Ruhland station

Ruhland
Junction station

Main building and station forecourt
Location Ruhland, Brandenburg
Germany
Coordinates 51°27′11″N 13°51′58″E / 51.453056°N 13.866111°ECoordinates: 51°27′11″N 13°51′58″E / 51.453056°N 13.866111°E
Line(s)
Platforms 4
Other information
Station code 5422 [1]
DS100 codeBRU [2]
Category5 [1]
History
Opened 20 April 1870


Ruhland station is located in the town of Ruhland in northwestern Upper Lusatia in the south of the German state of Brandenburg on the Großenhain–Cottbus railway and the Falkenberg (Elster)–Węgliniec railway. The station is a heritage-listed building.[3]

History

Historical map of Ruhland node

The Cottbus-Großenhain Railway Company (Cottbus-Großenhainer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) was founded at the end of the 19th century by the railway financier Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal. Ruhland station began operations with the opening of the Großenhain–Cottbus railway on 20 April 1870. It became the administrative seat of the Upper Lusatian Railway Company (Oberlausitzer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), when it was established on 11 October 1871. The Upper Lusatian Railway opened the Kohlfurt (now Węgliniec)–Horka–Ruhland railway line on 1 June 1874. Ruhland became an important hub in the Prussian railway network. On 1 September 1883 the company and Ruhland station were taken over by the Prussian state. It operated direct trains to Magdeburg, Breslau (now Wrocław) in Lower Silesia, Dresden, Prague and Cottbus. Today, the station, which was once a hub of services between the Province of Lower Silesia, the Duchy of Anhalt and the Kingdom of Saxony, is only a stop for regional traffic.

Planned expansion and renovation

Rear view of Ruhland station, remnants of the former station kitchen and sanitary facilities

Ruhland town and regional businesses are promoting the development and renovation of the station. Discussions between Ruhland and Deutsche Bahn have been going on for more than ten years. The euphoria of reunification has long since turned into scepticism. Deutsche Bahn stated in July 2010 that the first work on the station would be carried out from 2015 to 2019. It was estimated that the work would cost €15,000.

Intermodal terminal

Electric locomotive of the R4C between Ruhland and BASF Schwarzheide
(in the background is the bridge of the B169)

Ruhland station has a significant role in handling traffic to and from the premises of BASF Schwarzheide GmbH, which is about three kilometres away in the neighbouring town of Schwarzheide.[4] Currently about 60,000 freight movements are handled annually at the station.

Former branch lines

In 1875, the Upper Lusatian Railway Company opened a branch line from Ruhland to the Lauchhammer iron works that later connected to the Zschipkau-Finsterwalde Railway (Schipkau-Finsterwalder Eisenbahn, ZFE). Passenger services closed in 1962.

The section from Ruhland to Lauchhammer Ost still serves as an industrial siding, mainly for handling the traffic from BASF Schwarzheide to and from BASF’s factories in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

Rail services

The following services stop at Ruhland station (as of 15 December 2013):

Line Route Frequency (min) Operator
RE 15 Hoyerswerda – Ruhland – Großenhain – Priestewitz – Dresden 120 DB Regio Nordost[5]
RE 18 Cottbus – Senftenberg – Ruhland – Großenhain – Priestewitz – Dresden 120 DB Regio Nordost
RB 49 Cottbus – Senftenberg – Ruhland – Elsterwerda-Biehla – Falkenberg (Elster) 120 DB Regio Nordost
S 4 Hoyerswerda – Ruhland – Elsterwerda-Biehla – Falkenberg (Elster) – Eilenburg – Leipzig – Geithain 120 DB Regio Südost

A pair of Regionalbahn RB 49 services from Cottbus to Falkenberg (Elster) is extended daily to/from Stralsund via Berlin as Regional-Express RE 5. It is also connected by several bus services: routes 601 (Senftenberg–Lauchammer), 610 (Ruhland–Großräschen), 611 (Schwarzheide–Ruhland–Guteborn–Hosena/Jannowitz) and 609 (Schwarzheide–Buckersdorf/Großmehlen/Ortrand).

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Stationspreisliste 2015" [Station price list 2015] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  3. ↑ "Denkmalliste des Landes Brandenburg, Landkreis Oberspreewald-Lausitz" (PDF) (in German). Government of Brandenburg. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Track plan of Ruhland station during the time of east Germany" (in German). www.sachsenschiene.net. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "DB Regio Nordost betreibt das Netz Elbe-Elster" (in German). Deutsche Bahn AG. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ruhland station.