Ries Railway

Ries Railway (Aalen–Donauwörth)
Overview
Native name	Riesbahn
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Baden Württemberg Bavaria
Termini	Aalen Donauwörth
Stations	17
Line number	4710 (Aalen–Nördlingen) 5300 (Nördlingen–Donauwörth)
Operation
Opened	Stages between 1847 - 1863
Owner	Deutsche Bahn
Operator(s)	DB Bahn
Technical
Line length	68.6 km (42.6 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track Double track (Aalen-Goldshöfe)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV 16,7 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route number	995
Route map from Stuttgart from Ulm from Dillingen (until 1972) 72.2 Aalen 74.2 Wasseralfingen 76.0 Hofen (b. Aalen) 78.9 Goldshöfe to Crailsheim 81.5 Frankenreuteuntil 2 June 1991 83.9 Westhausen 88.2 Lauchheim 91.9 Röttingen (Württ.)until 28 May 1972 Bildwasen tunnel (574 m) 95.9 Aufhausen (Württ.) 99.2 Bopfingen 103.6 Trochtelfingen (b. Bopfingen) 106.5 Pflaumloch from Dombühl from Gunzenhausen from Wemding 111.5 70.1 Nördlingen 65.0 Großelfingen 61.2 Möttingen 56.9 Hoppingen 51.7 Harburg (Schwab.) 49.1 Ebermergen 46.2 Wörnitzstein from Nuremberg from Ulm 40.8 Donauwörth to Ingolstadt to Augsburg

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 section of the Aalen–Nördlingen railway built by the Kingdom of Württemberg as the Rems Railway and a section of the Nördlingen–Donauwörth railway built as part of the Ludwig South-North Railway by the Kingdom of Bavaria, two of the oldest lines in Germany.

The line is electrified and built as a single-track, except for the two-track section between Aalen and Goldshöfe. The height of some platform edges is below the minimum standard of about 38 cm above the rails and the central platforms of smaller stations are only accessible by crossing the tracks on plank crossings.

Regionalbahn trains operate on the route every hour on weekday and every two hours on weekends. Trains are mostly operated as electric multiple units consisting of Alstom Coradia Continental (class 440) sets. The journey time in 2010, according to the annual timetable from Aalen to Donauwörth is 69 minutes. In the opposite direction trains take 81 minutes (12 minutes longer), because on the single track line the crossing stations are not located appropriately for symmetric scheduling. The crossings places are at Möttingen and Bopfingen.

Goldshöfe Station was originally built not to serve the location, but as a junction station on the lines from Aalen to Nördlingen and to Crailsheim. It is now used by many people from the nearby Hüttlingen community.

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Wikipedia