Izera railway ( pl, Kolej Izerska, german: Zackenbahn) is a line connecting the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

town of

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (pron. ; Polish: ; german: Hirschberg im Riesengebirge; Exonym: ''Deer Mountain''; szl, Jelyniŏ Gōra) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Low ...

(Hirschberg) with

Szklarska Poręba Szklarska Poręba (german: Schreiberhau) is a town in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 6,500. It is a popular ski resort. An important regional and national centre fo ...

(Schreiberhau). It is part of the former Prussian ''Zackenbahn'', that used to connect

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 ...

with the Austro-Hungarian Empire via the New World Pass.Czech: ''Novosvětský průsmyk'', German: ' The line is currently operated by PKP.

History

The name comes from

Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains ( cz, Jizerské hory), or Izera Mountains ( pl, Góry Izerskie; german: Isergebirge), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera River, which rises a ...

. The first section at the foothills of the

Krkonoše The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif ...

was completed in 1891. The mountain section took several more years to finish. The railway station Jakobsthal ( Jakuszyce) close to the New World Pass became the highest railway station in Prussia. The terminal station was Polaun/Grünthal (

Kořenov Kořenov (german: Bad Wurzelsdorf) is a municipality and village in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. It lies in the Jizera Mountains. Administrative parts Villages of Jizerka, ...

). The complete track was opened in 1902, together with the Cog railway Tannwald–Grünthal. The line was electrified in 1923. Harrachov Zackenbahn3

In April 1945 most of the locomotives were evacuated. Some were captured in the border station Polaun/Grünthal by the advancing

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. After the war, the electric equipment was dismantled and together with the remaining locomotives transported to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

as reparation.

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

was transferred to Poland, and cross-border traffic was abolished. Following an exchange of border territories between

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and Poland, the Bohemian part was extended to Harrachov, and that became the new terminal station. Polish State Railways (PKP) operated passenger trains as far as Szklarska Poręba Huta (''Josephinenhütte'') and freight trains as far as Jakuszyce. The track as far as Szklarska Poręba Górna was electrified again in 1987. Except for a one-day celebration on the 100th anniversary in 2002, cross border traffic was never restored. Due to decision of the Common Monitoring Committee of Operational Programme of European Transborder Cooperation Czech Republic - Poland 2007-2013 the execution of the project "Revitalization of the Railway Line Szklarska Poreba - Harrachov" will be provided. This project has been recommended to be awarded a subsidy. The reconstruction work started in June 2009 on the Polish side, in October 2009 also on the Czech side. The regular public rail transport across the border started on 28 August 2010. Until 12 December 2015 trains were operated both by a Polish company

Przewozy Regionalne Polregio (formerly ''Przewozy Regionalne'') is a train operator in Poland, responsible for local and interregional passenger transportation. Each day it runs approximately 3,000 regional trains. In 2002 it carried 215 million passengers. The ...

and a Czech company Viamont A.S. (later

GW Train Regio GW Train Regio is a Czech railway company mainly engaged in the operation of passenger rail transport on regional lines. History The company was formed from the passenger divisions of Viamont, a Czech rail operator. In 2008, Viamont Regio a. ...

), now they are operated both by Polish company

Koleje Dolnośląskie Koleje Dolnośląskie (Polish for ''Lower Silesian Railways''; KD) is a regional rail operator in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. The company was founded on 28 December 2007 by a decision of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik and i ...

and

České dráhy České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services. Overview The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Czec ...

Notes

External links

zackenbahn.de
(German)
Map depicting the territory exchange between Czechoslovakia and Poland
Railway lines in the Czech Republic Railway lines in Poland Mountain railways Karkonosze County {{poland-rail-transport-stub

History

See also

Notes

External links