Ländches Railway
| Ländches Railway | |||
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| Overview | |||
| Line number | 3501 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 19.6 km | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Route number | 627 | ||
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The Ländches Railway (German: Ländchesbahn) is a single non-electrified branch railway line between Wiesbaden and Niedernhausen, Germany. The 19.6-kilometre (12.2 mi) long line was opened in July 1879 by the Hessian Ludwig Railway. It is now Deutsche Bahn Route 627 and Route 21 of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund.
The route originally began at the Ludwig Station (Ludwigsbahnhof) on Rheinstrasse in Wiesbaden, near the Taunus Station. In 1906, this station (as well as the Taunus Station) were replaced with the current Wiesbaden Central Station (Hauptbahnhof). The route now begins on the west side of the Central Station and crosses, in the vicinity of the Hammermühle, the tracks to and from Wiesbaden-East and Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Originally, a freight line from Wiesbaden-East paralled the Ländchesbahn from this overpass to the Wiesbaden Army Airfield in Erbenheim, so that the two-way tracks were side by side on the same embankment, almost to the Erbenheim passenger station. In 2002 the freight route was closed and the section from the Wiesbaden Central Station to shortly before Erbenheim was used for the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line. This section, covering relatively flat terrain in the Wäschbach valley, is now double-tracked and electrified.
From Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, the route goes through the Ländchen, from which it takes its name. The elevation rises steadily to the north. North of the Wiesbaden-Auringen/Medenbach station, the line passes underneath the Cologne–Frankfurt HSL and then enters the 197-metre (646 ft) long "Grauer-Stein" Tunnel beneath Bundesautobahn 3 and Bundesstraße 455. This tunnel is at a high point of the Taunus and marks the highest elevation of the line. The elevation drops towards Niedernhausen, the endpoint of the original line. In Niedernhausen, the Ländchesbahn merges between the tracks of the Main-Lahn railway, allowing the trains to change between the routes without difficulty.
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Wikipedia