Main Railway

Main Railway
Overview
Native name	Mainbahn
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail, Commuter rail Intercity rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Germany
Termini	Mainz Hbf Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
Stations	12
Line number	3520
Operation
Opened	3 January 1863
Owner	Deutsche Bahn
Operator(s)	DB Regio, Rhein-Main S-Bahn
Technical
Line length	37.5 km (23.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph)
Route number	471/645.8/645.9
Route map Legend West Rhine Railway from Boppard From rail bypass and Taunus line to Wiesbaden Line from Alzey From Mainz harbour 0.0 Mainz Hbf Mainz railway tunnel north (northbound) New Mainz tunnel (southbound) Mainz railway tunnel south (northbound) 1.8 Mainz Römisches Theater Former line from Mainz Hauptbahnhof Line to Ludwigshafen South bridge (Mainz), border RP/Hesse Former train ferryRhine-Main Railway 4.6 Mainz-Gustavsburg 5.6 Mainz-Gustavsburg harbour siding Mainz rail bypass, from Taunus Railway 7.4 Mainz-Bischofsheim To Mainz-Bischofsheim 9.6 Mainz-Bischofsheim Ültg II junction Rhine-Main Railway to Darmstadt 11.2 Rüsselsheim-Opelwerk 12.2 Rüsselsheim 15.9 Raunheim 17.4 Raunheim Mönchwald junction Connecting curve to HSL to Frankfurt A 3 Frankfurt Airport–Cologne HSL 19.1 Raunheim Caltex & Ticona siding 19.4 Raunheim Brunnenschneise junction Connecting curve from HSL to Cologne Industrial sidings 23.8 Kelsterbach .Frankfurt Airport loop ?,? Frankfurt-Schwanheim Frankfurt Airport loop 29.1 Frankfurt-Schwanheim Fernbahn junction A 5 Mannheim–Frankfurt railway to Riedstadt-Goddelau 31.4 Frankfurt (Main) Stadion Bypass line via Forsthaus (see below) Connecting line from Frankfurt-Louisa 33.2 Frankfurt-Niederrad Old Niederräd bridge / new Niederräd bridge Frankfurt City Link Line To Main-Lahn line to Frankfurt-Höchst Main-Lahn line from Frankfurt-Höchst To Taunus Railway to Frankfurt-Höchst Goods railway from Frankfurt-Griesheim 35.4 Frankfurt Gutleuthof junction Taunus Railway from Frankfurt-Höchst Frankfurt Kleyerstr. junction 35.3 Frankfurt Außenbf To Frankfurt goods yard Main-Neckar Railway from Darmstadt South Main line from Offenbach Main-Weser Railway from Gießen Homburg Railway from F–West Former line from Peace Bridge (see below) 37.5 Frankfurt (Main) Hbf(since 1888) Frankfurt (Main) Hbf underground(since 1978) City Tunnel to Frankfurt South and Offenbach / Frankfurt western stations(until 1888)  Originally part of route (now bypass line)[1]  Line from Mainz (see above) 31.4 Frankfurt am Main Stadion Current line via Frankfurt-Niederrad (see above) 33.2 Forsthaus (Frankfurt)(junction, former station) Connecting curve to Darmstadt, Frankfurt Main-Neckar Railway from Darmstadt Current line to Main-Neckar Bridge (see above) Former Lokalbahn, Main-Neckar Railway 36.6 Frankfurt South South Main line to Hanau North Main line to Hanau City Tunnel to Frankfurt Hbf (underground) Peace Bridge (old Main-Neckar Bridge) Former route of the Main-Neckar railway Current bridge (see above) Frankfurt (Main) Hbf(since 1888) Frankfurt (Main) Hbf underground(since 1978) City Tunnel to South Station/Offenbach and ??.? Frankfurt western stations(until 1888) Source: German railway atlas[1]

The Main Railway (German: Mainbahn, pronounced 'mine barn') is a 37.5 km-long double-track electrified railway line, which runs on the south side of the Main River from Mainz to Frankfurt central station.

History

Immediately after the opening of the Rhine-Main Railway from Mainz to Aschaffenburg by the Hessian Ludwig Railway Company in 1858, it was anxious to also own a connection to Frankfurt. Therefore, it built the new line from a branch off the Rhine-Main line at Bischofsheim along the left (southern) bank of the Main to Frankfurt. It thereby put itself into competition with the parallel Taunus Railway, which runs on the right bank of the Main. The concession for building and operating the line was awarded by Grand Duchy of Hesse on 15 August 1861 and by the senate of the Free City of Frankfurt on 17 January 1862.

The building of the line took only one and a half years. A test run took place on 20 December 1862 and it was opened on 3 January 1863. The line originally ran through the former Forsthaus station and today's Friedensbrücke (Peace Bridge, now a road bridge) in Frankfurt across the Main to the former Main-Neckar station. This entry was replaced on 16 January 1882 by the current alignment through Goldstein station (later: Frankfurt-Sportfeld, now: Frankfurt (Main) Stadion), Niederrad station and the Niederräder Main bridge.

On 1 February 1897, it along with the rest of the Hessian Ludwigs railway became part of the Prussian-Hessian Railway Company. Electrification of the line was completed on 15 December 1958.

On 2 February 1990, one of the worst train accidents in the Rhine-Main area occurred near Rüsselsheim when a train from Frankfurt collided with one from Wiesbaden and derailed, killing 17 people and injuring over 80, some seriously.

Since 1999 the Raunheim Mönchwald–Raunheim Mönchhof connecting curve has provided a connection with the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line, allowing long-distance trains to and from on the Left Rhine line to use the Frankfurt Airport long-distance station.

Buildings

The following structures are original and those marked are listed monuments:

Location	Building	Year	km	Monument
Bischofsheim	Station building	1958	08.25	*
Rüsselsheim	Linesmen house	1863	12.80	*
Raunheim	Station building	1863	15.87	*
Raunheim	Linesmen house	1863	17.39	*
Kelsterbach	Rail bridge	1863	21.75
Kelsterbach	Linesmen house	1863	23.60	*
Kelsterbach	Station building	1863	23.81	*
Stadion	Station building	1879	31.37	*
Niederrad	Station building	1882	33.19	*
Sachsenhausen	Rail bridge	1864	34.47

Services

The Main Railway is used by long-distance and local passenger services as well as freight traffic,

Long distance

ICE 1 on the connecting curve from the Main Railway in Frankfurt-Louisa station

The line is used by "individual services" (not at regular intervals through the day) of ICE lines 20, 31, 50 and 91 as well as IC line 31.

The long-distance services depart from Mainz Hauptbahnhof, passing through Raunheim Mönchwald junction via the connecting line to the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway to Frankfurt Airport long-distance station.

From here trains run non-stop to Frankfurt am Main Stadion station and via the current route to Frankfurt South station or via the current route to Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof. A few trains use the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway to Mannheim Hauptbahnhof.

Local services

S8 service in Mainz-Bischofsheim station running towards Hanau Hbf

Regional and Rhine-Main S-Bahn services run between Kelsterbach station and Frankfurt-Schwanheim Fernbahn junction over the Airport loop.

Line	Route	Frequency
RE 55	Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt South – Offenbach – Hanau – Aschaffenburg	Individual services
RB 75	Wiesbaden – Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Darmstadt	60 min
RE 2/3	Koblenz or Saarbrücken – Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	60 min
	Wiesbaden – Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Kelsterbach – Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (underground) – Frankfurt City Tunnel – Offenbach City Tunnel – Hanau	30 min
	Wiesbaden – Mainz-Kastel – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Kelsterbach – Frankfurt Airport regional – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (underground) – Frankfurt City Tunnel – Offenbach City Tunnel – Hanau	30 min

Notes

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

References

• Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen, ed. (2005). Eisenbahn in Hessen. Eisenbahnenbauten- und strecken 1839–1939 (in German). 2.1 (1 ed.). Stuttgart: Theiss Verlag. pp. 302ff (line 018). ISBN 3-8062-1917-6.