| State: |
HesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
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{{BS-header|Bebra–Fulda}}
{{BS-daten>
BILDPFAD_KARTE= |
PIXEL_KARTE= |
TEXT_KARTE= |
DE-KBS= 610 |
DE-STRECKENNR= 3600 |
LÄNGE= 66 |
SPURWEITE= 1435 |
NETZKATEGORIE= |
STRECKENKLASSE= D4 |
STROMW= 15 kV 16.7 Hz |
NEIGUNG= |
RADIUS= |
V-MAX= 160 |
ZWEIGLEISIG= (durchgehend) |
BILDPFAD_FOTO= |
PIXEL_FOTO= |
TEXT_FOTO=
}} |
| State: |
HesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
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{{BS-header|Operating points and lines >
#efefef|#000000}}
{{BS-table}}
{{BS|STR |
|Line from Göttingen}}
{{BS-header|Bebra–Fulda}}
{{BS-daten>
| BILDPFAD_KARTE= |
PIXEL_KARTE= |
TEXT_KARTE= |
DE-KBS= 610 |
DE-STRECKENNR= 3600 |
LÄNGE= 66 |
SPURWEITE= 1435 |
NETZKATEGORIE= |
STRECKENKLASSE= D4 |
STROMW= 15 kV 16.7 Hz |
NEIGUNG= |
RADIUS= |
V-MAX= 160 |
ZWEIGLEISIG= (durchgehend) |
BILDPFAD_FOTO= |
PIXEL_FOTO= |
TEXT_FOTO=
}} |
| State: |
HesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
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{{BS-header|Operating points and lines >
#efefef|#000000}}
{{BS-table}}
{{BS|STR |
|Line from Göttingen}}
{{BS|ABZlg |
}
{{BS|ABZlf|||
Line to Gerstungen}}
{{BS|DST||Bebra marshalling yard}}
{{BS|BST|164.2|Bebra Lämmerberg|(junction)}}
{{BS|ABZrg|||
Berlin Curve from Gerstungen}}
{{BS|ABZrf||Bebra Ost|(junction) to Bebra marshalling yard hump}}
{{BS|BST|163.5|Blankenheim|(junction)}}
{{BS|KRZu|||From Bebra marshalling yard hump}}
{{BS|ABZlg|162.5|Blankenheim|(junction)}}
{{BS|WBRÜCKE|||Fulda}}
{{BS|ABZrg|162.1|Blankenheim|(junction)}}
{{BS|DST|160.1|
MecklarLudwigsau is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany. With an area of 112 km² it is Hesse’s biggest community by land area.-Location:...
}}
{{BS|BUE||LC|Reilos Nebenstraße}}
{{BS|HST|156.8|Ludwigsau-Friedlos}}
{{BS|BUE||LC|Friedlos Nebenstraße}}
{{BS|eABZrg|||Former Hersfeld District Railway}}
{{BS|BHF|153.2|
Bad HersfeldBad Hersfeld station is a through station in Bad Hersfeld in the German state of Hesse on the Bebra–Fulda railway. The first station was opened in 1866 and the current station building was completed in 1883. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station...
}}
{{BS|ABZrf|153.4||Knüllwald Railway to Niederaula}}
{{BS|WBRÜCKE|||Fulda}}
{{BS|SBRÜCKE|||
A 4}}
{{BS|BUE|149.0|LC|Unterhaun Hauptstraße}}
{{BS|DST|148.0|Oberhaun}}
{{BS|BUE|148.0|LC|Oberhaun Bahnhofstraße}}
{{BS|BHF|140.1|Haunetal Neukirchen}}
{{BS|BUE||LC|L 3471}}
{{BS|TUNNEL1|||Burghaun Tunnel (236 m)}}
{{BS|HST|131.2|
Burghaun (Kr. Hünfeld)Burghaun is a municipality in the district of Fulda in the state of Hesse in Germany.Burghaun itself is a small town with about 3,800 residents...
}}
{{BS|eABZrg|||Former line from Wenigentaft}}
{{BS|BUE||LC|Hünfeld Breitzbacher Weg}}
{{BS|BUE||LC|Hünfeld Haunstraße}}
{{BS|BHF|127.1|
HünfeldHünfeld is a town in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 16 km northeast of Fulda.-Notable people:* Wilm Hosenfeld *Johann Leonhard Pfaff , bishop of Fulda* Konrad Zuse -Transport:...
}}
{{BS|DST|120.3|Marbach (Kr. Fulda)}}
{{BS|eHST|117.2|Steinau (Kr. Fulda)}}
{{BS|eABZrg|||Former line from Wüstensachsen}}
{{BS|SBRÜCKE|||
A 7}}
{{BS|DST|115.2|Götzenhof}}
{{BS|ABZlg|||HSL from Kassel (with
flying junctionA flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "grade-separated junction"...
)}}
{{BS|BST|112.1|Fulda SFS Nord|(junction)}}
{{BS|ABZlg|||Vogelsberg Railway from Alsfeld}}
{{BS|BHF|110.6|
Fulda}}
{{BS|DST|108.2|Fulda freight yard}}
{{BS|ABZlf|||Rhön Railway to Gersfeld}}
{{BS|ABZrf|||High-speed railway to Würzburg}}
{{BS|STR|||
Kinzig Valley Railway to HanauThe Frankfurt–Bebra Railway runs from Bebra to Frankfurt am Main via Fulda, Gelnhausen, Hanau and Offenbach am Main in south central Germany. The southern section between Fulda and Frankfurt is known as the Kinzig Valley Railway due to the route it follows through the Kinzig Valley.This important...
}}
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The
Bebra-Fulda railway is a continuously double track and electrified main line.
Its construction commenced as part of the Bebra–Hanau Railway or Kurhessen State Railway ({{lang-de|Kurhessischen Staatsbahn}}). After the
PrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n annexation of the Electorate of
Hesse-KasselThe Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
(
Kurhessen) as a result of the
Austro-Prussian WarThe Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
of 1866, it was completed to
FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
as the Frankfurt-Bebra Railway.
During the division of Germany, it was part of the North–South railway, the busiest and most important connection of the former
Deutsche BundesbahnThe Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
between north and south Germany.
History
{{main|Frankfurt–Bebra railway}}
The construction of the track began in
Bebra stationBebra station is a railway station on the German passenger and freight rail network in the northern Hesse town of Bebra. It is a railway junction as well as an intercity stop on the Dortmund–Berlin–Stralsund route. The station was opened in 1846 and quickly became a major transport hub...
on Hesse-Kassel’s
line to Gerstungen. On 22 January 1866, the first section was completed to
Bad HersfeldThe festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....
. The opening of the second section via
HünfeldHünfeld is a town in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 16 km northeast of Fulda.-Notable people:* Wilm Hosenfeld *Johann Leonhard Pfaff , bishop of Fulda* Konrad Zuse -Transport:...
to Fulda station followed later that year on 1 October 1866.
Route
At first the line follows the valley of the Fulda from
BebraBebra is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:Bebra lies some 45 km south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the Fuldaknie...
. In Bad Hersfeld, the line swings into the valley of the Haun. This alignment was chosen in order to run through Kurhessen territory, since at the time of construction of the line, part of the valley of the Fulda belonged to the
Grand Duchy of HesseThe Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
. As a result the line has to be climb the ridge between the two river valleys on its way to Fulda.
Crossings
For an important national line, it has an unusual density of
level crossingA level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
s with a total of eight crossings. North of Bad Hersfeld, there are two crossings (Reilos and Friedlos). Both have been converted to automatic systems (
Einheits-Bahnübergangstechnik, EBÜT) systems. The other crossings south of Bad Hersfeld are all still manned.
- Reilos (EBÜT system)
- Friedlos, Mülldeponie (EBÜT system)
- a barrier between Bad Hersfeld and Unterhaun (requiring a call)
- Unterhaun
- Oberhaun station (electric full barriers)
- L3471/B27 at Haunetal Wehrda
- Hünfeld Breitzbacher Weg and Haunstraße (both mechanical and bound by the interlocking)
Operations
Until the Second World War, the line was used mainly for Frankfurt–Leipzig traffic. This route lost its significance after the division of German. Only the transit trains from West Germany to West Berlin and the inter-zonal trains between West and East Germany ran over long distances on this route. Since a change of locomotives was required at Bebra, the Berlin curve near Bebra station, which avoided the station and a reversal there, was shut down. There was considerable traffic between Frankfurt and
Hanoveris the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:The first station on the current site, a temporary building serving the line to Lehrte, was erected in 1843...
and the connection between
BavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in the south and the
Fulda–Main railway became more and more important. Bebra–Fulda became a part of the North–South railway of
Deutsche BundesbahnThe Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
. In 1963, the line was electrified.
The fall of the Inner German border in 1989 and the opening of the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway in 1991 changed the situation again. The opening of the border meant that
IntercityIntercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...
trains again ran on the Fulda–Bebra route, while the opening of the high-speed line meant that almost all long-distance services between Hanover and Frankfurt am Main and
Würzburgis the central station for the city of Würzburg in the German state of Bavaria.Regional and long-distance trains call at the station; it is the southern end of the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line that carries InterCityExpress traffic...
were abruptly lost. Since the 2007 timetable, the Bebra-Fulda railway has been served hourly by an Intercity-Express line on the
Dresdenis one of two main inter-city transit hubs in the German city of Dresden. Designed by Ernst Giese and Paul Weidner, it was built between 1892 and 1897 at the southern border of the inner city and was important in the growth and development of the city....
–Leipzig–
EisenachEisenach Station is the main station of the city of Eisenach in the German state of Thuringia. It is a transportation hub, located on the Thuringian Railway Halle–Bebra and at the Werra Railway .Eisenach station is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station.-Facilities :Facilities...
–
Erfurtis the central railway station of Erfurt in Germany. It is an important junctions of the German railways and is served by numerous local and long-distance rail services. Immediately north of the station, is Erfurt's city center. It had approximately 12.5 million passengers in 2006, that is an...
–Frankfurt route (stopping every two hours in
Bad HersfeldBad Hersfeld station is a through station in Bad Hersfeld in the German state of Hesse on the Bebra–Fulda railway. The first station was opened in 1866 and the current station building was completed in 1883. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station...
). There are some additional Intercity services on the line during the day. But the line is mainly operated by freight trains. There are also night train services.
Local services have been operated since 10 December 2006 by
Cantus VerkehrsgesellschaftCantus Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH , based in Kassel is a joint subsidiary of Hessische Landesbahn and Hamburger Hochbahn . The word cantus...
. The two lines, Fulda–Kassel and Fulda–Göttingen, each run every two-hours, operating hourly on the common route between Fulda and Bebra. Two pairs of Regional-Express services are operated by
DB RegioDB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
in the peak hours between Frankfurt and Bebra and return.
In freight transport, the line is still part of the north-south axis and there is still heavy traffic.