Reichenbach-Hof Electrification

[LNW-GW Joint]

I've been looking at the railway infrastructure on the Leipzig-Plauen-Hof route (Saxony-Bavaria), using the S&W 2012 atlas as a guide.
It shows electrification south from Leipzig to Reichenbach, and then has notes on the rest of the route saying electrification is in progress ("im bau").
But the relevant Wiki entries for the southern section of the line and stations along it seem to suggest continued diesel operation.
In fact the local Vogtlandbahn runs Zwickau-Hof-Cheb (CZ) with diesel trains, and there's a Dresden-Zwickau-Hof RE service.
Hof itself seems to be an island of non-electrification.

This used to be quite an important through route at one time (Berlin-Munich), but was severed during partition and seems never to have recovered.
It has several remarkable bridges en route, including a 3-tier brick-built bridge, the highest in the world, at Göltzsch just south of Reichenbach.
Does anybody know the state of electrification of this route?
The line looks like an interesting option for a Deutschlandticket tour of the area.

 

[Polarbear]

My recollection from a few years back is that services from Leipzig & Dresden to Hof are electric. The line from Hof to Nurnberg was still diesel. I remember thinking it was something of an oddity at the time that there was a relatively small gap between Hof and the Hersbruk area.

 

[Segedunum]

The RE3 between Dresden and Hof (and slower RB30 that runs only between Dresden and Zwickau) is very much electric.

There are many, many German-language articles complaining of the Dieselinsel (Diesel Island) in the Hof area. The only reference I can see to a potential completion date for electrifying this is on the DB site:

Outlook: By 2035, the new construction of digital interlocking technology, ETCS and electrification between Hof, Nuremberg and Regensburg in Bavaria is planned, which will enable continuous electric train operation on the entire eastern corridor from the German ports to the Austrian and Czech borders.

The plan of course being that it all links up so that the likes of the Munich to Prague service can run without needing to switch to diesel (then back to electric).

 

[nwales58]

German Wikipedia says Plauen-Hof electric services started December 2013, so just after your atlas.

This used to be quite an important through route at one time (Berlin-Munich), but was severed during partition and seems never to have recovered.

Hof had inter-zonal trains as well as Probstzella. The Saalfeld-Probstzella although wiggly has a much shorter length of low speed than the Hof route, I would guess that is why Probstzella was modernised first post-1990.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Thank you all for the response, so apparently wired but with some diesel services to destinations beyond the wires, and some further electrification planned south of Hof.

 

[30907]

In fact the local Vogtlandbahn runs Zwickau-Hof-Cheb (CZ) with diesel trains,

No longer - they run via Bad Brambach, with another crossborder route ending at Mehlteuer (plugging a gap) and connecting with Erfurter Bahn who have the contract for Leipzig-Gera-Hof.
The railway geography round there is confusing!

and there's a Dresden-Zwickau-Hof RE service.

Which replaced a short-lived Dresden-Nuremberg with class 232 diesel haulage over the former border. From memory it took almost 6 hours - and now the VDE8 high-speed line through Erfurt is open, the long way round is much quicker.

 

[BavarianTrain]

Good evening
the article is a bit older, but as a resident of the Nuremberg-Marktredwitz line which is part of the so called Franken-Sachsen Magistrale, (in eng. like Franconia Saxony Corridor) from Nürnberg via Hof and Chemnitz to Dresden.
I can provide some background information on the lack of electrification. The project has been on hold since around 2022 due to a negative cost-benefit study. A new evaluation through the the Bundestag is planned, but it has been wait until now. The largest (and probably decisive cost factor) is the section between Hersbruck (right of the Pegnitz) and Neuhaus.
There are 7 tunnels and listed bridges. The tunnels would have to be widened for the overhead line so that it has space there. The bridges would be replaced by new buildings. However, there were complaints from residents who fear the lack of tourism (hikers, cyclists and canoeists).

Presumably to show these NIMBYS where this leads, the DB has built a tunnel to bypass this section.
As a result, two stations would have been closed."Surprisingly" it turned out that the tunnel is too expensive.

In addition, there is a lot of discussion about the traction power lines, which are to run away from the villages, some of which are far away from the railway.

In the section just before Nuremberg, an S-Bahn is planned. But until that will come....

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

This used to be quite an important through route at one time (Berlin-Munich), but was severed during partition and seems never to have recovered.

Berlin to Munich 'corridor' trains continued to run via this route during the DDR era - I travelled from Berlin (Wannsee) to Hof in 1987. It avoided Leipzig Hbf by a loop line which has now been removed. A very interesting journey with military posted at stations as we passed through.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Good evening
the article is a bit older, but as a resident of the Nuremberg-Marktredwitz line which is part of the so called Franken-Sachsen Magistrale, (in eng. like Franconia Saxony Corridor) from Nürnberg via Hof and Chemnitz to Dresden.
I can provide some background information on the lack of electrification. The project has been on hold since around 2022 due to a negative cost-benefit study. A new evaluation through the the Bundestag is planned, but it has been wait until now. The largest (and probably decisive cost factor) is the section between Hersbruck (right of the Pegnitz) and Neuhaus.
There are 7 tunnels and listed bridges. The tunnels would have to be widened for the overhead line so that it has space there. The bridges would be replaced by new buildings. However, there were complaints from residents who fear the lack of tourism (hikers, cyclists and canoeists).

Presumably to show these NIMBYS where this leads, the DB has built a tunnel to bypass this section.
As a result, two stations would have been closed."Surprisingly" it turned out that the tunnel is too expensive.
In addition, there is a lot of discussion about the traction power lines, which are to run away from the villages, some of which are far away from the railway.
In the section just before Nuremberg, an S-Bahn is planned. But until that will come....

Very interesting to see the problems with electrification.
I don't know the area at all, but I see from the S&W Atlas that there is already an electrified line for 30km east of Nürnberg to Hersbruck (Links), while the Hof line is parallel and only 1km or so to the north but unelectrified.
Presumably building a south to north connection between the two lines near Hersbruck (to avoid electrifying the northern line) would be out of the question.
There is a link between the two lines east of Hersbruck but it faces the wrong way (north to south, or rather west to east).

 

[nwales58]

The project has been on hold since around 2022 due to a negative cost-benefit study. A new evaluation through the the Bundestag is planned, but it has been wait until now.

Also, projects like this are now sliding indefinitely into the future.

It's not really in UK news but the federal budget situation is dire and uncertain since last week. Current projects needing federal money seem to be on hold unless contracts are already let, construction industry worried. Even Deutschlandticket is uncertain.

The next government if CDU/CSU led is unlikely to be friendly to public transport spending.

 

[BavarianTrain]

Good evening,

the left Pegnitz line (Nuremberg - Hersbruck left - Hartmannshof) is part of the historic Bavarian Eastern Railway Nuremberg - Irrenlohe - Schwandorf, which was built by 1860. After long planning, this line was electrified in the course of the introduction of the Nuremberg S-Bahn, first between Nuremberg and Lauf (left). In 2010, the S-Bahn was extended via Hersbruck to Hartmannshof. On this route, there is a 20-minute interval in the first section to Lauf, with the route having long signal intervals.

This line is part of the expansion project "Metropolenbahn" Nuremberg - left Pegnitz line - Schwandorf - Furth im Wald - Pilsen (CZ) . The Neukirchen - Weiden branch line (there connection to Hof) will not be electrified.

Then there is the Nuremberg - Pommelsbrunn connecting line, which connects both Pegnitz lines. Many regional express trains use this connection. These trains have tilting technology.

Back to the railway expansion.

The area between Nuremberg and Hersbruck (right) and on to Vorra is very easy to electrify. Then come the problems mentioned. Another problem is that the bridges in this area between Vorra and Neuhaus are very dilapidated there, which is why some steam trains are no longer allowed to drive along in double tratkion. In the long term, the condition will deteriorate.

Unfortunately, the Pegnitzal cannot be bypassed so easily. The only possibility would be this one tunnel or a complete new section along the A9 from Lauf to Pegnitz, which, however, would have to make do with large bridges.

As a local, I would very much like to contribute a few pictures. Unfortunately, I have almost no pictures from the area around Velden with the bridges and tunnels, because there are very few freight trains on the line. However, I can show something from the two Pegnitz routes. The two shots from above were taken at the Lichtenstein customs ruins in Pommelsbrunn.

The right Pegnitz Line. In Front You can see Hohenstadt The line makes a curve there in the direction of Neuhaus and on to Bayreuth/Marktredwitz. The RE (BR 612) uses the Connection to Pommelsbrunn. The City in the Background is Hersbruck.

Here the other side near Pommelsbrunn where the Connection joints the Ostbahn to Schwandorf. In the Background the electrefied left Pegnitzline

Evening Atmosphere near Hersbruck (right))

BR 233 with a mixed freight train to Nuremberg in Hohenstadt.

And the left Pegnitz Line with a BR 442 which is leaving Hersbruck to Hartmannshof while the Ostbahn community celebrates the annual parish fair. Ostbahn is the historic name of this line and the southern part of Hersbruck which was created after the construction of this line.

And for the last Picture we make journey to Reichenbach where a RE 3 is crossing the famous Göltzschtalbrücke. The photos, this bridge laughed at me all the time in my photo folders during my research, as if it were saying "take me, take me..."One day it will hopefully be possible again (since the discontinuation of the IRE trains) to travel from Nuremberg to Saxony without changing trains.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Great photos, the Göltzschatalbrücke is on my bucket list along with the surrounding area. Not much to add but felt the photos were worth complimenting.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Yes, great photos, must visit this area next year.
Good to see an ex-DR class 132 (now 232/3) still working on freight.
Built in then-Ukraine (Luhansk/Voroshilovgrad), in a Donbas factory now behind Russian lines.
These impressive locos when new pulled my "corridor" trains across the DDR to/from Berlin in 1977.