by a number of railway companies, with sidings and branches operated by private companies or single railway companies. Railway points (UK) or switches (US) are usually set in
153-471: A spa town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg . It is located at kilometre 27.9 on the Elsenz Valley Railway ( Elsenztalbahn ) or Neckargemünd–Bad Friedrichshall railway and is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 5 station . Bad Rappenau station is located in centre of the spa town. The otherwise single track Elsenz Valley Railway has three tracks in the station area. The address of
204-712: A combined RB74/S5 service was established, which ran from Bad Rappenau to Heidelberg . In the autumn of 2013, the Regional-Express service, which normally runs on the Neckar Valley Railway, was diverted over the Elsenz Valley Railway due to construction work. Thus, at this time one RE service ran each direction every hour, although the additional trains could not stop in Meckesheim because of lack of line capacity. The Bad Rappenau – Bad Friedrichshall section
255-546: A five-day period at the Plandampf -Veranstaltung ("scheduled steam event"), Über’n Buckel ("over the hump"). Since December 2009, S5 services of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn have run hourly between Neckargemünd and Steinsfurt in normal times and every half hour in the peak to Sinsheim. Some trains continue as RB44 services to/from Mainz. The line S51 service, which runs from Meckesheim to Aglasterhausen , also run hourly on
306-539: A half-hourly service. The Regionalbahn services took about three minutes longer to cross the Neckargemünd ;– Sinsheim section than today's S-Bahn service and the Sinsheim ;– Bad Friedrichshall section took four to six minutes longer. The last trains reached Sinsheim already shortly after 10 pm instead of about 1 am, while the first trains ran at a similar time. The Regionalbahn services continued to run on
357-546: A line via Pforzheim. A railway committee was founded in Mosbach for the construction of an Odenwald Railway on 24 May 1853 and another one was founded in Heidelberg in 1856 . As part of this process, it was determined on 27 April 1860 that the section from Heidelberg via Meckesheim to Mosbach would be built at government expense. After preparatory work that had been in progress since 1858, construction subsequently commenced. The line
408-520: A result of the construction of the Meckesheim bypass. The level crossing over Horrenberger Straße in Zuzenhausen (guard post 3a) receives a locomotive-monitored flashing light system on 6 June 1969. Sometime before 1976, the level crossing at km 18.2 (guard post 21a, Hartmann Company) in Mauer was closed. The guard post 17a level crossing near Bammental station closed in 1978. Two years after the last sugar beet
459-519: A result of the division of the S-Bahn network into various lots for the re-tendering of operations, S 5 services no longer continue to Kaiserslautern as line S 2 on Sundays and public holidays. In the long term, the S ;5 service will run through as the S 6 service to Mainz. However, this requires an increase in line capacity between Heidelberg and Mannheim, which is currently not funded. Due to
510-841: A small flower shop, a Schmitt&Hahn bookshop, a customer centre of the AOK health insurance company and a bakery. Bad Rappenau is in the area where fares are set by the Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr GmbH (HNV) transport association. Passengers can also use transitional fares set by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar (VRN). Bad Rappenau is located on the Elsenz Valley Railway , running from Bad Friedrichshall via Sinsheim to Heidelberg . RE 10b Regional-Express services coming from Mannheim Hauptbahnhof and S42 Stadtbahn services coming from Bad Friedrichshall normally cross here. The railway line
561-660: Is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines , yards , sidings , and spurs are connected. It generally refers to a route between towns, as opposed to a route providing suburban or metro services. It may also be called a trunk line, for example the Grand Trunk Railway in Canada, or the Trunk Line in Norway. For capacity reasons, main lines in many countries have at least
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#1732851976591612-543: The SWEG with class NE 81 diesel multiple units. At the timetable change in June 1997, services running later at night were introduced and the last train from Heidelberg to Sinsheim then ran around 22:12. From 28 September 1997, Regional-Express services were operated with class 611 diesel multiple units, which shortened travel times as a result of their tilting technology. Due to technical faults, however, this use did not last long. After
663-628: The "unspeakable" interchange situation in Grombach. The municipality did not want to contribute to the operating costs without these timetable improvements; it was also concerned that no passenger survey had been taken place one and a half years after the start of operations. The municipality of Bad Rappenau would have had to pay €190,000 for operations in 2015. Since December 2016, the hourly S 5 services have stopped in Heidelberg-Schlierbach/Ziegelhausen and Heidelberg Orthopädie. As
714-553: The Baden Ministry of 4 September 1930, the municipality was renamed from Rappenau (Bezirksamt Sinsheim) to Bad Rappenau with effect from 1 October 1930—about 15 years after the renaming of the station. As part of the expansion of Heilbronn Stadtbahn northern branch , the Bad Rappenau– Bad Friedrichshall section was closed for upgrading between 7 January 2014 and 1 May 2015. At the same time, Bad Rappenau station
765-660: The Heidelberg – Meckesheim section on weekdays. The superimposition of lines S5 and S51 services results in a half-hourly service on the Heidelberg ;– Meckesheim section. In the peak hour both S-Bahn services on the Meckesheim ;– Aglasterhausen and the Heidelberg – Sinsheim sections operate every half-hour, but are worked as portions on the Heidelberg – Meckesheim section, so they still only run every half-hour on that section. The Regional-Express 2 service from Mannheim to Heilbronn also run every two hours over
816-532: The Heidelberg–Steinsfurt section of the line and the operation of Heilbronn Stadtbahn on the section between Sinsheim and Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld. At the end of the 1840s, the Kingdom of Württemberg wanted to connect its railway lines with those of Grand Duchy of Baden , from Heilbronn via Sinsheim either to Wiesloch or Heidelberg. Baden did not agree to support this proposal, however, as it only wanted
867-561: The Heidelberg–Stuttgart and the Cologne–Darmstadt–Heidelberg–Stuttgart routes, and the trains of the line to Eppingen between Sinsheim and Steinsfurt. The last steam train ran from Mannheim on 24 December 1972 and steam trains stopped running on the line before the timetable change at the end of May 1973. From the summer of 1973 to 1975, there were through coaches from Paris to Heilbronn, which formed part of
918-531: The Karlsruhe operation centre. The monitoring of the two remote-controlled level crossings in Mauer and south of Reilsheim was transferred to the electronic interlocking on 3 February 2009. Construction of the Meckesheim substation to the north of Meckesheim on the Mannheim–Neckarelz traction power line, from which the newly electrified lines are supplied, began on 5 November 2008. The electrification began in
969-557: The L530 was rebuilt with two tracks. At the same time, the new halts of Bad Rappenau Kurpark and Bad Wimpfen im Tal were created. Around 1893, local train services were extended from Heidelberg to Neckargemünd to Meckesheim, which ran between Neckargemünd and Meckesheim about once an hour a train. These stopped, in addition to the places served by the other trains, at the halts of Heidelberg Peterskirche, Jägerhaus-Wolfsbrunnen, Kümmerlbacher Hof, Waldhilsbach and Reilsheim that were established at
1020-465: The Neckar bridge between Bad Wimpfen and Jagstfeld was severely damaged by bombs and as a result the line from the 35.52 kilometre point was abandoned in 1952. The halt of Bad Wimpfen Neckarbrücke was built as a workaround near a ferry to the other side of the Neckar, not far from Jagstfeld station, on 5 October 1947. In November 1952, operations resumed over a new bridge. The level crossing at km 17.050, to
1071-644: The Rappenau salt works ( Saline Rappenau ) was planned. A petition was presented against this in 1862 by the town of Sinsheim and 25 other municipalities, which instead sought a line from Meckesheim via Sinsheim to Rappenau. The latter followed by an extension to Jagstfeld was approved on 19 January 1866. The opening trip on the section from Meckesheim to Bad Rappenau took place on 18 June 1868 with regular services commencing on 25 June. There were initially two viaducts on this section, three bridges, 14 level crossing keepers houses and 36 level crossings. The connecting line to
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#17328519765911122-513: The Stebbach part of Eppingen station) and Heilbronn-Böckingen ( Franconia Railway ). Until the reconstruction of the Neckar bridge in Neckargemünd in 1946, trains from Mannheim to Würzburg also took a corresponding route. From July 1945, "milk trains" ran from Mannheim to Obrigheim, Bad Rappenau and Eppingen; from August, express, semi-fast and general freight could also be carried on these trains. In
1173-504: The autumn of 2009. The first electric train ran on 6 November 2009. Before its conversion for the S-Bahn, platform track 3 in Steinsfurt station, including the single track Elsenz bridge, was demolished. A little later, the halt of Sinsheim Museum/Arena was rebuilt as a double-track station to allow trains to cross, with work completed on 12 June 2011, and reclassified as a part of Steinsfurt station for administrative purposes. A new track 3
1224-523: The clock-face timetable, premature turns have no longer been necessary. The Ministry of Transport considers the installation of a second track of the Meckesheim–Steinsfurt section to be necessary in the medium term. However, there are no plans for this, although implementation would take decades. Main line (railway) The main line , or mainline in American English , of a railway
1275-467: The development of the northern line of the Heilbronn Stadtbahn, the whole Bad Rappenau – Bad Friedrichshall section was blockaded in the period from 7 January 2014 to 30 March 2015. On weekends and holidays, no trains served Steinsfurt and Bad Rappenau. During this construction work, Bad Wimpfen station was converted into a double-track station where trains could cross and the bridge over
1326-619: The direction of the main line by default. Failure to do so has been a factor in several fatal railway accidents , for example the Buttevant Rail Disaster in Ireland, and the Graniteville train crash in the US. This rail-transport related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bad Rappenau station Bad Rappenau station is the station of Bad Rappenau ,
1377-429: The even hours to Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld and on the odd hours to Eppingen, so every two hours on each branch. The Regionalbahn connection towards Mannheim , Speyer and Bruchsal was cancelled in 2003 with the introduction of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn . Shortly before the modernisation of the line, more than 100 regular services were operated with historic rolling stock, including five steam locomotives, over
1428-492: The following sections: Parallel with the line upgrade, the Elsenztal electronic interlocking was put into operation from 24 October until 1 November 2008. This now remotely controls the entire line, along with the branches to Aglasterhausen and Eppingen, via the signalling computers at Waibstadt, Sinsheim, Grombach and Bad Rappenau and is operated by the Meckesheim 1 (up to and including Sinsheim Hbf) and Meckesheim 2 dispatchers at
1479-527: The mid-1950s, the steam trains were superseded by railcars of the VT 95 and VT 98 classes (similar to Uerdingen railbuses ). The line was served by, along with eight pairs of trains running over the whole line and another pair reversing in Neckargemünd, some of which did not stop in Waldhilsbach and Reilsheim, six train pairs to Obrigheim, two train pairs from Heilbronn to Bad Rappenau and one semi-fast train pair on both
1530-508: The neighbouring Bad Wimpfen station , Bad Rappenau station originally had no Bad prefix and was called Rappenau station. The closing of the Bad Rappenau–Jagstfeld ( Bad Friedrichshall ) gap on 5 August 1869 completed the Elsenz Valley Railway. After the municipality of Rappenau was designated as a spa town in 1903 (entitling it to the prefix of "Bad"), Rappenau station was officially renamed Bad Rappenau in 1914. In an order of
1581-750: The peak hour and at the weekend as the RB ;10 service to/from Stuttgart. Until 10 December 2017, some Regional-Expresses services consisted of a class 111 locomotive and five Silberling coaches. Furthermore, the S 42 service of the Heilbronn Stadtbahn runs on the line with two-system Stadtbahn sets of the ET 2010 class. This leaves every two hours from the Heilbronn inner city via Neckarsulm, Bad Friedrichshall Hbf and Bad Rappenau to Sinsheim Hbf and, once an hour, from Heilbronn to Bad Rappenau. A special service
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1632-515: The salt works had been put into operation in April. The second track from Heidelberg Karlstor to Meckesheim was opened in mid 1869, because with the lines to Bavaria and Württemberg significantly more trains would run on this section. It was opened to Jagstfeld on 5 August 1869. Between 1920 and 1930, the line was upgraded for higher axle loads. In the Second World War, on 2 February 1945,
1683-503: The same time. One of these trains continued from Heidelberg to Wiesloch-Walldorf station . After Bruchsal station , the local tunnels, the Enz viaduct in Bietigheim and all the Neckar bridges were destroyed during World War II, all trains operating from Mannheim to Stuttgart from April to August 1945, including up to 80 freight trains per day, ran via Meckesheim, Eppingen provisional station (now
1734-423: The semi-fast trains 1555 and 1756 on the Elsenz Valley Railway. At the end of 1988, a clock-face timetable was introduced on the line. After the electrification of the line, Regional-Express services were operated with Silberling coaches and diesel locomotives of class 218 and many Regionalbahn services were operated with class 628 diesel multiple units. Initially, individual local trains were operated by
1785-652: The short turnaround times, especially in Eppingen, the need to maintain connections in Eppingen and the single-track sections, where slight delays might force the relocation of train crossings to Meckesheim, causing greater delays, a punctual operation was possible only without external disturbances. The introduction of the northern line of the Heilbronn Stadtbahn and construction work for the S-Bahn network increased disturbances, which reduced punctuality and trains were often terminated in Steinsfurt or Neckargemünd. In order to reduce these effects, lengthened turning times were added to
1836-588: The station is Bahnhofstraße 5 . The Neckargemünd – Meckenheim section of the Neckargemünd– Sinsheim –Bad Friedrichshall line was opened on 23 October 1862 by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway ( Großherzoglich Badische Staatseisenbahnen ) as part of the Odenwald Railway from Heidelberg to Mosbach and Würzburg . The section from Meckenheim to Bad Rappenau followed on 25 June 1868. Unlike
1887-412: The timetable at Heidelberg Hbf. As a further attempt to reduce the delays since 2016, four trains are scheduled to leave Eppingen ten minutes later, so in those cases the train crossings are transferred to Hoffenheim; it was hoped that the departure in Eppingen would not be delayed by late AVG trains and thus on their return they would arrive on time to Eppingen. Since the introduction of this deviation from
1938-508: The timetable change in December 1999, the Regionalbahn services also ran on Sundays and public holidays every hour instead of every two hours. Before the establishment of the S-Bahn, the Regional-Express services were similar to the current operations. The Regionalbahn services from Heidelberg to Sinsheim ran hourly in 2008, in the afternoon five additional services ran towards Sinsheim producing
1989-462: The track, stopping in Meckesheim, Sinsheim, Bad Rappenau and Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld. Together with the RE ;3 service (RE 1 until 2014) through the Neckar valley , it forms an hourly clock-face service between the two end points. Both the S-Bahn and the Regional-Express services consist of class 425 electric multiple units. Until September 2016, individual RE 2 services continued during
2040-537: The transport infrastructure on the Elsenz Valley Railway and the Schwarzbach Valley Railway", included, in addition to the electrification, the reconstruction or conversion of all platforms and the modernisation of the stations from Neckargemünd to meet the standards of the Rhine Neckar S-Bahn, including, among other things, bringing platform heights to 76 centimetres. The upgrade was divided into
2091-416: The west of Mauer, (now the street of Im Bruchrain ) was closed in about 1959. The level crossing at km 16.0 (at that time guard post 19), south of the village of Bammental, received a protection system with flashing lights for the first time in 1964, whereupon the local crossing keeper's house was demolished. The level crossing at km 1.6 (guard post 1a), between Meckesheim and Zuzenhausen, was closed in 1965 as
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2142-558: Was abolished. The Neckargemünd–Meckesheim line was renewed in August 2003 and the Meckesheim–Neckargemünd line was renewed in August 2006. The line from Grombach to Bad Rappenau was closed from 3 to 30 August 2006. The Meckesheim–Sinsheim line was renewed from May to June and in August 2007. From March 2008, the track was modernised for the extension of the adjacent S-Bahn networks. A project entitled "Electrification and expansion of
2193-528: Was built there before the level crossing as a siding and terminal track without access to a platform. As a result of this layout, special football trains run directly from the Museum/Arena area to be shunted in the siding or run from the Sinsheim Museum/Arena station. In December 2012, a retaining wall collapsed at Bad Wimpfen, causing this section of the line to be closed for three months. As part of
2244-425: Was closed for construction from 7 January 2014 until 30 April 2015. At this time a rail replacement bus service ran between Bad Rappenau and Neckarsulm , which was extended to Sinsheim on weekends. During the construction period, the Regional-Express services ran over the Neckar Valley Railway. On 14 December 2014, the RB 74 service was replaced by the S 42 service of the Heilbronn Stadtbahn , although it
2295-428: Was extensively renovated between 7 January 2014 and 1 May 2015. At this time, replacement buses ran between Sinsheim, Bad Rappenau and Neckarsulm . Regionalbahn service RB 74 ran hourly between Sinsheim, Bad Rappenau, Bad Wimpfen and Bad Friedrichshall (some to/from Heilbronn) until the closure of the line in early January 2014. Since the reopening of the line on 1 May 2015, Bad Rappenau has been served by line S42 of
2346-423: Was initially built as a single track, but it was prepared for eventual doubling. The inaugural train trip took place on 22 October 1862 in very poor weather. On the following day operations by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways were recorded on the line. There was a derailment on the first day of operations on the Neckar bridge at Neckarelz due to a landslide as a result of heavy rain. A line from Waibstadt to
2397-622: Was loaded in Meckesheim; loading ended in Bammental (72 wagons) in 1979 and in Grombach (424 wagons; 11,047 tonnes) in 1980. The last beet was loaded in Babstadt (ca. 100 wagons) in 1984 and in Sinsheim (212 wagons), Steinsfurt (153 wagons) and Hoffenheim (99 wagons) in 1991. In 1980, the railway overpass over district road 4162 at Waldhilsbach was upgraded. On 1 August 1981, guard post 25 in Bad Rappenau
2448-582: Was opened on 23 October 1862 by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway as part of the Odenwald Railway and is one of the oldest railways in Germany . The section from Meckesheim to Bad Rappenau was opened by the Baden State Railway on 25 June 1868 and it was extended to Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld on 5 August 1869. The line has been electrified to allow the extension of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn on
2499-448: Was operated for the opening of the S-Bahn line on 13 December 2009 with a historic ET25 set. In the early years, diesel multiple units were used for some services due to a lack of rolling stock. Up to December 2014, the RB 74 Regionalbahn service ran from Sinsheim to Bad Friedrichshall (some continuing to Heilbronn) every hour. In January 2014, since the Regionalbahn service would have now only run between Sinsheim and Bad Rappenau,
2550-548: Was replaced by a rail replacement bus service until 1 May 2015 between Bad Rappenau and Neckarsulm and it was subsequently operated under a coordinated transition timetable, since the bridge in Bad Wimpfen had not yet been completed. Since the timetable change in December 2016, the AVG Stadtbahn services, which had previously ended in Grombach, have been extended as far as Sinsheim, after the municipality of Bad Rappenau criticised
2601-594: Was upgraded to make it accessible for the disabled and given a third platform track. The new Bad Rappenau Kurpark station, which is located next to the Bad Rappenau Kurpark (spa park), was also built for the Stadtbahn. Bad Rappenau station's entrance building is a neoclassical building from around the period of railway's construction in 1868. It now houses the Bahnhofsgalerie ("Station gallery"), which includes
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