Nuremberg–Augsburg railway
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The Nuremberg–Augsburg railway is a 137 km long main line in the German state of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. Most of it follows two parts the historic
Ludwig South-North Railway The Ludwig South-North railway (''Ludwig-Süd-Nord-Bahn''), built between 1843 and 1854, was the first railway line to be constructed by Royal Bavarian State Railways. It was named after the king, Ludwig I, whose infrastructure priorities had ear ...
, one of the oldest lines in Germany. Today, even after the opening of the high-speed line from Nuremberg to Munich via Ingolstadt, is still used for long-distance services. It is also used as a detour during closures of the high speed line for maintenance. Between
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
and Roth S-Bahn services run on the parallel Nuremberg–Roth line.


History

The first plans for a railway line from
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...
to Nuremberg were made shortly after the opening of the first railway line in Germany, the Nuremberg–Fürth line in 1835. Merchants from the Augsburg area formed a joint-stock company for the construction and operation of a line from Augsburg to Nuremberg via
Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
and
Treuchtlingen Treuchtlingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 12,000. History The spot where the town is situated was first settled by Celts, Romans and Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ...
. The company was dissolved in 1841 because it was understood that King
Ludwig I en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...
intended to build a state railway and because the company had decided that the difficult geography between Donauwörth and Treuchtlingen ( the Franconian Alb) made it impossible to build and operate a railway economically. The Bavarian state government handled the problem of crossing the Franconian Alb by routing the Ludwig South-North Railway through the Nordlinger Ries depression. Therefore, only the Augsburg–Donauwörth and Pleinfeld–Nuremberg sections of the Nuremberg–Augsburg were part of the South-North Railway, which was authorised by the Bavarian parliament on 25 August 1843. The Treuchtlingen–Pleinfeld section was built in connection with the construction of the Ingolstadt–Treuchtlingen line and opened on 2 October 1869. The gap between Donauwörth and Treuchtlingen was not completed until 1 October 1906, when more advanced steam engines made the operation of the hilly line more economic. On 1 October 1898, the
flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is " g ...
between Nuremberg suburbs of Eibach and Reichelsdorf was opened, allowing a grade-separated entrance for freight trains to the Nuremberg marshalling yard. Work on the electrification of the line began in 1933 and was completed on 10 May 1935. The 36.5 km section between Augsburg-Oberhausen and Donauwörth was cleared in two sections in 1978 and 1981 for speeds of up to 200 km/h. This was one of the first lines in Germany, where this speed was authorised. On 29 June 1994, a ground breaking ceremony was held for the beginning of the rebuilding of the section from Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof to Roth for S-Bahn operations, which was completed on 9 June 2001. The overhead wiring of the line, mostly dating from 1935, was renewed between 2004 and 2006.


Opening dates

*20 November 1844 (Oberhausen–Nordheim) *1 July 1847 (Augsburg–Oberhausen) *15 September 1847 (Nordheim–Donauwörth) *1 April 1849 (Nuremberg–Schwabach) *1 October 1849 (Schwabach–Pleinfeld) *2 October 1869 (Treuchtlingen–Pleinfeld) *1 October 1906 (Donauwörth–Treuchtlingen)


Testing and record runs

On 17 October 1984, locomotive 120001-3 hauled a train of three carriages (trailing load: 250 t) between Donauwörth and Augsburg at 265 km/h, a world record for a three-phase-powered train. In 1993, a trial of new air-sprung bogies for
Intercity Express The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerl ...
trains achieved a speed of 333 km/h between Augsburg and Donauwörth.


Route

The route leaves Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof, initially running parallel with the lines to
Crailsheim Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, ...
, Bamberg and
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...
, running to the west. It passes under the Frankenschnellweg freeway and then makes a long turn to the south. It passes through the districts of Sandreuth, Schweinau and Werderau and then crosses the ''South-west Tangent'' (''Südwesttangente'') freeway, the
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 riv ...
and the Ring line, where there is an extensive system of connecting lines and reaches the
flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is " g ...
between the stations of Eibach and Reichelsdorf, which are now stations for the S-Bahn only. The flying junction allows the S-Bahn tracks to switch from the west of the main line tracks to the east. In addition, the south main line track switches to the right, as trains have been running on the left since Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof, unusually for Germany. The line runs through the Nuremberg districts of Reichelsdorf, Reichelsdorfer Keller and Katzwang and the
Schwabach Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district (''kreisfreie Stadt''). Schwabach is also the name of th ...
districts of Limbach and Waldsiedlung, crosses the
Rednitz The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district ...
and Schwabach rivers and finally reaches Schwabach station. The line makes a turn to the left and then runs parallel to the Rednitz through
Rednitzhembach Rednitzhembach is municipality in the district of Roth in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and th ...
and via Roth to Georgensgmünd and from there parallel to Federal Highway 2 and the Rezat river to
Pleinfeld Pleinfeld is a Franconian municipality and market town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in the German state of Bavaria. It is situated in the Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg and in the Franconian Lake District. Pleinfeld is a nationally ...
. In Roth, the line to Hilpoltstein (also known as the ''Greding Railway'', ''Gredlbahn'') branches off. Until 1995, a line branched from Georgensgmünd to
Spalt Spalt ( Northern Bavarian: ''Schbåld'') is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. Spalt is famous for growing hops for brewing beer. Geography Spalt is situated between Nuremberg, ...
. Another branch, known as the Lakeland Railway (''Seenlandbahn''), as it passes through the Franconian Lake District, connects Pleinfeld with
Gunzenhausen Gunzenhausen (; bar, Gunzenhausn, link=no) is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nation ...
; it was part of the original Ludwig South-North Railway. The line continues to the Baroque town of Ellingen and Weißenburg, which was established on a Roman settlement. North of Weißenburg the line crosses the
Swabian Rezat The Swabian Rezat (german: Schwäbische Rezat) is a 33.3-kilometre-long river in southern Germany (Bavaria). It is the southern, right source river of the Rednitz. It rises in the Franconian Jura hills, near Weißenburg in Bayern. It flows gener ...
river. Just before the railway junction in
Treuchtlingen Treuchtlingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 12,000. History The spot where the town is situated was first settled by Celts, Romans and Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ...
with the lines from Wurzburg and to Ingolstadt, the line crosses the remnants of the ancient
Fossa Carolina The Fossa Carolina (or Karlsgraben in German) was a canal named after Charlemagne in what is today the German state of Bavaria, intended to connect the Swabian Rezat river to the Altmühl river (the Rhine basin to the Danube basin). It was c ...
canal and the Altmühl river. After Treuchtlingen the line runs south up the Möhren valley and through the Franconian Alb to the railway junction of
Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
, where the
Ries Railway The Ries Railway (german: Riesbahn) is the current name of the line between Aalen and Donauwörth via Nördlingen. The name is derived from the Nördlinger Ries depression, and the line is operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB). The line consists of a sec ...
connects to
Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was b ...
and the
Ingolstadt–Neuoffingen railway The Ingolstadt–Neuoffingen railway is a single-track, electrified mainline railway in Bavaria, Germany. It runs in the Danube valley from Ingolstadt via Neuburg an der Donau, Donauwörth and Dillingen an der Donau to Neuoffingen, where it joins t ...
(Danube Valley Railway) connects to
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...
and
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, ...
. Formerly there were several stations in the Alb, but they have now largely been closed and dismantled. Only
Otting Otting is a municipality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany. The village is located between Augsburg and Nuremberg, about 5 km east of Wemding Wemding () is a town in the Donau-Ries district of Bavaria, Germany. Wemding ...
-Weilheim is still served by regional trains; Mündling is still used for operational purposes. Fünfstetten, which was once a junction to a
branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...
to Monheim, is currently only rarely used or only as a siding. The line crosses the Wörnitz shortly before Donauwörth, and shortly afterwards crosses the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
and the
Zusam The Zusam is a river in Bavaria, Germany and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is just north of the village of Könghausen, in the Unterallgäu district of Bavaria. It flows north for approximately 97 km, before converging into the ...
and then runs parallel to the
Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...
. At
Mertingen Mertingen is a municipality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany. The important Roman road, the Via Claudia Augusta was built in this area near the location of "Burghoefe" during the 1st century AD, linking Italy with the Danube ri ...
the line used to meet a branch line to
Wertingen Wertingen () is a town in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria, Germany. It is located along the river Zusam in 13 km east of Dillingen, and 28 km northwest of Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.o ...
, and at Herbertshofen and
Gablingen Gablingen is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and ...
there are industrial sidings. After
Gersthofen Gersthofen () is a town in the district of Augsburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the west bank of the river Lech, approx. north of Augsburg. Gersthofen is divided into five districts (German: Stadtteile): Batzenhofen, Edenbergen (wi ...
, the line crosses the A8 autobahn and Federal Highway 2 and then joins the Ulm–Augsburg line to run through Augsburg-Oberhausen station, cross the
Wertach Wertach is a small town in the Oberallgäu district, southern Bavaria, (Germany), in the German Alps. It is situated on the river Wertach, southeast of Kempten. The town was the childhood home of the writer W. G. Sebald. History Wertach was ...
river and the Augsburg Local Railway and finally reach Augsburg Hauptbahnhof.


Development

The route is double track and electrified throughout. Between Nuremberg and Roth the line runs parallel with the one or two-track Nuremberg-Roth S-Bahn line. In addition, between Nuremberg station and Reichelsdorf trains run on the left, to facilitate connections with the Nuremberg ring line. The projected Augsburg S-Bahn would involve the upgrading of the Meitingen–Augsburg Hbf section to three tracks. Detailed planning and funding of the project have not been completed. A decision to go forward with the project is not expected before 2015. The first Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1973 identified a high-speed line between
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...
and Augsburg via Nuremberg as one of eight development projects. The line was listed as the Würzburg–Augsburg high-speed railway line in the Coordinated Investment Program of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1977. It was also identified as being an urgent priority in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1985.


Transport associations

The line is operated as Regionalbahn line R6 or R64 from Nuremberg to Otting-Weilheim by the ''Greater Nuremberg Transport Association'' (''Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg'', VGN) and as Regionalbahn line R4 from Otting-Weilheim to Augsburg by the ''Augsburg Transport Association'' (''Augsburger Verkehrsverbund'', AVV).


Operations

Intercity Express The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerl ...
and
Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
trains operate long-distance services over the line. The northern section from Nuremberg to Treuchtlingen is served hourly by
Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
trains that continue every two hours alternately via Ingolstadt to Munich or Augsburg. These are usually operated by Class 111 electric locomotives, hauling five double-deck carriages. Since December 2006, a Modus-Wagen train set has also been used. South of Treuchtlingen there is an additional regional express service, which combined with the two-hourly service from Nuremberg, provides an hourly service. This service is operated by push-pull trains, hauled by class 110 or 111 locomotives. Between Donauwörth and Augsburg there is also an hourly Regionalbahn service, which continues every two hours to Munich. The services running only between Donauwörth and Augsburg are operated with the class 440 electric multiple units, the services continuing to Munich were operated by locomotive-hauled double-deck sets until December 2009. Since the timetable change on 10 December 2006, a direct link between Nuremberg and
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' ...
has been operated under the name of ''Allgäu-Franken-Express'', using diesel multiple units of class 612 because of the section between Augsburg and Lindau is not electrified. Four pairs of trains operate each day on the route, stopping in Treuchtlingen and Donauwörth, and provide along with some ICE and IC trains, fast connections between Augsburg and Nuremberg.


Sources


Notes


References

* * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuremberg-Augsburg railway Railway lines in Bavaria Rail transport in Nuremberg Rail transport in Augsburg Railway lines opened in 1844 1844 establishments in Bavaria Buildings and structures in Roth (district) Schwabach Buildings and structures in Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen Buildings and structures in Donau-Ries Buildings and structures in Augsburg (district)