Paar Valley Railway

Paar Valley Railway
Overview
Other name(s) Ingolstadt–Augsburg Railway
Native name Paartalbahn
Type Heavy rail, Passenger rail
Regional rail
Status Operational
Locale Bavaria
Termini Ingolstadt
Augsburg
Stations 12
Line number 5382
Operation
Opened 15 May 1875
Owner Deutsche Bahn
Operator(s) Bayerische Regiobahn
Technical
Line length 67.0 km (41.6 mi)
Number of tracks Single track
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed Ingolstadt Hbf–Seehof:
130 km/h (80.8 mph),
Seehof–Augsburg Hbf:
120 km/h (74.6 mph)
Route number 983

The Paar Valley Railway (German: Paartalbahn) is a railway that runs for part of its way through the Paar Valley between Augsburg-Hochzoll and Ingolstadt via Friedberg, Dasing, Aichach and Schrobenhausen. This single-tracked, unelectrified main line is 67 km long (calculated from Augsburg Hauptbahnhof) and has timetable no. KBS 983.

History

A Regionalbahn train on the Paar Valley Railway near Niederarnbach

The line was built between 1872 and 1875 and opened on 15 May 1875. Plans around the turn of the century for a further link from Pöttmes and Eurasburg were not put into action. Likewise, despite a lot of discussion, nothing came of the idea for a link line from Aichach on the Paar Valley Railway to the terminus at Altomünster of the branch line made famous by Ludwig Thoma (today S-Bahn Line A in the MVV network), which would have provided a direct connexion to the Munich S-Bahn network. In the winter of 1922, service was closed from time to time due to the lack of coal.

In 1935, railbuses were used for the first time between Augsburg and Aichach. During the Second World War, the line was also used for military purposes. In early 1945, operations came to a standstill however after a bridge over the Paar had been blown up. Despite that, the line was able to be opened again on 1 January 1946.

During the course of the 1960s, the number of passengers dwindled due to the increase in private motor vehicles and in 1975 a closure of the line was discussed for the first time. Whilst that came to nothing, in the years that followed several halts were closed and service was reduced.

In 1989, the line between Augsburg and Radersdorf was incorporated into the Augsburger Verkehrsverbund (AVV) and, in 1996, services were increased with the introduction of the Bavaria-Takt, a new system of fixed-interval services. At that time, DB Class 628 multiples and locomotive-hauled push-pull trains were mainly used. In 1999, the maximum speed limit on the line was raised to 120 km/h. At the end of 2000, goods services were withdrawn.

Services

Since 2001 the line has been worked by DBAG Class 642 multiples, but there is no regular, through goods traffic at present. However, during the week a short, northern section of the line from Ingolstadt is served by a transhipment train from Railion, because a haulage company is based in Karlskron-Probfeld, which runs a large car storage operation. In addition from August 2002 the line was sometimes worked by oil trains from Ingolstadt to Kempten (Allgäu) hauled by engines from the Augsburg Localbahn.

Since July 2007 goods traffic has returned between Augsburg and Radersdorf. The sawmill of Anton Heggenstaller based in Unterbernbach has refurbished its siding and loading area, so that regular wood trains from the Augsburg Localbahn and other private railway companies, like the OHE may be seen.

Future

From 2009 operations on the Paar Valley Railway will be taken on by the Bayerische Regiobahn owned by Veolia Verkehr after they had won the tender from the Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft. The Regiobahn network will include the Ammersee Railway, the Pfaffenwinkel Railway and the Ingolstadt–Eichstätt Stadt line. On the Paar Valley Railway the Class 642’s of the Desiro type will be replaced by LINT 41 (DB Class 648) units.

The following projects are under discussion, in order to make the planned fixed-interval services on the Paar Valley Railway even more attractive in future:

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