Lake Constance Belt Railway

Lake Constance Belt Railway
Overview
Native name	Bodenseegürtelbahn
Line number	4331 (Stahringen–Friedrichshafen Stadt); 4530 (Friedrichshafen Stadt–Lindau-Aeschach junction);
Locale	Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, Germany
Termini	Stahringen; Lindau-Aeschach junction
Service
Route number	731
Technical
Line length	74.355 km (46.202 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
	51.780
	0.000
	Source: German railway atlas[1][2][3]

The Lake Constance Belt Railway (German: Bodenseegürtelbahn) is a continuous, single-track railway from Stahringen to Lindau-Aeschach in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. It runs mainly along the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee), and bears the Deutsche Bahn timetable number of 731 (Radolfzell–Lindau Hbf).

History

The line on the north side of the lake was created from the connection of the endpoints of the lines to Lake Constance of the railway companies of the surrounding countries:

Stahringen was connected to the railway network on 20 July 1867 by the Hegau-Ablach Valley Railway. The first section of the Lake Constance Belt Railway from Stahringen to Überlingen was opened on 18 August 1895. Friedrichshafen Stadt station was finally reached on 2 October 1901. The section from Lindau to Friedrichshafen had been commissioned two years earlier on 1 October 1899. Friedrichshafen had been connected by the Württemberg Southern Railway to Ravensburg since 8 November 1847; this line was connected with the Württemberg rail network at Ulm on 1 June 1850.

On 22 December 1939, there was a great train wreck when a passenger and a freight train collided on the line between Markdorf and Kluftern, resulting in the deaths of 102 people. As earlier the same day two express trains had collided with each other in Genthin in Saxony-Anhalt with (186 deaths), it was the worst day of German railway history.[4]

Branches

Oberuhldingen-Mühlhofen–Unteruhldingen railway, 2.53 kilometres long, opened on 2 October 1901 and closed on 31 October 1950 for passenger services
Mimmenhausen-Neufrach–Frickingen railway, 8.23 kilometres long, opened on 1 December 1905 and closed on 4 October 1953 for passenger services.

Rail operations

The Lake Constance Belt Railway is operated by hourly trains as two routes with different trains. The entire line from Radolfzell to Lindau is also served by five through passenger services each day.

Radolfzell–Friedrichshafen

The Radolfzell–Friedrichshafen section has been served hourly since 2003 by the Seehänsele (the name is derived from See—"lake"—and Hänsele—a local carnival figure) regional service[5] using Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1 railcars. Some trains continue to Singen or to Friedrichshafen Hafen. In addition, every two hours Interregio-Express Sprinter services (class 611 tilting trains) run between Ulm and Basel Bad, stopping only in Friedrichshafen, Überlingen and Radolfzell.

Friedrichshafen–Lindau

The Friedrichshafen–Lindau section is served by Regionalbahn trains roughly every hour (separated by 40 or 80 minute intervals alternatively), using Regio-Shuttle RS1, class 611 or class 628 diesel multiple units. In addition, Inter-Regional Express services run hourly on the (Stuttgart–) Ulm–Lindau route, as well as an intercity train pair from Munster to Innsbruck. On Saturdays in the winter season a pair of Intercity Ski Express Montafon trains also run from Frankfurt to Landeck.

Salem
Uhldingen-Mühlhofen
Langenargen

Planned upgrade

As part of the electrification of the Southern Railway, the Friedrichshafen–Lindau section of the Lake Constance Belt Railway is also to be electrified. In March 2012, this project was included in the 2011–2015 investment plan in transport infrastructure of the federal government.[6]

Notes

Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. p. 112. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
Lothar Brill. "Line 4330" (in German). Tunnelportale.
Lothar Brill. "Line 4331" (in German). Tunnelportale.
Albert Kuntzemüller (1953). Die badischen Eisenbahnen (in German). Karlsruhe: G. Braun. pp. 163 ff.
"Seehänsele - Ihre RegionalBahn am Bodensee" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
"Investment plan in 2011–2015 for federal transport infrastructure" (PDF) (in German). Federal Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Development. Retrieved 7 December 2012.

References

Helmut Röth (2006). Auf Schienen zwischen Odenwald und Pfalz. Fotografien 1955-1976 (in German). Ludwigshafen am Rhein: Verlag Pro Message. p. 168. ISBN 3-934845-18-5.

External links

"Das "Seehänsele" fährt jetzt auf der Bodenseegürtelbahn" (in German). Archived from the original on 16 July 2003. Retrieved 7 December 2012.

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[Eisenbahnatlas-1] Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. p. 112. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.

[2] Lothar Brill. "Line 4330" (in German). Tunnelportale.

[3] Lothar Brill. "Line 4331" (in German). Tunnelportale.

[4] Albert Kuntzemüller (1953). Die badischen Eisenbahnen (in German). Karlsruhe: G. Braun. pp. 163 ff.

[5] "Seehänsele - Ihre RegionalBahn am Bodensee" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 7 December 2012.

[6] "Investment plan in 2011–2015 for federal transport infrastructure" (PDF) (in German). Federal Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Development. Retrieved 7 December 2012.