The
Vogtlandbahn is a private railway company in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, which runs diesel trains on regional lines in the states of
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
,
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
,
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...
,
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, and
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and as well as routes into the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Vogtlandbahn is wholly owned by the
ArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
subsidiary
RegentalbahnThe Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
.
The company's most prestigious train is the Vogtland-Express: a daily direct return service connecting
HofHof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions....
with
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by way of
PlauenPlauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
,
ReichenbachReichenbach im Vogtland is a city in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony, Germany. With a population of 20.146, it is the second largest town after Plauen. It lies by the A27 in between Plauen and Zwickau Reichenbach im Vogtland is a city in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony, Germany. With a...
,
ZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
, and
ChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
.
Origins
After German Reunification in 1990, there was a sharp drop in passenger numbers on the rail network in all the new Bundesländer. Saxony, and thus Vogtland was no exception. The railways had old locomotives rolling stock and couldn't compete with the rapidly improving roads. The Saxony government invested in an attempt to improve the attractiveness of the
ZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
–Falkenstein–
KlingenthalKlingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary.The Aschberg towers above the...
line and the
HerlasgrünPöhl is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany....
–Falkenstein–Adorf (Kursbuchstrecke 539). The track was relaid to a 80 km/h standard, disabled access was facilitated at all stations and new stations opened. Maintenance and tracks were rationalised. Some platforms were removed, some stations such as Schöneck were restyled as simple halts.
To renew passenger confidence, new trainsets were bought and the timetables changed to allow easier connections between services and operators. In September 1994 it was privatised, going to the Regental-Bahnbetriebs-GmbH, a company from
ViechtachViechtach is a town in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarzer Regen, 31 km northeast of Straubing, and it is known for the quartz mountains nearby....
, Bavaria. In January 1998 it came under the ownership of the
LänderbahnThe Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
group. So in contrast to their former owners the
Deutsche Bahn of the DDRDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, these invested in the company's future. In 1998, the company built their own workshops in Neumark, which were opened in July 2000. The old sheds in Reichenbach were no longer needed.
A further success is the extension of the network into Zwickau town centre. Following the example set by the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, the lines extend from
Zwickau Hauptbahnhofis the main railway station of Zwickau in the German state of Saxony.-History :On 18 September 1845 Zwickau was connected by a branch line to the Leipzig–Reichenbach railway line...
("Main Railway Station") to the central markets. As most of the Vogtland network has not been electrified, the train-trams do not use current from the tramwires (as in Karlsruhe) but are driven by diesel engines.
Between the Hauptbahnhof and
Stadthall there was a link that could be reactivated. From there to
Zentrum the train and the tram use the same tracks. To do this,
dual-gauge trackA dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
has been laid; there are three rails, the tram uses
metre gaugeMetre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
(1000 mm), and the Vogtlandbahn uses
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
(1435 mm). An extra rail was laid next to the tram line so that they share one rail and each use one of the others as appropriate.
In the years that followed the Vogtlandbahn had many opportunities to bid for further routes to expand its network. From their core routes in the Vogtland they moved over into
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...
and
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, with lines to Hof, Schleiz and Gera. When the Czech Republic became a candidate for
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership a new market opened. In 2000, after a 55-year gap, the Zwickau–Klingenthal line was reconnected to
KrasliceKraslice is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-Geography:The town is situated on the southern slopes of the eastern reaches of the Ore Mountains, some 5 km from the neighbouring German town of Klingenthal....
(Graslitz). In 2003 it connected to
SokolovSokolov , Falknov nad Ohří until 1948 is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, located to the north-east of Cheb. It has about 28,000 inhabitants....
(Falkenau) on the Czech Egertalbahn.
On 14 December 2003 the Vogtlandbahn secured an agreement with DB Regio AG to use the
GeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
–
WeidaWeida can refer to the following:*Weida, Thuringia, a town in Thuringia, Germany*Weida , a river in Eastern Thuringia*Weida , a creek in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany*Weida-Land, a Verwaltungsgemeinschaft in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
–Zeulenroda–
MehltheuerMehltheuer is a village and a former municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the municipality Rosenbach....
line and thus started a general traffic service on the Elstertalbahn between Gera,
GreizGreiz is a town in Thuringia, and it is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster....
and
Weischlitz, which previously had required a change.
Following the extension of the Zwickau–Plauen–Bad Brambach line over the Czech border to
ChebCheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
(Eger) and thus Marktredwitz in Bavaria, the Plauen-Hof service was extended through Marktredwitz and
WeidenWeiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
(10 June 2001) to
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
(15 December 2002).
In the timetable changes of 8 December 2006 the Vogtlandbahn lost the Schönberg
SchleizSchleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany.- Location :Schleiz is in the Thuringian Vogtland area, an area of wooded hills on the borders of Thuringia, Saxony, Bavaria and the Czech Republic...
route in Thuringia. An agreement with
DB Regio OberfrankenDB Regio Oberfranken is a business area with the German national railway company, Deutsche Bahn, with its headquarters in Hof . It is responsible for the majority of regional and local railway services in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia .- Trains :Because there are no electrified railways...
in December 2006 allowed the Vogtlandbahn to run (Hof–)
MünchbergMünchberg is a small town in Upper Franconia , Germany. It is sometimes referred to as the Textile Town of Bavaria. Its sister city is Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.-The city district's:-History:...
-
HelmbrechtsHelmbrechts is a town in the district of Hof, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Southern edge of the Frankenwald, 20 km southwest of Hof....
and Lichtenfels–
NeuenmarktNeuenmarkt is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Neuenmarkt is arranged in the following boroughs:...
-
WirsbergWirsberg is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Wirsberg is arranged in the following boroughs:* Birkenhof* Cottenau* Einöde* Goldene Adlerhütte* Neufang* Osserich* Schlackenmühle* Sessenreuth...
, alongside the Deutsche Bahn, providing the regional services.
Finally, in autumn 2004 Bavaria sold its final stake in the Länderbahn to the British-owned
ArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
group, who already owned the Prignitz railway in
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. This made them the second largest railway company in Germany.
Network
The following routes were published in the 2008 timetable.
| Line |
Route |
Distance |
Stations |
Startdate |
|
| München Hbf–Landshut Hbf–Regensburg Hbf–Schwandorf–
–Weiden–Marktredwitz–Hof Hbf
–Furth im Wald–Plzeň hl.n.–Praha hl.n. |
318 443 km |
16/16 |
9. December 2007 |
|
| München Hbf–Buchloe–Kempten Hbf–Immenstadt– bOberstdorf
–Hergatz–Lindau Hbf |
172 221 km |
17/14 |
9. December 2007 |
|
| Zwickau Zentrum–Zwickau Hbf–Lengenfeld–Auerbach
–Falkenstein–Zwotental–Klingenthal–Kraslice |
73 km |
23 |
Zwickau Hbf–Klingenthal: 23. November 1997
Zwickau Zentrum–Zwickau Hbf: 28. May 1999
Klingenthal–Kraslice: 28. May 2000 |
|
| Zwickau Zentrum
Zwickau Hbf–Reichenbach ob Bf–Plauen ob Bf–Weischlitz–Adorf
Bad Brambach–Cheb–Mariánské Lázně |
158 km |
34 |
Zwickau Hbf–Bad Brambach: 13. October 1996
Bad Brambach–Cheb: 28. May 2000
Cheb–Mariánské Lázně: 14. December 2003 |
|
| Hof Hbf–Marktredwitz–Wiesau–Neustadt (Waldnaab)–Weiden
–Nabburg–Schwandorf–Regensburg Hbf |
180 km |
25 |
Hof Hbf–Weiden: 10. June 2001
Weiden–Regensburg Hbf: 15. December 2002 |
|
| Gera Hbf–Greiz–Elsterberg–Plauen unt Bf–Weischlitz (Elstertalbahn) |
62 km |
19 |
Partially: 1. July 2002
Fully: 14. December 2003 |
|
| Hof Hbf–Mehltheuer–Plauen ob Bf–Herlasgrün–Auerbach
–Falkenstein–Zwotental–Adorf |
121 km |
28 |
Plauen ob Bf–Adorf: 23. November 1997
Hof Hbf–Plauen ob Bf: 28. May 2000 |
|
| Marktredwitz–Schirnding–Cheb |
27 km |
5 |
28. Mai 2000 |
|
| (Hof Hbf–) Schwarzenbach (Saale)–Münchberg–Helmbrechts
Run by DB Regio Oberfranken |
34 km |
10 |
8. December 2006 |
|
| Lichtenfels–Kulmbach–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg
Run by DB Regio Oberfranken |
42 km |
10 |
8. December 2006 |
The trains on the Lines VB 1 und VB 5 from Zwickau and Hof-Plauen meet at Falkenstein station where they are coupled together to make one train. They travel coupled to Zwotental, where they are separated and continue their journey to Kraslice and Adorf respectively. This is said to give twice as much capacity on the popular Falkenstein–Zwotental section. There is also a cost saving.
Half the trainsets on Line VB 2, those that terminate at Adorf, are of the "RegioSprinter" type. They are light enough to run as tram-trains into Zwickau town centre. The trains from Zwickau to Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) are the heavier "Desiro" train sets, not suitable to be used on the tram tracks through Zwickau town centre; so they start and terminate at the Hauptbahnhof. Consequently, since 12 December 2004, there has been an hourly service on the core route between Zwickauer Hauptbahnhof and Adorf, and a two-hourly service on the extended route from Zwickau Zentrum to Adorf, and a two-hourly service from Zwickau Hbf to Mariánské Lázně.
Trains
The company decided in the beginning to use
RegioSprinterThe RegioSprinter is a German diesel railcar built by Siemens-Duewag for rapid regional railway services. Originally the RegioSprinter was designated as a Regional Combustion-engined Railbus by Duewag AG....
class of light train from
DuewagThe DUEWAG AG was one of Germany's major manufacturers for rail vehicles. The business was sold in 1999 to Siemens transportation.- History :The company was founded in 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen AG in Uerdingen...
that had already been ordered from the Dürener Kreisbahn. Firstly this was a series of 6 and then a further series of 10. Between 1998 and 1999, the seconcond series were rebuilt so they could be used on the Zwickau train-tram lines, for example: brakelights, indicators and warning bells were needed. They needed switch equipment to activate the traffic lights to ensure a safe uninterrupted passage. In January 2004 the rest were converted. RegioSprinters were only suilable for short journeys, they had thinly uppolstered seats in a 2+3 formation and no toilets, their top speed was 100 km/h, though later all the trains crossing the Czech border were refitted to a higher standard. RegioSprinters were used on VB 1, VB 5, VB 2 and until December 2006 VB 7, the line from Schönberg to Schleiz. Two of these trains were lent on a long term basis to the Prignitzer Eisenbahn for use around Oberhausen.
As the network expanded and trains were needed for longer journeys, 9 trains of the Desiro Classic class were bought in 2000 from Siemens Transportation Systems. These ran on the Deutsche Bahn route DBAG 642. These were comfortable trains with good upholstery with seat in a 2+2 formation, in the first class compartment the seats were in a 1+2 formation. Desiros were fitted with on-board ticket machines and ski racks. A second series of 15 were ordered in 2002. The first series were fitted with two 275 kW motors and the second series had two 315 kW motors and wheelchair friendly access. Desiros are used on VB 3, VB 3, VB 4 und VB 5 and on the Vogtland Express.
Vogtland-Express
The
Vogtlandbahn is a private railway company in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, which runs diesel trains on regional lines in the states of
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
,
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
,
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...
,
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, and
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and as well as routes into the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Vogtlandbahn is wholly owned by the
ArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
subsidiary
RegentalbahnThe Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
.
The company's most prestigious train is the Vogtland-Express: a daily direct return service connecting
HofHof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions....
with
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by way of
PlauenPlauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
,
ReichenbachReichenbach im Vogtland is a city in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony, Germany. With a population of 20.146, it is the second largest town after Plauen. It lies by the A27 in between Plauen and Zwickau Reichenbach im Vogtland is a city in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony, Germany. With a...
,
ZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
, and
ChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
.
Origins
After German Reunification in 1990, there was a sharp drop in passenger numbers on the rail network in all the new Bundesländer. Saxony, and thus Vogtland was no exception. The railways had old locomotives rolling stock and couldn't compete with the rapidly improving roads. The Saxony government invested in an attempt to improve the attractiveness of the
ZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
–Falkenstein–
KlingenthalKlingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary.The Aschberg towers above the...
line and the
HerlasgrünPöhl is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany....
–Falkenstein–Adorf (Kursbuchstrecke 539). The track was relaid to a 80 km/h standard, disabled access was facilitated at all stations and new stations opened. Maintenance and tracks were rationalised. Some platforms were removed, some stations such as Schöneck were restyled as simple halts.
To renew passenger confidence, new trainsets were bought and the timetables changed to allow easier connections between services and operators. In September 1994 it was privatised, going to the Regental-Bahnbetriebs-GmbH, a company from
ViechtachViechtach is a town in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarzer Regen, 31 km northeast of Straubing, and it is known for the quartz mountains nearby....
, Bavaria. In January 1998 it came under the ownership of the
LänderbahnThe Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
group. So in contrast to their former owners the
Deutsche Bahn of the DDRDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, these invested in the company's future. In 1998, the company built their own workshops in Neumark, which were opened in July 2000. The old sheds in Reichenbach were no longer needed.
A further success is the extension of the network into Zwickau town centre. Following the example set by the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, the lines extend from
Zwickau Hauptbahnhofis the main railway station of Zwickau in the German state of Saxony.-History :On 18 September 1845 Zwickau was connected by a branch line to the Leipzig–Reichenbach railway line...
("Main Railway Station") to the central markets. As most of the Vogtland network has not been electrified, the train-trams do not use current from the tramwires (as in Karlsruhe) but are driven by diesel engines.
Between the Hauptbahnhof and
Stadthall there was a link that could be reactivated. From there to
Zentrum the train and the tram use the same tracks. To do this,
dual-gauge trackA dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
has been laid; there are three rails, the tram uses
metre gaugeMetre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
(1000 mm), and the Vogtlandbahn uses
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
(1435 mm). An extra rail was laid next to the tram line so that they share one rail and each use one of the others as appropriate.
In the years that followed the Vogtlandbahn had many opportunities to bid for further routes to expand its network. From their core routes in the Vogtland they moved over into
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...
and
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, with lines to Hof, Schleiz and Gera. When the Czech Republic became a candidate for
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership a new market opened. In 2000, after a 55-year gap, the Zwickau–Klingenthal line was reconnected to
KrasliceKraslice is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-Geography:The town is situated on the southern slopes of the eastern reaches of the Ore Mountains, some 5 km from the neighbouring German town of Klingenthal....
(Graslitz). In 2003 it connected to
SokolovSokolov , Falknov nad Ohří until 1948 is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, located to the north-east of Cheb. It has about 28,000 inhabitants....
(Falkenau) on the Czech Egertalbahn.
On 14 December 2003 the Vogtlandbahn secured an agreement with DB Regio AG to use the
GeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
–
WeidaWeida can refer to the following:*Weida, Thuringia, a town in Thuringia, Germany*Weida , a river in Eastern Thuringia*Weida , a creek in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany*Weida-Land, a Verwaltungsgemeinschaft in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
–Zeulenroda–
MehltheuerMehltheuer is a village and a former municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the municipality Rosenbach....
line and thus started a general traffic service on the Elstertalbahn between Gera,
GreizGreiz is a town in Thuringia, and it is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster....
and
Weischlitz, which previously had required a change.
Following the extension of the Zwickau–Plauen–Bad Brambach line over the Czech border to
ChebCheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
(Eger) and thus Marktredwitz in Bavaria, the Plauen-Hof service was extended through Marktredwitz and
WeidenWeiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
(10 June 2001) to
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
(15 December 2002).
In the timetable changes of 8 December 2006 the Vogtlandbahn lost the Schönberg
SchleizSchleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany.- Location :Schleiz is in the Thuringian Vogtland area, an area of wooded hills on the borders of Thuringia, Saxony, Bavaria and the Czech Republic...
route in Thuringia. An agreement with
DB Regio OberfrankenDB Regio Oberfranken is a business area with the German national railway company, Deutsche Bahn, with its headquarters in Hof . It is responsible for the majority of regional and local railway services in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia .- Trains :Because there are no electrified railways...
in December 2006 allowed the Vogtlandbahn to run (Hof–)
MünchbergMünchberg is a small town in Upper Franconia , Germany. It is sometimes referred to as the Textile Town of Bavaria. Its sister city is Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.-The city district's:-History:...
-
HelmbrechtsHelmbrechts is a town in the district of Hof, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Southern edge of the Frankenwald, 20 km southwest of Hof....
and Lichtenfels–
NeuenmarktNeuenmarkt is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Neuenmarkt is arranged in the following boroughs:...
-
WirsbergWirsberg is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Wirsberg is arranged in the following boroughs:* Birkenhof* Cottenau* Einöde* Goldene Adlerhütte* Neufang* Osserich* Schlackenmühle* Sessenreuth...
, alongside the Deutsche Bahn, providing the regional services.
Finally, in autumn 2004 Bavaria sold its final stake in the Länderbahn to the British-owned
ArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
group, who already owned the Prignitz railway in
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. This made them the second largest railway company in Germany.{{-}}
Network
The following routes were published in the 2008 timetable.
| Line |
Route |
Distance |
Stations |
Startdate |
| Alex1|#FFFFFF|#EC0000|#000000}} |
München Hbf–Landshut Hbf–Regensburg Hbf–Schwandorf–
–Weiden–Marktredwitz–Hof Hbf
–Furth im Wald–Plzeň hl.n.–Praha hl.n. |
318 443 km |
16/16 |
9. December 2007 |
| Alex2|#FFFFFF|#FF4600|#000000}} |
München Hbf–Buchloe–Kempten Hbf–Immenstadt– bOberstdorf
–Hergatz–Lindau Hbf |
172 221 km |
17/14 |
9. December 2007 |
| VB 1|#FFFFFF|#FF0000|#000000}} |
Zwickau Zentrum–Zwickau Hbf–Lengenfeld–Auerbach
–Falkenstein–Zwotental–Klingenthal–Kraslice |
73 km |
23 |
Zwickau Hbf–Klingenthal: 23. November 1997
Zwickau Zentrum–Zwickau Hbf: 28. May 1999
Klingenthal–Kraslice: 28. May 2000 |
| VB 2|#FFFFFF|#0000FF|#000000}} |
Zwickau Zentrum
Zwickau Hbf–Reichenbach ob Bf–Plauen ob Bf–Weischlitz–Adorf
Bad Brambach–Cheb–Mariánské Lázně |
158 km |
34 |
Zwickau Hbf–Bad Brambach: 13. October 1996
Bad Brambach–Cheb: 28. May 2000
Cheb–Mariánské Lázně: 14. December 2003 |
| VB 3|#FFFFFF|#4B0082|#000000}} |
Hof Hbf–Marktredwitz–Wiesau–Neustadt (Waldnaab)–Weiden
–Nabburg–Schwandorf–Regensburg Hbf |
180 km |
25 |
Hof Hbf–Weiden: 10. June 2001
Weiden–Regensburg Hbf: 15. December 2002 |
| VB 4|#FFFFFF|#A0522D|#000000}} |
Gera Hbf–Greiz–Elsterberg–Plauen unt Bf–Weischlitz (Elstertalbahn) |
62 km |
19 |
Partially: 1. July 2002
Fully: 14. December 2003 |
| VB 5|#FFFFFF|#008000|#000000}} |
Hof Hbf–Mehltheuer–Plauen ob Bf–Herlasgrün–Auerbach
–Falkenstein–Zwotental–Adorf |
121 km |
28 |
Plauen ob Bf–Adorf: 23. November 1997
Hof Hbf–Plauen ob Bf: 28. May 2000 |
| VB 8|#FFFFFF|#800000|#000000}} |
Marktredwitz–Schirnding–Cheb |
27 km |
5 |
28. Mai 2000 |
| RB|#FFFFFF|#696969|#000000}} |
(Hof Hbf–) Schwarzenbach (Saale)–Münchberg–Helmbrechts
Run by DB Regio Oberfranken |
34 km |
10 |
8. December 2006 |
| RB|#FFFFFF|#696969|#000000}} |
Lichtenfels–Kulmbach–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg
Run by DB Regio Oberfranken |
42 km |
10 |
8. December 2006 |
The trains on the Lines VB 1 und VB 5 from Zwickau and Hof-Plauen meet at Falkenstein station where they are coupled together to make one train. They travel coupled to Zwotental, where they are separated and continue their journey to Kraslice and Adorf respectively. This is said to give twice as much capacity on the popular Falkenstein–Zwotental section. There is also a cost saving.
Half the trainsets on Line VB 2, those that terminate at Adorf, are of the "RegioSprinter" type. They are light enough to run as tram-trains into Zwickau town centre. The trains from Zwickau to Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) are the heavier "Desiro" train sets, not suitable to be used on the tram tracks through Zwickau town centre; so they start and terminate at the Hauptbahnhof. Consequently, since 12 December 2004, there has been an hourly service on the core route between Zwickauer Hauptbahnhof and Adorf, and a two-hourly service on the extended route from Zwickau Zentrum to Adorf, and a two-hourly service from Zwickau Hbf to Mariánské Lázně.
Trains
The company decided in the beginning to use
RegioSprinterThe RegioSprinter is a German diesel railcar built by Siemens-Duewag for rapid regional railway services. Originally the RegioSprinter was designated as a Regional Combustion-engined Railbus by Duewag AG....
class of light train from
DuewagThe DUEWAG AG was one of Germany's major manufacturers for rail vehicles. The business was sold in 1999 to Siemens transportation.- History :The company was founded in 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen AG in Uerdingen...
that had already been ordered from the Dürener Kreisbahn. Firstly this was a series of 6 and then a further series of 10. Between 1998 and 1999, the seconcond series were rebuilt so they could be used on the Zwickau train-tram lines, for example: brakelights, indicators and warning bells were needed. They needed switch equipment to activate the traffic lights to ensure a safe uninterrupted passage. In January 2004 the rest were converted. RegioSprinters were only suilable for short journeys, they had thinly uppolstered seats in a 2+3 formation and no toilets, their top speed was 100 km/h, though later all the trains crossing the Czech border were refitted to a higher standard. RegioSprinters were used on VB 1, VB 5, VB 2 and until December 2006 VB 7, the line from Schönberg to Schleiz. Two of these trains were lent on a long term basis to the Prignitzer Eisenbahn for use around Oberhausen.
As the network expanded and trains were needed for longer journeys, 9 trains of the Desiro Classic class were bought in 2000 from Siemens Transportation Systems. These ran on the Deutsche Bahn route DBAG 642. These were comfortable trains with good upholstery with seat in a 2+2 formation, in the first class compartment the seats were in a 1+2 formation. Desiros were fitted with on-board ticket machines and ski racks. A second series of 15 were ordered in 2002. The first series were fitted with two 275 kW motors and the second series had two 315 kW motors and wheelchair friendly access. Desiros are used on VB 3, VB 3, VB 4 und VB 5 and on the Vogtland Express.
Vogtland-Express
{{BS-header|Vogtland-Express}}
{{BS-table}}
{{BS|KBHFa>
Adorf |
}}
The Vogtlandbahn is a private railway company in GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, which runs diesel trains on regional lines in the states of SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, 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...
, BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, and BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and as well as routes into the Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Vogtlandbahn is wholly owned by the ArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
subsidiary RegentalbahnThe Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
.
The company's most prestigious train is the Vogtland-Express: a daily direct return service connecting HofHof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions....
with BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by way of PlauenPlauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
, ReichenbachReichenbach im Vogtland is a city in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony, Germany. With a population of 20.146, it is the second largest town after Plauen. It lies by the A27 in between Plauen and Zwickau Reichenbach im Vogtland is a city in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony, Germany. With a...
, ZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
, and ChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
.
Origins
After German Reunification in 1990, there was a sharp drop in passenger numbers on the rail network in all the new Bundesländer. Saxony, and thus Vogtland was no exception. The railways had old locomotives rolling stock and couldn't compete with the rapidly improving roads. The Saxony government invested in an attempt to improve the attractiveness of the ZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
–Falkenstein–KlingenthalKlingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary.The Aschberg towers above the...
line and the HerlasgrünPöhl is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany....
–Falkenstein–Adorf (Kursbuchstrecke 539). The track was relaid to a 80 km/h standard, disabled access was facilitated at all stations and new stations opened. Maintenance and tracks were rationalised. Some platforms were removed, some stations such as Schöneck were restyled as simple halts.
To renew passenger confidence, new trainsets were bought and the timetables changed to allow easier connections between services and operators. In September 1994 it was privatised, going to the Regental-Bahnbetriebs-GmbH, a company from ViechtachViechtach is a town in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarzer Regen, 31 km northeast of Straubing, and it is known for the quartz mountains nearby....
, Bavaria. In January 1998 it came under the ownership of the LänderbahnThe Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
group. So in contrast to their former owners the Deutsche Bahn of the DDRDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, these invested in the company's future. In 1998, the company built their own workshops in Neumark, which were opened in July 2000. The old sheds in Reichenbach were no longer needed.
A further success is the extension of the network into Zwickau town centre. Following the example set by the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, the lines extend from Zwickau Hauptbahnhofis the main railway station of Zwickau in the German state of Saxony.-History :On 18 September 1845 Zwickau was connected by a branch line to the Leipzig–Reichenbach railway line...
("Main Railway Station") to the central markets. As most of the Vogtland network has not been electrified, the train-trams do not use current from the tramwires (as in Karlsruhe) but are driven by diesel engines.
Between the Hauptbahnhof and Stadthall there was a link that could be reactivated. From there to Zentrum the train and the tram use the same tracks. To do this, dual-gauge trackA dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
has been laid; there are three rails, the tram uses metre gaugeMetre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
(1000 mm), and the Vogtlandbahn uses standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
(1435 mm). An extra rail was laid next to the tram line so that they share one rail and each use one of the others as appropriate.
In the years that followed the Vogtlandbahn had many opportunities to bid for further routes to expand its network. From their core routes in the Vogtland they moved over into 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...
and ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, with lines to Hof, Schleiz and Gera. When the Czech Republic became a candidate for European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership a new market opened. In 2000, after a 55-year gap, the Zwickau–Klingenthal line was reconnected to KrasliceKraslice is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-Geography:The town is situated on the southern slopes of the eastern reaches of the Ore Mountains, some 5 km from the neighbouring German town of Klingenthal....
(Graslitz). In 2003 it connected to SokolovSokolov , Falknov nad Ohří until 1948 is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, located to the north-east of Cheb. It has about 28,000 inhabitants....
(Falkenau) on the Czech Egertalbahn.
On 14 December 2003 the Vogtlandbahn secured an agreement with DB Regio AG to use the GeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
–WeidaWeida can refer to the following:*Weida, Thuringia, a town in Thuringia, Germany*Weida , a river in Eastern Thuringia*Weida , a creek in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany*Weida-Land, a Verwaltungsgemeinschaft in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
–Zeulenroda–MehltheuerMehltheuer is a village and a former municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the municipality Rosenbach....
line and thus started a general traffic service on the Elstertalbahn between Gera, GreizGreiz is a town in Thuringia, and it is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster....
and Weischlitz, which previously had required a change.
Following the extension of the Zwickau–Plauen–Bad Brambach line over the Czech border to ChebCheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
(Eger) and thus Marktredwitz in Bavaria, the Plauen-Hof service was extended through Marktredwitz and WeidenWeiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
(10 June 2001) to RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
(15 December 2002).
In the timetable changes of 8 December 2006 the Vogtlandbahn lost the Schönberg SchleizSchleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany.- Location :Schleiz is in the Thuringian Vogtland area, an area of wooded hills on the borders of Thuringia, Saxony, Bavaria and the Czech Republic...
route in Thuringia. An agreement with DB Regio OberfrankenDB Regio Oberfranken is a business area with the German national railway company, Deutsche Bahn, with its headquarters in Hof . It is responsible for the majority of regional and local railway services in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia .- Trains :Because there are no electrified railways...
in December 2006 allowed the Vogtlandbahn to run (Hof–) MünchbergMünchberg is a small town in Upper Franconia , Germany. It is sometimes referred to as the Textile Town of Bavaria. Its sister city is Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.-The city district's:-History:...
-HelmbrechtsHelmbrechts is a town in the district of Hof, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Southern edge of the Frankenwald, 20 km southwest of Hof....
and Lichtenfels–NeuenmarktNeuenmarkt is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Neuenmarkt is arranged in the following boroughs:...
-WirsbergWirsberg is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Wirsberg is arranged in the following boroughs:* Birkenhof* Cottenau* Einöde* Goldene Adlerhütte* Neufang* Osserich* Schlackenmühle* Sessenreuth...
, alongside the Deutsche Bahn, providing the regional services.
Finally, in autumn 2004 Bavaria sold its final stake in the Länderbahn to the British-owned ArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
group, who already owned the Prignitz railway in BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. This made them the second largest railway company in Germany.{{-}}
Network
The following routes were published in the 2008 timetable.
| Line |
Route |
Distance |
Stations |
Startdate |
| Alex1|#FFFFFF|#EC0000|#000000}} |
München Hbf–Landshut Hbf–Regensburg Hbf–Schwandorf–
–Weiden–Marktredwitz–Hof Hbf
–Furth im Wald–Plzeň hl.n.–Praha hl.n. |
318 443 km |
16/16 |
9. December 2007 |
| Alex2|#FFFFFF|#FF4600|#000000}} |
München Hbf–Buchloe–Kempten Hbf–Immenstadt– bOberstdorf
–Hergatz–Lindau Hbf |
172 221 km |
17/14 |
9. December 2007 |
| VB 1|#FFFFFF|#FF0000|#000000}} |
Zwickau Zentrum–Zwickau Hbf–Lengenfeld–Auerbach
–Falkenstein–Zwotental–Klingenthal–Kraslice |
73 km |
23 |
Zwickau Hbf–Klingenthal: 23. November 1997
Zwickau Zentrum–Zwickau Hbf: 28. May 1999
Klingenthal–Kraslice: 28. May 2000 |
| VB 2|#FFFFFF|#0000FF|#000000}} |
Zwickau Zentrum
Zwickau Hbf–Reichenbach ob Bf–Plauen ob Bf–Weischlitz–Adorf
Bad Brambach–Cheb–Mariánské Lázně |
158 km |
34 |
Zwickau Hbf–Bad Brambach: 13. October 1996
Bad Brambach–Cheb: 28. May 2000
Cheb–Mariánské Lázně: 14. December 2003 |
| VB 3|#FFFFFF|#4B0082|#000000}} |
Hof Hbf–Marktredwitz–Wiesau–Neustadt (Waldnaab)–Weiden
–Nabburg–Schwandorf–Regensburg Hbf |
180 km |
25 |
Hof Hbf–Weiden: 10. June 2001
Weiden–Regensburg Hbf: 15. December 2002 |
| VB 4|#FFFFFF|#A0522D|#000000}} |
Gera Hbf–Greiz–Elsterberg–Plauen unt Bf–Weischlitz (Elstertalbahn) |
62 km |
19 |
Partially: 1. July 2002
Fully: 14. December 2003 |
| VB 5|#FFFFFF|#008000|#000000}} |
Hof Hbf–Mehltheuer–Plauen ob Bf–Herlasgrün–Auerbach
–Falkenstein–Zwotental–Adorf |
121 km |
28 |
Plauen ob Bf–Adorf: 23. November 1997
Hof Hbf–Plauen ob Bf: 28. May 2000 |
| VB 8|#FFFFFF|#800000|#000000}} |
Marktredwitz–Schirnding–Cheb |
27 km |
5 |
28. Mai 2000 |
| RB|#FFFFFF|#696969|#000000}} |
(Hof Hbf–) Schwarzenbach (Saale)–Münchberg–Helmbrechts
Run by DB Regio Oberfranken |
34 km |
10 |
8. December 2006 |
| RB|#FFFFFF|#696969|#000000}} |
Lichtenfels–Kulmbach–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg
Run by DB Regio Oberfranken |
42 km |
10 |
8. December 2006 |
The trains on the Lines VB 1 und VB 5 from Zwickau and Hof-Plauen meet at Falkenstein station where they are coupled together to make one train. They travel coupled to Zwotental, where they are separated and continue their journey to Kraslice and Adorf respectively. This is said to give twice as much capacity on the popular Falkenstein–Zwotental section. There is also a cost saving.
Half the trainsets on Line VB 2, those that terminate at Adorf, are of the "RegioSprinter" type. They are light enough to run as tram-trains into Zwickau town centre. The trains from Zwickau to Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) are the heavier "Desiro" train sets, not suitable to be used on the tram tracks through Zwickau town centre; so they start and terminate at the Hauptbahnhof. Consequently, since 12 December 2004, there has been an hourly service on the core route between Zwickauer Hauptbahnhof and Adorf, and a two-hourly service on the extended route from Zwickau Zentrum to Adorf, and a two-hourly service from Zwickau Hbf to Mariánské Lázně.
Trains
The company decided in the beginning to use RegioSprinterThe RegioSprinter is a German diesel railcar built by Siemens-Duewag for rapid regional railway services. Originally the RegioSprinter was designated as a Regional Combustion-engined Railbus by Duewag AG....
class of light train from DuewagThe DUEWAG AG was one of Germany's major manufacturers for rail vehicles. The business was sold in 1999 to Siemens transportation.- History :The company was founded in 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen AG in Uerdingen...
that had already been ordered from the Dürener Kreisbahn. Firstly this was a series of 6 and then a further series of 10. Between 1998 and 1999, the seconcond series were rebuilt so they could be used on the Zwickau train-tram lines, for example: brakelights, indicators and warning bells were needed. They needed switch equipment to activate the traffic lights to ensure a safe uninterrupted passage. In January 2004 the rest were converted. RegioSprinters were only suilable for short journeys, they had thinly uppolstered seats in a 2+3 formation and no toilets, their top speed was 100 km/h, though later all the trains crossing the Czech border were refitted to a higher standard. RegioSprinters were used on VB 1, VB 5, VB 2 and until December 2006 VB 7, the line from Schönberg to Schleiz. Two of these trains were lent on a long term basis to the Prignitzer Eisenbahn for use around Oberhausen.
As the network expanded and trains were needed for longer journeys, 9 trains of the Desiro Classic class were bought in 2000 from Siemens Transportation Systems. These ran on the Deutsche Bahn route DBAG 642. These were comfortable trains with good upholstery with seat in a 2+2 formation, in the first class compartment the seats were in a 1+2 formation. Desiros were fitted with on-board ticket machines and ski racks. A second series of 15 were ordered in 2002. The first series were fitted with two 275 kW motors and the second series had two 315 kW motors and wheelchair friendly access. Desiros are used on VB 3, VB 3, VB 4 und VB 5 and on the Vogtland Express.
Vogtland-Express
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Reichenbach (Vogtl) ob BfReichenbach Oberer station is the main station of Reichenbach im Vogtland in the German state of Saxony. It is the only remaining station in Reichenbach, which once had three stations, and is located on the Saxon-Franconian trunk line between Nuremberg and Dresden...
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{{BS|BHF||Zwickau (Sachs) Hbf|| }}
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Glauchau (Sachs)Glauchau station is the main station of Glauchau in southwest of the German state of Saxony on the Dresden–Werdau line. Glauchau also has another station at Glauchau-Schönbörnchen.-History :...
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Hohenstein-ErnstthalHohenstein-Ernstthal is a town in the Zwickau rural district, Free State of Saxony, Germany. The towns of Hohenstein and Ernstthal were united in 1898, and the town is either known by its hyphenated form, or simply called Hohenstein....
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Chemnitz Hbfis the Hauptbahnhof of Chemnitz in Germany.-Station building :The station has a combination of terminating and through platforms. Platform tracks 1 to 9 terminate and tracks 10 to14 continue to the west of Chemnitz towards Zwickau, Nuremberg and Göttingen. Tracks 11 to 14 are reached by a passenger...
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MittweidaMittweida is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Mittelsachsen district. It is situated on the Zschopau River, 18 km north of Chemnitz, and 54 km west of Dresden....
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Döbeln Hbfis the largest station of Döbeln in the German state of Saxony. It was built as a wedge-shaped station connected the station and central Döbeln.- Long distance and regional transport:- External links :* * *...
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RiesaRiesa is a town in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is located at the river Elbe, approx. 40 km northwest of Dresden.The world's first 110 kV power line was inaugurated between Riesa and Lauchhammer in 1912....
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Doberlug-KirchhainDoberlug-Kirchhain is a town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Brandenburg, Germany. -History:937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug for the first time. In 1165 the Cistercian Dobrilugk Abbey was founded by Margrave Dietrich of...
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{{BS|BHF||Berlin Schönefeld Flughafen|| }}
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Berlin AlexanderplatzBerlin Alexanderplatz is a railway station in the Mitte district of Berlin's city centre. It is one of the busiest transportation hubs in the Berlin area...
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{{BS|BHF||Berlin Friedrichstrasse|| }}
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Berlin ZooBerlin Zoologischer Garten station was the central transport facility in West Berlin during the division of the city, and thereafter for the western central area of Berlin until opening of the new Berlin Central Station on 28 May 2006...
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From 12. June 2005 Vogtlandbahn started their first long distance service. Once a day a train runs from Plauen to Berlin and back.
The Vogtland-Express started early in the morning in Plauen and passed through Reichenbach,
WerdauWerdau is a town in Germany, part of the Landkreis Zwickau in the administrative region of Chemnitz, the Free State of Saxony. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 8 km from Zwickau....
,
AltenburgAltenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
,
Leipzig Hbfis, at 83,460 m², Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area. It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds; a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches; and a 293 metre-long facade...
and Berlin Schönefeld Airport to its terminus, Berlin-Lichtenberg. In the evening it returned to Plauen. Travel time was about three and a half hours of which half an hour is needed to pass through the Berlin suburbs. Then in autumn 2005 the route was extended to Hof, giving a connection to north east Bayern.
The train routes through Berlin on the Berliner Stadtbahn have been subject to much modernisation, so the Vogtland Express moved it Berlin stations in summer 2006. In 2007, engineering works at
LeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
meant a change of route through Zwickau,
ChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
and Riesa. The train no longer operates to Berlin-Lichtenberg or Hof. Its southern terminus is generally Adorf (or Plauen for some weekend services).
This service is pitched for business travellers and day trippers. It leaves a period of about eight hours in Berlin between arrival and departure. The ticket price is 30% lower than on Deutsche Bahn though a lot slower. Tickets can only be bought on the train.
Desiro, trains with service staff and a catering system are used.
Since 10 January 2011 Vogtland-Express services have been replaced by a bus service, due to a shortage of Desiro diesel multiple units. The ETS bus runs from Reichenbach (Vogtland) via Zwickau (Sachs) Hbf, Chemnitz Hbf and Berlin-Schönefeld Flughafen to Berlin Zoologischer Garten. This may continue to June 2011.
Arriva Länderbahn Express
In 2005 the
Bayerische EisenbahngesellschaftBayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft is the passenger transport company for regional railways in Bavaria. Founded in 1995, it is organised as a GmbH wholly owned by the Bavarian Government. The company does not provide any services or own tracks or rolling stock...
gained the franchise for the Länderbahn. This was to be a regional express service with a 2-hour frequency from Munich through Regensburg to Schwandorf. There the trains would alternate on a four hour frequency to Hof or
Furth im WaldFurth im Wald is a town in the District of Cham, in Bavaria, Germany, near the Czech border. It is situated in the Bavarian Forest, 16 km northeast of Cham, and 17 km southwest of Domažlice....
. The Länderbahn ran a new service: Munich – Kempten –
OberstdorfOberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide...
Lindau. This ran in partnership with the Swiss SBB under the brand name of the
Allgäu Express.
The Vogtlandbahn bought 90 used carriages, for this service, and had them modernised by the
AusbesserungswerkAn Ausbesserungswerk is a railway facility in German-speaking countries, the primary function of which is the repair of railway vehicles or their components. It is thus equivalent to a 'repair shop' or 'works'...
at Weiden. They were hauled by eleven new diesel locomotives of the
EuroRunnerThe Eurorunner family of locomotives are a series of medium to high power diesel electric locomotives built by Siemens for the European market. Introduced from 2002 onwards, they share design characteristics with the successful Eurosprinter range of electric locomotives, also built by Siemens.The...
class of
Siemens Transportation SystemsSiemens Mobility is a division of the German Siemens AG conglomerate. The Mobility sub-division brings together Siemens competencies in rail, road, and air traffic solutions....
, that were leased from
Angel TrainsAngel Trains is an English Rolling Stock Operating Company created in 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. It was one of three ROSCOs...
. For the electrified section from Munich –Regensburg four
EuroSprinterThe EuroSprinter family of electric locomotives is a modular concept of locomotives for the European market built by Siemens. The internal Siemens product name is ES 64, with ES for EuroSprinter and the number 64 indicating the 6,400 kW power at rail.Additional information is given in the name...
class locomotives were leased from Siemens Dispolok.
The Vogtlandbahn and the Zweckverband ÖPNV Vogtland are planning to run trains from Munich to Berlin want to use the Plauen and Leipzig line to Berlin. The Vogtland Express through Chemnitz and Riesa will be maintained.