The Wiesau–Cheb railway was a major railway 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 ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, which was originally part of the main line connecting

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 ...

, Weiden and Eger (now

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

), which was built and operated by the

Bavarian Eastern Railway Company The Royal Bavarian Eastern Railway Company (''Königlich privilegirte Actiengesellschaft der bayerischen Ostbahnen'') or Bavarian Ostbahn was founded in 1856. Within just two decades it built an extensive railway network in the eastern Bavarian prov ...

(). In 1945 the line was closed at the border and since 2000 it has been closed completely except for a 3.6 km section.

History

The Bavarian Eastern Railway opened the section from Weiden via Wiesau to Mitterteich on 15 August 1864 as part of its north–south line and 15 October 1865 this was followed by the section to the junction at Eger, which at that time was in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. The line was always single-track and it lost some of its importance on 1 June 1882 when the

Bavarian State Railways The Royal Bavarian State Railways (''Königliche Bayerische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.Bay.Sts.B.'') was the state railway company for the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded in 1844. The organisation grew into the second largest of the Germa ...

opened the Marktredwitz-Wiesau connection of the

Weiden–Oberkotzau railway The Weiden–Oberkotzau railway is a two-track main line railway in Bavaria, Germany. It connects with the Regensburg–Weiden railway in Weiden in der Oberpfalz and runs via Marktredwitz station, Marktredwitz to Oberkotzau station, Oberkotzau, wh ...

, but trains ran on the line until the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The foundation of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1919/20 led to more formalities at the border, which runs east of

Waldsassen Waldsassen (; Northern Bavarian: ''Woidsassen'') is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. Geography Waldsassen is the northernmost municipality of the Upper Palatinate region. In the northeast, it borde ...

, near Schloppenhof (now Slapany). From Waldsassen station, only passenger trains were allowed to operate to and from Cheb. The track in Germany was taken over by the newly established

Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...

(German Imperial Railways). After the annexation of the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

by Germany in 1938 the route was served by a fast train from Munich to Carlsbad (now

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

). After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in May 1945, the line was permanently closed to traffic at the border. Rail services between Cheb and Slapany were maintained until 1967. The line in Bavaria continued to be operated for forty years. On 30 May 1986

Deutsche Bundesbahn Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...

closed passenger services, which at times had had more than ten pairs of trains per day. Freight operations ended to Waldsassen on 10 October 1994 and to Mitterteich officially on 1 January 2000. The

Federal Railway Authority The German Federal Railway Authority (, ) has been the independent federal authority for the regulation of the railways in Germany since 1 January 1994. It is under the supervision and direction of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transpo ...

(''Eisenbahn-Bundesamt'') approved the closure of the Mitterteich–Waldsassen section on 1 August 1995 and it took place on 5 November 1995. On 31 January 2000 this was followed by approval for the closure of part of the Wiesau–Mitterteich section from 3.6 km from Mitterteich and this was completed on 19 March 2000. The remaining 3.6 km section from Wiesau to the siding of GRB Mitterteich (a nuclear waste storage facility) was converted into a siding to Wiesau station on 31 December 2000 and will continue to be used for freight as required by

DB Schenker Schenker AG (trading as DB Schenker) is a subsidiary of Danish logistics company DSV. The company was previously owned by German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which acquired the subsidiary back in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea fr ...

Rail Deutschland.

Quarry railway

A 700 mm gauge

Feldbahn A , or , is the German term for a narrow-gauge field railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry () and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth ...

railway was operated from the Steinmühle station by Bayerische Basalt AG to a quarry. After the end of basalt production the railway was closed on 31 October 1984.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiesau-Cheb railway Railway lines in Bavaria Railway lines in the Czech Republic International railway lines Cross-border railway lines in Germany Cross-border railway lines in the Czech Republic Railway lines opened in 1864 Closed railway lines in Germany 1864 establishments in Bavaria Tirschenreuth (district)