The Frankfurt City Link Line (german: Städtische

Verbindungsbahn A Verbindungsbahn ('' link line, connecting line, junction line'') is in German language a railway line that links stations, in some cases of different railroad companies, sometimes bypassing specific stations. Its most simple form is a Umgehungs ...

, commonly just called the ''Verbindungsbahn'') in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany, emerged in the 19th century as a link line between Frankfurt's western stations at the ''Gallustor'' and the Frankfurt-Hanau railway in the east of the city. It was an initiative by the government of the

Free City of Frankfurt For almost five centuries, the German city of Frankfurt was a city-state within two major Germanic entities: *The Holy Roman Empire as the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt () (until 1806) *The German Confederation as the Free City of Frankfurt ...

. On 31 July 1859, services opened on the 6 km long route that, for the most part, followed the northern bank of the river

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

. It was initially operated by the Frankfurt-Hanau Railway Company and, from 1872, the

Hessian Ludwig Railway Company The Hessian Ludwig Railway (German: ''Hessische Ludwigsbahn'') or HLB with its network of 697 kilometres of railway was one of the largest privately owned railway companies in Germany. Early history The Hessian Ludwig Railway was a product of ...

(''Hessische-Ludwigs-Eisenbahngesellschaft''). Since the annexation of the free city into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

in 1866 the line has remained in the ownership of the city authorities. To begin with only freight services ran between the stations within the city to the customs house and the harbour. From 1 June 1869 passenger services were also operated, including express trains from Frankfurt's western stations to central Germany. This traffic ended when in 1873 the state-operated

Frankfurt–Bebra railway The 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 (german: Kin ...

picked up these services on the left bank of the Main. In 1880 the line was extended by 1.7 km to the west. At that time the Hessian Ludwig Railway ran trains from Frankfurt East station to

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

along the river Main, where a halt had been built at Fahrtor. Passenger services were withdrawn on 1 April 1913, when the Frankfurt-Hanau railway was linked to

Frankfurt South station Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its nam ...

from the East station via the Deutschherrnbrücke bridge. Since then, the line has been operated as the Frankfurt Harbour Railway (''Städtische Hafenbahn''). Its importance for the newly developed harbour facilities, industrial estates on the Hanau state highway and Frankfurt's wholesale market, the Grossmarkthalle grew continuously in the period after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. When all the bridges over the Main were destroyed in 1945 after the end of the war, the line gained increased importance for transit traffic, because it was the only line for goods services from Frankfurt to the east. Even a modest amount of passenger traffic flourished: the Frankfurt-Königstein branch line ran its trains over the line from 13 July to 30 September 1945 from the

Taunus The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is ''Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and ''Altkönig'' (798 m). The Taunus range spans ...

via Frankfurt-Höchst station and Fahrtor to Frankfurt-Mainkur station. Today there are daily transfers of goods to the Harbour Railway and occasional passenger train specials run by the Historic Railway, Frankfurt (''HEF'') with steam and diesel locomotives as well as railcars. image: Schienenbus am Mainufer, Frankfurt.jpg, Railbus on the junction line along the river Main image: Verbindungsbahn, Eiserner Steg.jpg, Railcar set on the junction line image: V36406 Eiserner-Steg 30092007.JPG, Number V36 406 of the HEF on the junction line at

Eiserner Steg The Eiserner Steg (Iron Footbridge) is a footbridge spanning the river Main in the city of Frankfurt, Germany, which connects the centre of Frankfurt with the district of Sachsenhausen. The first wrought iron bridge was built in 1868. It was r ...

References

{{authority control Railway museums in Germany Heritage railways in Germany Transport in Hesse Railway lines in Hesse Museums in Frankfurt

See also

References