Hochrheinbahn
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The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the
Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways The Grand Duchy of Baden was an independent state in what is now southwestern Germany until the creation of the German Empire in 1871. It had its own state-owned railway company, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways (''Großherzoglich Badische ...
as part of the
Baden Mainline The Baden main line (german: Badische Hauptbahn) is a German railway line that was built between 1840 and 1863. It runs through Baden, from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg, Basle, Waldshut-Tiengen, Waldshut, Schaffhausen an ...
which followed the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
upstream from
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
to Constance (Konstanz). Whilst, with the exception of Schaffhausen station, the line is owned and operated throughout by Deutsche Bahn, it passes through Swiss territory within the city of Basel, and whilst crossing the
canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffouse (german: Kanton Schaffhausen; rm, Chantun Schaffusa; french: Canton de Schaffhouse; it, Canton Sciaffusa) is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the ca ...
between Erzingen and Bietingen. Schaffhausen station is jointly owned and run by Deutsche Bahn and the Swiss Federal Railways.


History

The High Rhine Railway was opened on 4 February 1856 from
Basel Badischer Bahnhof Basel Badischer Bahnhof (literally "Basel Baden Railway station", the name referring to the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways, which built the station) is a railway station situated in the Swiss city of Basel. The station is situated on Swiss ...
to
Bad Säckingen Bad Säckingen ( High Alemannic: ''Bad Säckinge'') is a rural town in the administrative district of Waldshut in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is famous as the "Trumpeteer's City" because of the book ''Der Trompeter von Säckin ...
and extended to Waldshut on 30 October 1856. Construction then stopped for a while, but on 15 June 1863, the whole line to Constance was completed. Meanwhile, the Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut railway was opened on 18 August 1859, connecting to the Swiss railway network across the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
at Koblenz. It is noteworthy that the whole line—including the section on Swiss territory—was owned under treaty by Baden State Railways and still belongs to Deutsche Bahn. The 1852 treaty allows Switzerland to reclaim ownership of the section on Swiss territory on five year’s notice. Although this possibility was discussed after the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, it was never implemented. In 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 opposi ...
, cross-border traffic was severely limited and military traffic did not pass through Switzerland. In 1944/45, four pairs of passenger services each day ran all the way between Basel Bad Bf and Singen. In the timetable, however, it was expressly stated: "transit through the
Canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffouse (german: Kanton Schaffhausen; rm, Chantun Schaffusa; french: Canton de Schaffhouse; it, Canton Sciaffusa) is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the ca ...
only permitted with passport with exemption (visa)". Between 8 June 1945 and 1 August 1953 the German railway infrastructure in Switzerland was managed by a trust authority established by the Swiss Federal Council. Since 1987, most of the route has been double-tracked; only the section between Waldshut and Beringen is single track. The section between Laufenburg and Murg was duplicated a few years ago. The line is electrified only between
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...
and Constance. The state of Baden-Württemberg and the Canton of Schaffhausen have been asked to fund electrification of the remaining non-electrified route between Basel Bad Bf and Schaffhausen. At present, however, electrification of the section between Schaffhausen and Erzingen first is being examined.


Operations

The line is long and standard gauge. The line between Basel and Schaffhausen is not electrified, whilst the rest of the line is electrified at supplied by
overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipm ...
. While up to the 1990s, express services ran from Basel as well as
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
to
Lindau Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major town and island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the county (''Landkreis' ...
, with some continuing to Munich, the route is today served by Interregio-Express trains on the Basel–Singen and Basel–
Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
routes. A Regionalbahn service runs between Basel and Waldshut every hour, with most trains continuing to Lauchringen. During peak hour services between Basel and Waldshut run every half-hour. Between Singen and Schaffhausen during the day more than one train an hour operate, including an hourly
Zürich S-Bahn The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...
line S22 service. Services run between the Black Forest Railway and Singen and Constance. The section between Waldshut and Basel is mainly used by commuters in the industrial conurbation of Basel. The section of the line in the Canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland, has its own services operated by the Swiss Federal Railways. The section between Schaffhausen and Singen, which was electrified in 1989 and connects the Gäu Railway and the Swiss rail network and carries significant long-distance passenger and freight traffic. On the section between Singen and Constance, local services are operated by the German subsidiary of Swiss Federal Railways, while InterRegio Express services connect with
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
. Constance station is on the Swiss border.


Notes


References

* * * {{Cite book, first=Hans Wolfgang , last=Scharf , title=Die Eisenbahn am Hochrhein (Series: Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahngeschichte), volume=2: Von Basel zum Bodensee 1939–1992 , publisher= Eisenbahn-Kurier Verlag , location= Freiburg , year= 1993 , language=German


External links

* http://suedbadenbahn.de/_Hochrheinbahn/badischebahnfr.html
Images of the tunnel entrances
Railway lines in Baden-Württemberg Railway lines in Switzerland Buildings and structures in Waldshut (district) Cross-border railway lines in Germany Cross-border railway lines in Switzerland Railway lines opened in 1856