60-701: The Passau–Freyung railway , also known as the Ilz Valley Railway or Ilztalbahn , is a branch line in Bavaria , Germany . It runs from Passau to the town of Freyung in the Bavarian Forest . At Kalteneck it forms a junction with the branch line to Eging-Deggendorf . At Waldkirchen the Waldkirchen–Haidmühle line branches off towards the Czech border, where since 1945 there has been
120-502: A standard gauge line between Mauth and Freyung, did not come to fruition either. Due to the low axle load permitted on branch lines, Bavarian Lokalbahn locomotives were employed on the route. For goods traffic, Bavarian BB II tank engines from Passau locomotive depot ( Bahnbetriebswerk ) were usually used. These Mallet locomotives later became the DRG Class 98.7 and were used on the routes to both Freyung and Haidmühle. From
180-580: A TEE member; the other two countries had TEEs running through them but the rail administrations were never members. In the late 1970s, the TEE network comprised 39 different named trains, serving 31 routes. A few routes had more than one TEE train concurrently; for example, the Paris–Brussels route had four TEEs, running at different times of the day. From the late 1970s onward, gradually more and more Trans-Europe Express trains were replaced by other trains giving
240-553: A certain industrial site such as a power station either because of a location away from the main line or to reduce congestion. They were typically built to lower standards, using lighter rail and shallow roadbeds when compared to main lines. Much of Canada's branch line history relates to large rail transport conglomerates (such as the Grand Trunk , Canadian National , or Canadian Pacific ) which would acquire formerly independent short line railways for use as branch lines, with
300-472: A few domestic trains operating entirely within France until 1 June 1991. In September 1993 certain former TEE trains operating non-stop journeys between Brussels and Paris (or vice versa), which had been converted to EuroCity and offered both first- and second-class coaches, were rebranded as Trans-Europe Expresses, but remaining two-class trains. This was during a transition of Paris–Brussels express services to
360-620: A junction with the Czech railway network. The Ilztalbahn begins at platform 1a, the so-called Waidlergleis , in Passau Hauptbahnhof . From there it runs to the west over the present-day timetable route (Kursbuchstrecke or KBS) 880, branches off about 2 kilometres to the north and crosses the river Danube on the Kachlet bridge not far from Kachlet power station. Thereafter it climbs into the Bavarian Forest and reaches
420-411: A larger yard, where these railcars are sorted and dispatched in larger trains with other cars destined to similar locations. Because industrial spurs generally have less capacity and traffic than a mainline, they tend to have lower maintenance and signaling (train control) standards. Before the rise of the long-distance trucking in the early 1930s, railroads were the primary means of transportation around
480-517: A new TGV alignment, and initially included the trains Brabant , Île de France , Rubens and Watteau , all four serving the route in both directions. However, by 1995 the only TEE-branded trains remaining were the northbound Île de France (train 85) and southbound Watteau (train 88), the opposing-direction trains carrying the same names having already been converted to TGV stock (and designation), and these last two TEEs were replaced by TGV trains with effect from 29 May 1995, once again ending
540-523: A new Trans Europe Express TEE 2.0 network. Proposed routes in the short term include: Proposed daytime high-speed TEE 2.0 routes following the completion of new lines include: There are also proposals for night train networks proposed in the short-term which are remarkably similar to Deutsche Bahn 's former City Night Line network, which DB discontinued in 2016. Most of the routes in the short-term network are currently operated by Austrian Federal Railways ( ÖBB ) as part of its Nightjet network although
600-528: A new international intercity network with the name EuroCity which provides both 1st and 2nd class service. The EuroCity network began operating on 31 May 1987, and with effect from that date the last remaining international Trans-Europe Express trains were redesignated or withdrawn, except the Gottardo (reclassified as EuroCity in September 1988), but in name, the TEE designation continued to be used for
660-424: A proposed Frankfurt – Lyon – Barcelona service would offer a direct rail services that has not been possible for many decades. Overnight routes proposed in the longer term include two routes from Stockholm, one serving both Amsterdam and Paris, the other running via Prague to Vienna and Budapest. In May 2021, TRANSPORT ministers from multiple European Union (EU) member states have signed a letter of intent to create
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#1732794423537720-823: A section of the West Rail line . Discontinued services include the Sha Tau Kok Railway and the Wo Hop Shek Branch . A spur line to Siu Sai Wan has been proposed. Delhi On the Delhi Metro , the Blue Line has a Branch Line with 8 Stations, linking Yamuna Bank to Ghaziabad via Anand Vihar ISBT and terminating at Vaishali. The first section of the Branch opened on 8 January 2010 with Anand Vihar as its terminal with six stations. It
780-764: A similar kind of service but also carrying 2nd class . Business travellers used air travel more and more. In 1979 DB completely restructured the network with the coming of the new national InterCity services, resulting in successively fewer TEE services and more InterCity services in the course of time. The introduction of the TGV service in France in 1981, and its subsequent expansion, along with expansion of high-speed rail lines in other European countries led to still more TEEs' being replaced by domestic high-speed trains. After 1984 most services were abandoned, leaving only some national services in (mostly) Italy and France and very few international services. Most trains were replaced by
840-491: A single track, the journey is 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometres) long and the train takes around two and a half minutes to complete its journey. In North America, little-used branch lines are often sold by large railroads to become new common carrier short-line railroads of their own. Throughout the United States and Canada, branch lines link smaller towns too distant from the main line to be served efficiently, or to serve
900-531: A subsidy for grain transport, and instead allowed railways to absorb branch line subsidies freely without making effort to improve the profitability of the lines. The term "grain-dependent branch lines" began being used as early as 1978 to refer to the special case of these branch lines in agricultural areas whose viability depended on the economics of grain transport. The Western Grain Transportation Act of 1983 addressed this case specifically, but
960-556: Is a type of secondary track used by railroads to allow customers at a location to load and unload railcars without interfering with other railroad operations. Industrial spurs can vary greatly in length and railcar capacity depending on the requirements of the customer the spur is serving. In heavily industrialized areas, it is not uncommon for one industrial spur to have multiple sidings to several different customers. Typically, spurs are serviced by local trains responsible for collecting small numbers of railcars and delivering them to
1020-499: Is unclear. A proposed network published after the conference has been expanded compared with the earlier iteration, which was centred on central Europe. It now includes routes that can be achieved relatively simply such as Barcelona – Nice – Venice as well as others such as Warsaw – Riga – Tallinn that rely on major new infrastructure projects now underway, in this case Rail Baltica , which is due to open in 2026. Some existing high frequency international links have also been included at
1080-585: The Passauer Eisenbahnfreunde , the last one on 5 August 2001. In April 2005 the line was officially closed by the Federal Railway Office ( Eisenbahnbundesamt or EBA ). Two opposing groups then emerged. One wanted to have a cycle path built on the trackbed, the other pressed for the reactivation of railway services. Both groups have developed detailed plans, but by 2008 it was still unclear which would succeed. Details of
1140-532: The Bay of Plenty Region , lines were built inland to provide rail access to large logging operations. Today, many of the branch lines have been closed, including almost all of the general-purpose country lines. Those that remain serve ports or industries far from main lines such as coal mines, logging operations, large dairying factories, and steelworks . In Auckland and Wellington , two branch lines in each city exist solely for commuter passenger trains. For more, see
1200-753: The Gladstone Branch in New Jersey; as well as the New Canaan Branch , Danbury Branch , and Waterbury Branch in Connecticut . The Long Island Rail Road also refers to its services as "branches". In Chile, there are a lot of branch lines on its main line, of only a few remain operational. Most only operating in turistic services (like the Antilhue-Valdivia branch line), others have been taken over by other railways (like
1260-788: The North South Line between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations was operated as a separate line, known as the Branch line . It was merged into the North–South Line with the opening of the Woodlands Extension in 1996. The future Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line will also have branch lines. New Zealand once had a very extensive network of branch lines, especially in the South Island regions of Canterbury , Otago , and Southland . Many were built in
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#17327944235371320-612: The Pisa-Rome railway mainline at Roma San Pietro railway station , to Vatican City station . Many British railway branch lines were closed as a result of the " Beeching cuts " in the 1960s, although some have been re-opened as heritage railways . The smallest branch line that is still in operation in the UK is the Stourbridge Town Branch Line from Stourbridge Junction going to Stourbridge Town . Operating on
1380-704: The South Tseung Kwan O Spur Line to LOHAS Park station , opened in 2009. Earlier, a spur line was built in 1985 on the East Rail line to serve Racecourse station , bypassing Fo Tan station . Also, the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension [ yue ] was built in 2004 on the East Rail line to serve East Tsim Sha Tsui station . However, after the Kowloon Southern Link was completed in 2009, this spur line turns into
1440-408: The list of New Zealand railway lines . Trans-Europ-Express The Trans Europ Express , or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities, from Spain in the west to Austria in
1500-695: The San Rosendo-Talcahuano branch line, which has been taken over by Biotrén and the Laja-Talcahuano train service) however, there is one branch line that still remains as fully operative. The Talca-Constitución branch line, which uses trains with bus motors. Two extensions to the MTR rapid transit network were built as branches of existing lines: the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line to Lok Ma Chau station , which opened in 2007; and
1560-628: The TEE network and were simply newly designated as Trans-Europe Expresses in 1957 or later. For example, the Settebello had been in operation since 1953 and the Rheingold since 1951 (as a revival of a pre-World War II train). The network was launched in 1957 with trains serving 13 different routes. Initially, the system was a completely diesel network. Because of the many different kinds of electrical specifications (voltages and current types – alternating current and direct current ) used in
1620-602: The Trans-Europe Express (TEE) 2.0 network first announced in September 2020 during the German presidency of the EU. The Agreement includes the development of a regular interval timetable. Member states will also identify operators interested in taking part. The signing took place during a conference organised by German federal transport minister, Mr Andreas Scheuer, on 17 May, and includes a number of pledges which expand
1680-560: The U.S. state of New Jersey . The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line , running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops. Also known as the "Dinky Line", at 2.9 mi (4.7 km) it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. The run takes 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Other than the Princeton Line, other surviving branch lines include
1740-409: The amount of which depended on the distance covered. Where possible, TEE trains' schedules were timed to allow a business traveller to make a round trip (return journey) within a single day and also have time for business activity at the destination. Each train was named, and all were expresses, stopping only at major cities. Some of the named trains had already existed for some years before creation of
1800-501: The beginning of the 1930s to the start of the Second World War , four-wheeled diesel railbuses of Classes 135 and 137 were also used, together with their respective trailer cars. In addition, there are reports of Class 70 (ex Bavarian Pt 2/3) tank engines being employed. After the line was refurbished and the track and ballast upgraded, Class 64 locomotives took over the running of passenger services and Class 81s handled
1860-470: The beginning, the Belgian national railway company ( NMBS/SNCB ) joined the program only in 1964. Luxembourg ( CFL ) also joined at a later date. The idea was for a network of fast and comfortable transnational trains that would be attractive to businessmen and other regular travellers. All trains were first-class -only and required payment of a special supplement over the normal first-class ticket price,
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1920-791: The closure of the line was stated as the decrepit state of the Kachlet bridge over the Danube. This bridge was refurbished by November 1982 for 3.6 million DM (1.8 million euros) as was the section of the line as far as Kalteneck for a further 1 million DM (510,000 euros), because the ZF Passau rack railway firm in Patriching near Passau and the Bundeswehr in Freyung continued to generate a lot of goods traffic. For this period of time, goods services were diverted via Deggendorf-Eging-Kalteneck. In
1980-646: The creation of the international TEE network provided impetus for the development of special electric trainsets and electric locomotives , capable of operating at two or more different voltages. The DB used the 160 km/h (99 mph) E 10.12 and the 200 km/h (120 mph) DB Class 103 , among other types. The SBB developed its RAe TEE II electric trainset, which was designed for four different railway electrification systems , and this type entered service in 1961. Belgian National Railways introduced its Type 150 locomotives (now called Class 15 ) in 1962, capable of handling three different voltages, followed by
2040-417: The development of timetables. They also vow to support the creation of an interoperable digital booking platform which supports booking international journeys offered by TEE 2.0 operators, which should be as straightforward as domestic journeys. How such a system would deal with the domestic parts of journeys to or from the high-speed rail network, and how third-party rail ticket sales websites might be included,
2100-598: The different countries it was thought at that time that use of diesel-hauled trains or diesel multiple-unit trainsets would greatly speed up border crossing. Moreover, at that time many border crossing sections were not yet electrified . The German DB built the streamlined DB Class VT 11.5 , while the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the Dutch NS developed the RAm / DE , both diesel trains. However,
2160-527: The east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy. The first services commenced on 2 June 1957 following an idea of F.Q. den Hollander, then president-director of the Dutch national railway company ( NS ). TEE was a network jointly operated by the railways of West Germany ( DB ), France ( SNCF ), Switzerland ( SBB-CFF-FFS ), Italy ( FS ) and the Netherlands . Although some trains passed through Belgium from
2220-465: The final period up to 2002 only goods trains worked the line, mostly tank transporters for the Bundeswehr (to April 2001) and goods train for the caravan firm of Knaus from Jandelsbrunn and the above-mentioned rack railway company. The termination of the transport contract by the Bundeswehr at Freyung spelt the end of goods services on the line. The only passenger services were occasional specials by
2280-569: The first president of the Canadian National Railway , said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are even essential to make main lines pay. In the United States, abandonment of unproductive branch lines was a byproduct of deregulation of the rail industry through the Staggers Act . The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in
2340-488: The formal use of the Trans-Europ Express name. These few Paris–Brussels (or vice versa) expresses, operated 1993–1995, were the only TEE-designated trains ever to carry second-class carriages (they were in effect EuroCity services). A few trains continued to utilise TEE branded coaches until 1 June 1996, but the trains themselves were no longer classified as TEEs. In September 2020, Germany made proposals for
2400-435: The four-voltage Type 160 ( Class 16 ) in 1966 and Class 18 in 1973. Meanwhile, France's SNCF also developed and introduced ten quadruple-voltage locomotives, its Class CC 40100 , between 1964 and 1970. By 1975, all but two ( L'Arbalète and Bavaria ) of the 43 TEE trains were electrically powered, and most were locomotive-hauled. Originally the idea was to promote only international routes as TEE routes. This idea
2460-524: The goods traffic. Later, diesel engines were also used for the latter and Uerdingen railbuses for the former. The Second World War left its mark on the Ilztalbahn . The Kachlet bridge was blown up on 30 April 1945, the tunnel at Tiefenbach caved in. But from 3 February 1947 the tunnel was usable and from 29 April 1948, after repairs to the bridge, the entire route was open again. From the 1960s, passenger services were mainly delivered by railbuses. On
Passau–Freyung railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2520-418: The granting of the licence on 13 January 1886 and was taken into service on 15 October 1892. The section to Röhrnbach was opened earlier, on 6 December 1890. Construction costs were almost 6 million marks . In addition to passenger services the route was mainly intended for the transportation of granite and logs. As a result, in the early years to about 1906, passenger trains were often classed as mixed trains,
2580-416: The greater flexibility and economic savings of trucking. Today, railroads remain the most economical way to ship large quantities of material, a fact that is reflected in industrial spurs. Most modern day spurs serve very large industries that require hundreds, if not thousands, of carloads a year. There is an international branch line between Italy and Vatican: the 300-metre Vatican Railway , connecting from
2640-650: The initial TEE 2.0 concept. The agreement foresees the development of a regular interval timetable on a pan-European basis to provide an alternative to short-haul flights and car journeys. The original German proposal for the TEE 2.0 concept assumes: While the letter of intent is not legally binding, the signatories agree to identify which railway operators from their respective countries want to be involved in delivering future TEE 2.0 services. They also pledged to act as facilitators to ensure that rail operators and infrastructure managers in neighbouring countries make meaningful progress in developing TEE 2.0 plans. In addition,
2700-615: The introduction of the holiday express trains in 1979, even the former Trans-Europ-Express trains came from Dortmund to Freyung during the summer. With the establishment of the Iron Curtain a section of track on the Czech side of the border was removed on the Waldkirchen – Haidmühle line. As a result, the importance of this section of route fell quickly, so that only shuttle services were left and all trains just ran from Passau to Freyung. On 26 May 1963 passenger services ceased on
2760-546: The late 19th century to open up inland regions for farming and other economic activities. The branches in the South Island regions were often general-purpose lines that carried predominantly agricultural traffic, but lines elsewhere were often built to serve a specific resource: on the West Coast , an extensive network of branch lines was built in rugged terrain to serve coal mines, while in the central North Island and
2820-549: The line to Haidmühle. Goods traffic was withdrawn between Haidmühle and Jandelsbrunn on 31 December 1975 and between Jandelsbrunn and Waldkirchen on 1 October 1994. After the track was lifted, the trackbed became the Adalbert Stifter cycle path. From 1980 onwards, traffic on the Ilztalbahn gradually reduced. Sunday services were closed and weekday traffic reduced to four pairs of trains. On 30 April 1982 passenger services were finally withdrawn completely. The reason for
2880-437: The negotiations so far are given at de: Bahnstrecke Passau–Freyung . Branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line . A very short branch line may be called a spur line . Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located on a main line. Branch lines may also connect two or more main lines. An industrial spur
2940-572: The railways had owned. However, by the mid-20th century, railways began neglecting lines in western agricultural regions. This was historically driven by factors such as the Crow Rate , which regulated the price railways could charge for shipping grain. Railways had little incentive to invest in rural Prairie branch lines, but were legally unable to abandon them under the National Transportation Act , which also did not provide
3000-529: The request of EU member states, including Amsterdam – London route serving non-EU member, Britain. Separately, as part of the conference, Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the future expansion of the Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Vienna Via Vindobona international connection. The declaration outlines the planned high-speed line and other infrastructure plans for
3060-480: The route. The railway service was the subject of a 1977 album by German electronic music group Kraftwerk , the music of which has been sampled multiple times and has thus ingrained the railway reference in a variety of musical genres. One of the locations from the 1992 video game Earnest Evans is based on a train using the Trans Europ Express. Trans-Europ Express also provides the title of
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#17327944235373120-833: The short line often continuing to exist as a subsidiary. For example, when the Canadian Pacific acquired the Algoma Eastern Railway (a short line) in 1930, it soon after abandoned much of the Algoma Eastern mainline, but retained sections close to Algoma Eastern–Canadian Pacific junctions as short branch lines or spurs. The National Transportation Act of 1967 provided government subsidies for branch lines. Western railway development in Canada worked in concert with land settlement and cultivation, as pioneers were settled near railway lines, often on land
3180-516: The signatories agreed to request that the European Commission (EC) propose the launch of an EU financial assistance programme to invest in rolling stock that can operate across borders. They also agreed to lobby for further technical and operational improvements to facilitate the operation of cross-border rail services. Under the new agreement, and to support the prospective operators, the EU member states promise to act as moderators in
3240-464: The so-called "goods trains with passenger services" ( Güterzüge mit Personenbeförderung ) or GmP , which resulted in journey times of up to 3 hours due to shunting movements at the stations en route. Plans to link this railway with the Zwiesel–Grafenau line and hence to effect a connexion from Passau as far as Cham , were stymied when the latter was routed close to the town in accordance with
3300-535: The valley of the river Ilz behind Tiefenbach . It then follows the Ilz northwards. In the two Fürsteneck Tunnels the line leaves the Ilz valley and heads east into the Osterbach valley as far as Waldkirchen . From here it turns north again towards Freyung . In Waldkirchen the 26.9 km long route to Haidmühle via Jandelsbrunn branches off. The construction on the Ilztalbahn to Freyung began in 1887, following
3360-554: The wishes of Grafenau townsfolk. Subsequent plans to build a railway from Grafenau via Schönberg to Fürstenstein from the Deggendorf–Kalteneck railway , which turned off the Ilztalbahn at Kalteneck, also came to nothing. And hopes expressed during the construction of the narrow gauge railway, the Spiegelau Forest Railway ( Spiegelauer Waldbahn ) in 1908 from Klingenbrunn via Spiegelau to Mauth , to build
3420-467: The world. Industries of the era were commonly built along railroad lines specifically to allow for easy access to shipping. Short (under a mile, oftentimes only several hundred yards) industrial spurs with very small (under ten car) capacities were a common sight along railroads in industrial and rural cities alike. As automobile and roadway technology improved throughout the early and mid-20th century, most low volume industry spurs were abandoned in favor of
3480-686: Was abandoned in 1965 with the introduction of the French Le Mistral and the German Blauer Enzian . Later, TEE trains serving single countries were also introduced on other routes in France and Germany as well as in Italy, but most TEE routes continued to be international. The network grew in the course of the years, adding three more countries: Spain ( Renfe ), Denmark ( DSB ) and Austria ( ÖBB ). The system reached furthest in 1974. However, of these three only Renfe became
3540-504: Was further extended to Vaishali in 2011. The line is planned to be extended from Vaishali to Mohan Nagar via Sahibabad Station to link with the main line. The East West Line of the MRT system in Singapore has a two-station branch to Changi Airport . The first station, Expo , opened in 2001. It was extended to Changi Airport station the next year. From 1990 to 1996, the section of
3600-502: Was repealed in 1994 in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement and budget-balancing initiatives in favour of a one-time payout by the federal government directly to farmers, to arrange transport of grain themselves. From the mid-1970s to the late 2010s, more than 9,300 kilometres (5,800 mi) of Prairie branch lines were abandoned or had a discontinuance of service. David Blyth Hanna ,
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