Schifferstadt–Wörth railway

Schifferstadt–Wörth
Route number:	677
Line number:	3400 (including Bienwald Railway)
Track gauge:	1435
Voltage:	15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC
Maximum speed:	135
Legend from Ludwigshafen (Rhein) S 1S 2S 3S 4 0.0 Schifferstadt to Neustadt (Weinstr.) S 1S 2 2.3 Schifferstadt Süd 2.7 Schifferstadt Gemeinde junction 8.4 Speyer Nord-West from Heidelberg Speyerbach 9.1 Speyer Hbf. Speyer Südplanned to Heidelberg (1938–45) 12.8 Berghausen (Pfalz) 14.2 Heiligenstein (Pfalz) 19.2 Lingenfeld from Landau (Pfalz) 22.5 GermersheimTerminus of S 3S 33S 4/S 51S 52 Industriegleis zum Hafen Queich 24.0 Germersheim Mitte/Rhein to Graben-Neudorf S 33 25.4 Luftwaffendepot junction 25.6 Germersheim Süd/Nolte 27.5 Sondernheim Industrial line to former American fuel store 32.4 Bellheim Am Mühlbuckel 33.0 Bellheim 36.5 Rülzheim Klingbach 37.6 Rülzheim Freizeitzentrum 41.0 Rheinzabern 41.6 Rheinzabern Rappengasse 42.4 Rheinzabern Alte Römerstraße 44.2 Jockgrim 48.4 Wörth (Rhein) Nordin planning from Landau (Pfalz) S 5 from Wörth Badepark 49.9 Wörth (Rhein) to Karlsruhe S 5S 51S 52 and to Lauterbourg

The Schifferstadt–Wörth railway or Speyer line or is a uniformly double track and electrified main line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Between Schifferstadt and Germersheim it is part of the network of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn. Between Germersheim and Wörth am Rhein it is part of the network of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe. The first section between Schifferstadt and Speyer was opened on 11 June 1847; in 1864 it was extended to Germersheim and in 1876 it was extended to Wörth am Rhein.

Route

Schifferstadt station: The Speyer line (left) branches from the Palatine Ludwig Railway (right)

The 50 km-long railway line begins in Schifferstadt, where it branches to the left from the Palatine Ludwig Railway. It runs directly to the southeast to the outskirts of Schifferstadt and continues through the woods between Schifferstadt and Speyer. A few hundred metres after a junction with part of the former Heidelberg–Speyer railway that is still used as an industrial railway, the line curves to the south.

While still in the city of Speyer it curves again to the southwest and runs almost straight, passing the community of Römerberg to the west of its built-up area. Shortly before Lingenfeld it curves left and runs south between the built-up areas of Lingenfeld and Lingenfelder Altrhein. On this section of the line used to converge with the Lower Queich Valley Railway, which came from the right and ran parallel with the Speyer line as far as Germersheim.

In Germersheim the line takes an odd course: after its exit from the station it makes an S-shaped double curve and runs around the east of the town, instead of passing Germersheim to the west, which would have been possible at the time because the old town was far enough to the east. The Bruhrain Railway branches off the line at Germersheim station and runs parallel to the left of the Speyer line about half way around the town before turning east to cross the Rhine. The Speyer line makes another S-curve and leaves Germersheim behind.

The line then runs to Sondernheim, where it curves to the west to Bellheim, where it turns back to the south and runs to Rülzheim. In northwestern Rülzheim, it makes a lazy S-curve and then continues south, cutting through Rheinzabern and Jockgrim to connect with the Palatine Maximilian Railway and the Bienwald Railway in Wörth am Rhein.

Operations

The route is now largely operated as a passenger line. Freight is only operated by a private railway company. Freight traffic mainly serves the ports of Speyer, Germersheim and Wörth. The line is also used by through trains, mainly serving the oil refinery at Oberrhein in Karlsruhe and BASF in Ludwigshafen.

Passenger operations are divided between the Schifferstadt–Germersheim sections and the Germersheim–Worth section. The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn lines S 3 (Germersheim–Ludwigshafen–Heidelberg–Bruchsal–Karlsruhe) and S 4 (Germersheim–Ludwigshafen–Heidelberg (–Bruchsal)) together form an approximately half-service (each operates hourly). Services are operated with class 425.2 electric multiple units.

The line also forms part of Regional-Express line 4 between Mainz and Karlsruhe. These services use class 612 tilting diesel multiple units (from December 2011 class 425 electric multiple units will also be used), running every two hours from Schifferstadt to Germersheim, where it connects with Bruhrain line trains to Graben-Neudorf. The Regional-Express trains only stop at the stations of Schifferstadt, Speyer and Germersheim.

Karlsruhe Stadtbahn: Wörth–Germersheim

The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn operates on the following route:

• S 51 (Germersheim–Wörth (Rhein)–Karlsruhe Albtalbf–Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof)
• S 52 (Germersheim–Wörth (Rhein)–Karlsruhe Entenfang–Karlsruhe Marktplatz (Pyramide))

Even before the opening of the Stadtbahn in 2010, the platforms of the stations were before were already 160 m long in order to handle the commuter trains to the BASF factory in Ludwigshafen; this is longer than the existing Stadtbahn platforms, which are normally 120 m long.

References

• Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) 2007/2008 edition. Schweers + Wall. 2007. ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9.