Lebach–Völklingen railway

Wemmetsweiler–Nonnweiler railway
The reactivated Walpershofen station, now Walpershofen Mitte
Overview
Line number	3291
Technical
Line length	22 km (14 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route number	635 235a (1935) 265e (1944)
Route map Prims Valley Railway from Primsweiler 0.0 Lebach Prims Valley Railway to Illingen 1.3 Lebach Süd (from 2014) 2.4 Landsweiler Nord (until 1985, from 2014) 3.3 Landsweiler Süd (from 2014) Spitzeich Tunnel (476 m) 5.8 Eiweiler (until 1985) 6.0 Eiweiler Nord (from 2014) Eiweiler Viaduct over the Köllerbach 6.6 Eiweiler (from 2014) 7.5 Heusweiler Kirschhof (from 2014) A 8 8.1 Heusweiler In der Hommersbach (from 2014) 9.2 Heusweiler Markt B 268 9.4 Heusweiler (until 1985) 9.6 Heusweiler Schulzentrum Köllerbach 10.3 Walpershofen Mühlenstraße L 136 4.6 Dilsburg pit (until 1931) L 136 0.0 10.8 Walpershofen Mitte (from 1936) Saarbahn to Saarbrücken (since 2011) 12.5 Etzenhofen 14.1 Köllerbach (formerly: Kölln (Saar)) Köllerbach 16.5 Püttlingen (Saar) L 136 former line from Püttlingen pit 19.9 Völklingen-Heidstock (from 1936) Heidstock Tunnel (192 m, from 1914) Saar Railway from Saarbrücken (former flying junction) 22.0 Völklingen Saar Railway to Saarlouis Source: German railway atlas

The Lebach–Völklingen railway is a single-track branch line that originally ran from Lebach to Völklingen in the German state of the Saarland. It is also called the Köllertalbahn (Koller Valley Railway) because it ran through the Köller valley.

Towards the end of the 19th century the towns of the Köller valley were becoming residential areas for ironworkers and miners employed in the Saar region. However, the workers initially had to walk the long distances to their jobs so sought a railway to open up the Köller valley.

After several submissions and petitions the construction of the Koller Valley Railway was approved by the Prussian king under law number 25 on 15 June 1906. Then construction, mainly carried out by Croatian and Italian workers, began in 1909. The southern end of the new line was not connected directly to the Saar line at Völklingen station. Instead, it was connected about two kilometres east of it, near the later Heidstock station, to a line that had existed since 1872, connecting Völklingen to the Grube Viktoria (Victoria pit, named after Victoria, Princess Royal) in Püttlingen.

The whole line was opened on 1 October 1911. Simultaneously, a Grubenanschlussbahn "pit siding" was built from Etzenhofen to the Grube Dilsburg (Dilsburg pit). On 16 November 1911, the first coal train left the mine. The mine railway left Etzenhofen initially parallel to the track of the Köller Valley Railway and ran via Walpershofen to approximately 250 m north of the later Walpershofen station, with the separation of the mining railway from the main line forming a y-shape.

Already in 1914, there was a realignment in Völklingen. The section of track adopted from the Püttlingen mine railway, which crossed over a level crossing over Völklinger Standtrand, later part of the federal highway 51, was abandoned. The new route ran through the newly built Heidstock Tunnel under the road, a few hundred metres east of the old crossing. Directly afterwards it crossed the Saar Line via a bridge, then connected with the southern side of Völklingen station.

During the First World War, the route served military purposes. After the war, there were at first ideas of abandoning the route, especially after the Dilsburg pit was closed in 1931 due to the global economic crisis. After the return of the Saar to Germany in 1935, the Köller Valley Railway had greater use. Up to 28 pairs of trains and up to 8,000 passengers per day used the line in 1936.