The Neumarkt–Dietfurt railway (also called the Sulztalbahn–Sulz Valley Railway) was a branch line between

Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz (, ; ) is the capital of the Neumarkt (district), Neumarkt district in the administrative region of the Upper Palatinate, in Bavaria, Germany. With a population of about 40,000, Neumarkt is the seat of various projects, ...

and Dietfurt an der Altmühl in the German state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. It ran south of Neumarkt along the Sulz and largely parallel to the

Ludwig Canal The Ludwig Canal (German: Ludwig-Donau-Main-Kanal or Ludwigskanal), is an abandoned canal in Southern Germany. History The canal linked the Danube, Danube River at Kelheim with the Main (river), Main River at Bamberg, connecting the Danube b ...

Beilngries Beilngries (; ) is a town in the district of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 30 km north of Ingolstadt. Sons and daughters of the city * Rosa Aschenbrenner (1885-19 ...

and from there along the

Altmühl The Altmühl (, )
s.v. is a river in

to Dietfurt.

History

At the completion of the Neumarkt–Nuremberg line in 1871 and its subsequent extension soon after to

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, plans were developed to connect the communities between Neumarkt and

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...

to the railway. Various alternatives were discussed, including routes to Breitenbrunn and

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Kelheim (district), district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). His ...

, but were soon discarded. In 1886, plans were finalised and the building of the Neumarkt–Beilngries–Dietfurt line started. In Greißelbach a line would branch to

Freystadt :''"Freystadt" is also the German names for Kisielice and Kożuchów, Poland.'' Freystadt (; Northern Bavarian: ''Freystod'') is a town in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria. It is situated near the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 14 km sout ...

and in Beilngries the line would meet the Altmühl Valley Railway from Eichstätt station. The Neumarkt–Beilngries section was opened for passenger services on 1 June 1888 and it was extended to Dietfurt on 11 September 1909. At first, the line had great success in both freight and passenger operations. It also competed directly with the parallel

and eventually contributed to its economic decline. With the increase of motorised road transport, however, its existence was soon threatened. On 26 May 1967, the Dietfurt–Beilngries section was closed. The construction of the new

Rhine–Main–Danube Canal The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal ( German: ''Rhein-Main-Donau-Kanal''; also called Main-Danube Canal, RMD Canal or Europa Canal), is a canal in Bavaria, Germany. Connecting the Main and the Danube ri ...

between

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

and Kelheim finally ushered in the end of the Sulz Valley Railway: the line, particularly in the area of Beilngries, was in the way of the major project. On 25 September 1987, the last passenger train ran between Neumarkt and Beilngries, freight traffic on the Greißelbach–Beilngries section ended to 29 July 1989. Between 28 August 1989 and 30 November 1989, the line was dismantled south of Greißelbach station and only the Neumarkt–Greißelbach section remained open temporarily. At the end of 31 October 1991, the rest of the line was abandoned and the operating part of the line was cut back to the 5.5 km point. The remaining track was downgraded to a siding connecting to the siding of the Max Bögl construction company. File:Berching_EhemaligerBahnhof1.jpg, Former Berching station File:Beilngries_EhemaligerBahnhof1.jpg, Former Beilngries station with a former

Rheinbahn Rheinbahn is a German public transport operator operating in Düsseldorf, Meerbusch and Kreis Mettmann. Its network consists of the Düsseldorf Stadtbahn, a network of 11 Stadtbahn (light rail) lines which are integrated in the Rhine-Ruhr St ...

tram

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumarkt-Dietfurt railway Branch lines in Bavaria Railway lines opened in 1888 Closed railway lines in Germany 1888 establishments in Bavaria Neumarkt (district) Buildings and structures in Eichstätt (district)