Railroad closes line between Frankfurt and Mannheim
In the new year, Deutsche Bahn is renovating heavily used railroad lines in order to improve the punctuality of trains. Commuters between Frankfurt and Mannheim are currently feeling the consequences. For three weeks, they will have to switch to buses.
Deutsche Bahn intends to cushion the impact of the Riedbahn closure on travelers between Frankfurt and Mannheim with around 1000 bus journeys per day. The rail replacement service has got off to a very good start, reported Felix Thielmann, the project manager responsible for the replacement service.
The line between Frankfurt and Mannheim was closed at 11 p.m. on January 1. Three weeks of preparatory work will be carried out here for a major renovation in the second half of the year. Long-distance, regional and freight services in three federal states are affected. According to Deutsche Bahn, around 300 trains are running on the line and 15,000 passengers are affected. The railroad company says it is using more than 150 replacement buses along this route, 70 of which are operated by the company itself. They are painted purple so that travelers can find them more easily. Modern vehicles with Wi-Fi, USB ports, information displays and large luggage compartments will be used.
Further closures planned
One of Deutsche Bahn's major construction sites is the multi-billion euro expansion of the Rhine Valley line between Karlsruhe and Basel. The railroad wants to reach important stages here in 2024. In order to complete the southern connection of the Rastatt tunnel, a full closure is planned for the summer, said Philipp Langefeld, the project manager responsible. "For passenger traffic, there will be a rail replacement service with buses between Baden-Baden and Rastatt for around three weeks in August."
In August 2017, there was an accident in the tunnel during the construction of the underpass under the existing Rhine Valley railroad. The tracks above sank, bringing traffic to a standstill for weeks. To limit the damage, workers pumped large quantities of concrete into the tunnel. The work there was considerably delayed. The federal government and DB are investing around 14.2 billion euros in the four-track expansion of the approximately 200-kilometer line in the Rhine Valley. In future, trains should travel faster and be more punctual on this very busy route.
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The German rail company, Deutsche Bahn, is utilizing over 150 replacement buses, painted purple, for commuters affected by the closure of the German railroad between Frankfurt on the Main and Mannheim. Due to this closure, travelers also have the option to use these buses for their journey between Baden-Baden and Rastatt, as a full closure is planned there for the summer as well.
Source: www.ntv.de
