The Palatine Northern Railway (german: Pfälzische Nordbahn) is a non-electrified single-track main line that connects
Neustadt (Weinstr) Hbf with
Monsheim in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. It was opened between 1865 and 1873 in three stages. With the replacement of the old Ludwigshafen terminus with the modern
Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof through station in 1969,
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Win ...
station became the only station in the form of a terminus in the
Palatinate region
The Palatinate (german: Pfalz; Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of Germany. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the wes ...
. Passenger services over the
Grünstadt
Grünstadt ( pfl, Grinnschdadt) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless t ...
–Monsheim section were discontinued in 1984, but re-established in 1995.
The name of the line comes from the
Palatine Northern Railway Company
The Palatine Northern Railways Company (''Gesellschaft der Pfälzischen Nordbahnen'') – abbreviated to Palatine Northern Railway (''Pfälzer Nordbahn'') - was founded on 17 April 1866 as the last of the three major private railway companies ...
(''Gesellschaft der Pfälzischen Nordbahnen''), which acquired the line as its main line in 1870. Its importance lies in the fact that it connects the small towns of
Deidesheim
Deidesheim ( pfl, Daisem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with some 3,700 inhabitants.
The town lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration and since 1973 it has been the seat of the ''V ...
,
Wachenheim
Wachenheim an der Weinstraße (formerly called ''Wachenheim im Speyergau'') is a small town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, roughly 1 km south of Bad Dürkheim and 20 km west of Ludwigshafen. It is known ...
, Bad Dürkheim,
Freinsheim
Freinsheim (; Palatine German: Fränsem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With about 5,000 inhabitants, it is among the state's smaller towns. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a ...
and Grünstadt with the railway network.
Route
The Northern Railway runs through vineyards and open country near the eastern edge of the
Palatinate Forest. Starting at
Neustadt Hauptbahnhof, it runs to
Neustadt-Böbig station parallel to the
Palatine Ludwig Railway, later turning to the left towards the north. After passing the Neustadt suburb of Mußbach and the small towns of Deidesheim and Wachenheim, the Northern Railway reaches the Bad Dürkheim terminal station.
Trains reverse on to the northern branch, which then crosses the
Rhine-Haardt Railway to reach
Freinsheim
Freinsheim (; Palatine German: Fränsem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With about 5,000 inhabitants, it is among the state's smaller towns. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a ...
at the junction with the
line from Frankenthal. A few kilometres north just before reaching Grünstadt is the former junction with the
Leiningen Valley Railway, which was finally abandoned in 2005. North of Grünstadt station, the
Eis Valley Railway
The Eis Valley Railway (german: Eistalbahn) is a branch line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, that runs through the Palatine Forest. It runs from Grünstadt in a southwesterly direction through the valley of the Eisbach (or "Eis") to ...
branches off to
Ramsen and Eiswoog. Shortly before
Albsheim the largely abandoned
Worms–Grünstadt railway branches off to
Neuoffstein. At
Bockenheim is the northern terminus of the
German Wine Route
The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (german: Deutsche Weinstraße) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in th ...
and the last town in the Palatinate region. About four and a half kilometres north at Monsheim—in
Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
—is the terminus of the
Rheinhessen Railway.
History
Planning, building and opening (1860-1873)
In 1860 a local committee was established to promote the construction of a railway from Neustadt via Bad Dürkheim to Frankenthal. In particular, the workers in Bad Dürkheim's factories would benefit from the proposed line. Although such a route would run parallel to the
Palatinate Ludwig Railway and the
Mainz–Ludwigshafen railway
The Mainz–Worms–Ludwigshafen Railway connects Mainz via Worms to Ludwigshafen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. From there trains cross the Rhine via Mannheim or run south towards Speyer. It was opened in 1853 and is one of the old ...
, the promoters were optimistic that the planned route would be preferred because of its greater scenic appeal.
[Sturm, p. 169]
The committee's appeal however, met with little support, as there were fears that it would create difficulties for the
Palatine Ludwig Railway Company.
For this reason, on 25 January 1862, it was agreed that only a local line would be built between Neustadt and Bad Dürkheim.
[Sturm, p. 169f] On 22 August 1862, a concession was issued and two months later, the
Neustadt–Dürkheim Railway Company (''Neustadt-Dürkheimer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') was founded, which was intended to operate the route.
[Sturm, p. 170] Construction of the line, however, was delayed since the location of the station at Wachenheim was unclear at first.
In addition, the hilly terrain proved to be a hindrance to the construction of the railway and several Königsbach wine makers continued to oppose the acquisition of their land.
The Neustadt–Bad Dürkheim section opened on 6 May 1865.
[Holzborn, p. 34] On 21 March 1873, the Monsheim–Grünstadt section was opened.
[Holzborn, p. 35] On 20 July 1873, the gap was closed between Bad Dürkheim and Grünstadt.
It was decided not to move the station from Bad Durkheim, which for eight years had been end of the line; rather it served from 1873 as a terminal station from both directions. In 1870, the infrastructure of the line was taken over by the Palatine Northern Railway, the Neustadt-Dürkheim Railway Company was dissolved at the same time.
Developments since 1873
In 1909 the Palatine Northern Railway was taken over by the
Royal Bavarian State Railways. 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 ...
the line became part of the
German State Railways. At the end of
World War II
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 opposing ...
the line became part of
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...
.
Operations
Passengers
Operationally, the Northern Railway is divided in three sections, which are run separately:
*Monsheim–Grünstadt
* Grünstadt–Freinsheim
*Freinsheim–Neustadt an der Weinstrasse
Between Monsheim and Grünstadt a pair of trains run every hour; between Grünstadt and Neustadt trains run every 30 minutes. The line is operated with
class 628 diesel multiple units.
The Freinsheim–Grünstadt section is also part of
route 666, which it addition to this section runs on the
Freinsheim–Frankenthal line and the
Eis Valley line to
Ramsen and Eiswoog.
Freight traffic
During the
sugar beet harvest the Northern Railway is very important for freight transport, particularly around Grünstadt station.
[Holzborn, p. 95]
Sources
Notes
References
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palatine Northern Railway
Railway lines in Rhineland-Palatinate
Anterior Palatinate
Railway lines opened in 1865
1865 establishments in Germany