The ''Birkenfelder Eisenbahn'' (Birkenfeld Railway) was a five kilometer long rail line operating from Neubrücke to

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

. Birkenfeld had been bypassed by the ''Nahetalbahn'' (Nahe Valley Railway) due to routing difficulties. Since Birkenfeld was part of the

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Birke ...

, a treaty had to be signed with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in order to build the railway. The City of Birkenfeld saw the line as essential to its economic survival. Birkenfeld mayor Eissel had the railway licensed on December 2, 1879, and commissioned on October 15, 1880. At that time the railway was called the ''Birkenfelder Zweigbahn'' (Birkenfeld Branch Railway). The ''Königlich Preußische Eisenbahn-Verwaltung (KPEV)'' (Royal Prussian Railway Administration) and later the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG)'' (German Empire Railway Administration) maintained the privately held railway. In 1932, the DRG abandoned the railway due to low traffic. On December 31, 1933, the ''Birkenfelder Lokalbahn GmbH'' (Birkenfeld Local Railway Company), later to be called the ''Birkenfelder Eisenbahn GmbH'' (Birkenfeld Railway Company), was formed. The shareholders in the railway were the City of Birkenfeld with a 72 percent share and Degussa with a 28 percent share. Degussa had a siding to service its factory in Brücken. With the closing of Degussa, the line was exclusively owned by Bikenfeld from July 19, 1969, onward. On December 31, 1962, passenger service on the line was completely replaced by bus. This process began on October 2, 1955. The last freight train service was on September 30, 1991. The line was officially closed on December 31, 1994. Since then the rails have been removed. Today a bike and walking trail are on the former railway's right-of-way.

References

External links

Birkenfelder Eisenbahn (in German)
{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Railway lines in Rhineland-Palatinate Standard gauge railways in Germany Buildings and structures in Birkenfeld (district) Railway lines opened in 1880 1880 establishments in Germany