Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway

High speed railway in Germany

The Hanover–Würzburg high speed railway is a double track, electrified high speed railway between Hanover and Würzburg in Germany, in length. The line, built between 1973 and 1991, was the longest contiguous new project constructed by Deutsche Bundesbahn. The total costs were almost DM 11.9 billion (around €6.1 billion; 1980/90s prices). The line is part of the core network of the Trans European Transport Networks. It is scheduled to be used by around 110 long distance trains daily at up to during the day and by an average of 26 freight trains at night with a total of , running at up to To date, it is the longest greenfield line for high speed traffic in Germany.

Before the line was built, long distance trains ran between Hanover and Würzburg via Alfeld, Kreiensen and Northeim to Göttingen (Hanoverian Southern Railway), continuing via Eichenberg, Eschwege West, Bebra, Bad Hersfeld, Fulda and Gemünden am Main to Würzburg (old North–South railway). The upper edge of the rail is at heights between 50 m above sea level and 386 m above sea level. It runs parallel to existing routes over a length of 51 kilometres. Autobahn 7 also runs through all the major stops along the line. The federal highway 27 is also largely parallel, although this does not run through Hanover and Kassel.

The 327.4 kilometre long new line begins at kilometre 0.0 in Hannover Hauptbahnhof. Running in a southerly direction, it follows the existing north south line in Hanover's urban area via the Hannover Messe/Laatzen station, which is also served by long distance trains (primarily during trade fairs), at km 8 towards Rethen. The two high speed tracks run between Hanover Bismarckstraße and the junction in the middle with the tracks of the old line. The high speed line leaves the parallel section at a great separated crossing and swings away from the old line in a south westerly direction. It then crosses eleven bridges between Rethen and Barnten with a total length of 1.1 kilometres and runs on embankments up to eight metres high with a total length of 6.9 kilometres through the flood plains of the Leine and the Innerste. The Hildesheim loop, a single track connecting curve, which is used by trains to and from the Hanover–Berlin high speed railway via Wolfsburg, Braunschweig and Hildesheim, branches off at Sorsum (km 29). With the entry into the Escherberg tunnel and two subsequent tunnels, the line leaves the North German Plain and passes through the Hildesheim Forest. Between Sibbesse and Bad Gandersheim, the line follows the course of a valley without major engineering structures, before after another six tunnels and five viaducts it reached the Leinegraben and the high speed line at Edesheim swings back to run parallel with the north south line. There, at km 77, it is possible to switch to and from the old line in both directions. Northeim is bypassed to the west, at Nörten Hardenberg station at km 90 it is also possible to change tracks with the old line. Göttingen station is reached at kilometre 99.

In the section between the stations of Göttingen and , the line follows a fairly straight line. Almost 21 kilometres of the 44 kilometre section runs in tunnels, including the 10,525 metre long Münden Tunnel (km 121), the second longest tunnel in Germany. In the vicinity of the Fulda Viaduct in Kragenhof (km 133), the high speed line begins to run generally parallel with the north south line, which it will follow for nine kilometres to the southern outskirts of Kassel. The highest costs per kilometre were incurred during the construction phase for the sparsely populated but topographically very complex section between Göttingen and the state border north of Kassel.

The line then runs on the 89.96 km long section between Kassel Wilhelmshöhe station and Fulda station, of which 47.79 kilometres run in 25 tunnels. The route roughly follows the course of the Fulda, which is crossed three times. In the Bebra and Bad Hersfeld area, the line runs well to the west of the Fulda, some of it close to the A 7. Since the Fulda valley is too winding and narrowly built up for a high speed line and the side valleys largely run perpendicular to it, numerous structures are required on this section. Around two thirds of the approximately 80 kilometre long new section runs over 18 viaducts.

South of Fulda station, the new line follows the Frankfurt–Göttingen railway for around four kilometres to Bronnzell, where the Frankfurt–Göttingen railway stops running parallel and turns in a south westerly direction towards Frankfurt am Main. From this line, the Flieden–Gemünden railway branches off at Flieden to Gemünden and Würzburg. A series of shorter tunnels is followed by the 10,779 metre long Landrücken Tunnel (km 251), the longest tunnel in Germany. At the north portal of the tunnel, the new line reaches 386 m above sea level

In 1970, an average of 142 trains per working day and direction ran on the section between Fulda and Flieden (1967: 123). With an average load of 150 to 159 trains between Hanover and Flieden, 43 percent of all regular freight trains were delayed by more than 30 minutes at the end of the section. In June 1973, 367 trains ran between Northeim and Nörten Hardenberg (near Göttingen) on weekdays, with only 288 being able to operate smoothly. At the end of the 1970s, 160 trains per day ran between Hanover and Würzburg, according to the then Deutsche Bundesbahn, 40 more than "technically and economically justifiable". The section between Gemünden am Main and Würzburg was particularly badly affected. With up to 380 trains per day, an operating performance that had not previously been thought possible was achieved. Despite modern signalling systems, operational quality restrictions (particularly in terms of punctuality) were unavoidable. A forecast made in the early 1980s for 1990 estimated that 249 trains per day would run in each direction between Hanover and Göttingen and 250 between Fulda and Flieden. The first preliminary drafts of a new line for the development program for the Deutsche Bundesbahn network were developed between 1968 and 1970. With the approval of the DB network development program in 1970, the executive board (Vorstand) and board of directors of the then national railway made it possible to commission planning for new and upgraded lines. The line between Hanover and Gemünden am Main was one of the most urgent projects. The selected route, which would have been suitable for passenger and freight traffic, emerged as the most favourable solution from the requirement to connect both Kassel and the line to Frankfurt south of Fulda. Construction was scheduled to begin in 1973 and be completed in 1980. Earlier completion of individual sections was considered. The routing of the supplementary line, which was intended for both passenger trains and freight trains weighing up to 1,000 t, was at a design speed of 300 km/h, although lower maximum speeds would also be selected if necessary due to particularly high expenditures on short sections. The planned minimum radii were 7,000 metres (5,000 metres in exceptional cases) with a cant of up to 75 millimetres. The gradients should not exceed the 1.25% specified in the railway regulations (Eisenbahn Bau und Betriebsordnung—EBO), although technical advances (automatic couplings, electric traction, etc.) should also allow gradients that exceed this, up to 2.5%. The loading gauge would initially be 4.40 metres wide and 5.40 metres high (without pantograph and overhead line) in order to meet the diverse requirements of rail freight transport. Due to a lack of experience with trains traveling at speeds of more than 200 km/h, a track spacing of 5.00 metres, in tunnels an increased spacing of 6.00 metres was considered as well as two separate single track tunnels. The distance between the depots was set at around 20 kilometres and the establishment of transfer points was examined. was given to the transport management centre (Zentrale Transportleitung, ZTP) and the federal railway divisions involved (Hanover, Kassel, Frankfurt and Nuremberg) for a line that was to supplement the existing north south line in terms of quantity and quality. Kassel would also be connected. Considerations to upgrading the existing north south route between Hanover and Göttingen to four tracks proved to be unfeasible. The line was in mid 1971 along with the Cologne–Groß Gerau supplementary line one of two routes that have undergone in depth route planning. Since the necessary topographical maps on a scale of 1:5,000 were largely missing, they were produced using aerial photography. In the course of the corridor investigations commissioned on 15 June 1971, the costs of projects for different modes of transport in three selected corridors were compared with the benefits up to December 1974 for the first time. In the corridor between Hanover and Gemünden (with a continuation to Würzburg), the two supplementary routes, Hanover–Würzburg and Aschaffenburg–Würzburg were compared to the development of the proposed Autobahn 100 (a northern extension of the A new line between Hanover and the Würzburg area via Kassel was included as a project in the 1973 Federal Transport Plan (Bundesverkehrswegeplan). In December 1974, the Federal Minister of Transport instructed Deutsche Bundesbahn to build the line between Hanover and Würzburg. The ZTP Mainz developed a large scale rough route, which largely adapted to the topographical conditions and would keep as large a distance as possible to settlement areas. When planning the route, the focus was on accelerating and increasing the capacity of the growing freight traffic. In particular, freight trains would be enabled to jump overnight from the northern German ports to the industrial centres in southern Germany. Passenger trains on the Intercity network were to run on the line at speeds of up to 200 km/h, alternating with other passenger and freight trains. The early design parameters for the route, initially referred to as the "high speed railway", emerged from the high performance high speed railway study (HSB). These provided for a top speed of 300 km/h with a minimum curve radius of 7000 metres. In addition to a maximum longitudinal gradient specified in the EBO of 1.25%, a maximum of 1.8% was considered for short sections (initial considerations assumed 2.5%

The distance between the tracks would have been 5.40 meters for this loading gauge, the usable tunnel cross sectional area above the top edge of the rails should be 103 square metres. In 1975, these plans were discarded after investigations had shown that the additional costs of around ten percent for a clearance gauge were not offset by sufficiently large additional yields from piggyback transport. Instead, the expanded standard clearance profile was used as a basis for further planning of the route now known as the "new construction line". As network planning progressed, the planned Hanover–Gemünden and Aschaffenburg–Würzburg routes were combined to form the new Hanover–Würzburg route in the same year. The route was included in the Coordinated Investment Program for Federal Transport Routes in 1977. The commissioning of the first two new high speed lines in Germany was initially planned for 1985. As a result of the unexpectedly long planning process, it was postponed until 1993 in the early 1980s. In May 1982, the newly created Federal Railway Board (Bundesbahnvorstand) decided in July 1982 to continue building the lines and bring the commissioning forward to 1991. On 28 May 1984, the board of directors of Deutsche Bundesbahn approved the high speed railway project, which envisaged using the line for high speed traffic at speeds of up to 250 km/h as soon as it went into operation. The necessary changes to the route planning were minor, mainly because the Re 250 overhead line had already been tested and was intended for installation.

Due to its position as an urban area and transport node, the city of Kassel was a fixed point of the route. The specific route was finally developed in a multi stage process. In the section between Hanover and Kassel, for example, numerous options were examined in a corridor about 50 kilometres wide. In October 1974, Deutsche Bundesbahn decided to route the line via Gemünden am Main to Würzburg. In 1978 it was decided to run the new line parallel to the existing line via Fulda station for a length of 13 kilometres. In a memorandum on the new Hanover–Würzburg line in 1983, BUND of Hesse proposed an alternative concept. The Main Weser Railway would be upgraded and the new Kassel–Fulda section would not be built.

The first section between Hanover and Rethen (12 kilometres) was approved on 16 July 1973 by the Federal Minister of Transport (under Section 14, Paragraph 3c of the Federal Railways Act). The approved costs amounted to DM 226 million (1973 prices). From 1972, a total of 13 (another source: 11 on 20 May 1981 with a positive state planning assessment. The spatial planning procedures took between one and six years to complete. in late summer 1982 113 kilometres. On 26 August 1980, 90 percent of the route was determined in the course of regional planning and the Federal Ministry of Transport gave approval for the last section of the new line between Kassel Wilhelmshöhe and Burgsinn (near Würzburg). In 1985, 267 kilometres were approved. In October 1986, construction rights were finally granted for the entire route. Countless discussions were held in the course of public relations work. In 1979, more than 40 such groups were counted. The spatial planning procedure had already been significantly delayed by the commitment of the groups. Objections from residents led to significant cost increases within a few years. In the 1980 Federal Transport Routes Plan, the line was one of three new railway construction projects, stage I, which were to be completed by 1990. Investments of DM 2.3 billion were part of Stage II of the transport route plan, which was to be implemented after 1990. The planned costs in 1980 were DM 10.49 billion (1980 prices). The planned capacity was estimated in 1984 to be 120 trains per day and direction. The standard superelevation is 65 millimetres, the maximum superelevation—to limit excessive wear The maximum gradient of 1.25 percent resulted from the requirement to be able to start up again after a stop on such gradients, even with heavy freight trains. As late as the mid 1970s, plans were still in place to initially only allow speeds of up to 200 km/h on the route in a first stage of development and to leave open a later upgrade for up to 300 km/h. The design speed ultimately adopted was 300 km/h with a cant deficiency of 130 millimetres at 250 km/h. The maximum speed of the ICEs was initially limited to 250 km/h. is on the line. Around 83 kilometres run in cuttings and 77 kilometres on embankments. Only 17 kilometres (5%) are at ground level. The line occupies an area of
In 1981, the planned total length of tunnels was 110 kilometres; embankments, 81 kilometres; cuttings, 99 kilometres; and bridges, 41 kilometres. For the planned mixed operation of passenger and freight trains and for maintenance, crossovers were set up at intervals of five to seven kilometres and a total of eleven depots at intervals of around 20 kilometres. The track centre distance of 4.70 metres resulted from the requirement to be able to transport extra wide shipments in freight traffic. About 4.20 metres would have been sufficient for pure passenger transport operations. A construction period of five years was expected for the entire line (as of 1977). the large scale construction work was officially initiated on 22 May 1981 with the opening of the one off mountain tunnel near Gemünden. as the first tunnel on the line. In the middle section, construction work began on the Nordendweg crossing in Kassel on September 29 of the same year (the official start of construction in the Hessian section took place in November 1981 with the laying of the foundation stone for this crossing by Minister President Holger Börner With the start of the boring of the Münden and Mühlenkopf tunnels on 37 October 1983, construction work on the section between Kassel and Göttingen was officially initiated. On 31 May 1983, with the construction of the Steinberg Bornhecke tunnel, a total of twelve tunnels of the first two new lines were under construction. In the same year, tunnel construction work began in the middle section. The first mast of the new railway power lines was erected in February 1983 near Nörten Hardenberg. By the end of 1983, DM 2.32 billion (around €1.14 billion) had been spent on the new line. After 184 days of construction, the Einmalberg tunnel near Gemünden am Main was the first tunnel to be broken through on 4 February 1982. The shell of the longest German railway tunnel, the Landrücken Tunnel, was completed in 1986. In 1988 the last three tunnels of the line were cut through with the Helleberg, Münden and Rengershäusen tunnels. By the end of the year, half of the tracks between Fulda and Kassel had been laid, and the Kragenhof, Wälsebach and Mülmisch viaducts were completed during the year. On 3 October 1989, the gap between Hanover and Göttingen was closed. On October 6, the last rail was installed on the Göttingen–Kassel section (in the Münden tunnel), and by mid November 1989 all tracks in the Kassel–Fulda section were in place. This was followed by remaining work, for example the installation of overhead line and load testing of bridges. With the topping out ceremony for the canopy at Kassel Wilhelmshöhe station on 18 January 1990, the infrastructure of the entire line was completed. The area required was in the middle section alone, of which were permanently used by the railway, the rest temporarily. While were used purely for the railway line, were used for replanting. In addition, in this section, of excess mass that could not be used for embankments was dumped in about 30 landfills, occupying another .

As early as May 12, 1979, after six years of construction, the section between Hanover Bismarckstraße station and Rethen was put into operation. In this section, of rails, 111 switches, 22 railway bridges and two flyover structures were built. In addition, nine level crossings were removed and the new Laatzen station and a new signal box were built in Rethen. The total cost of this first section, for which of concrete and 8,900 tons of steel had been used, was DM 233 million (about €119 million in 1979 prices). Locomotive 103 003 ran on the section between July 15 and August 8 at speeds of up to
From August 1986, a diverse test program was run with a wide variety of rolling stock in order to gain further knowledge about railway operations at high speeds, which ultimately was used for ICE 1 series trains. On 3 September, high speed runs with the ICE predecessor train Intercity Experimental began, which had to be cancelled on the same day after a powered end car derailed in the Burgsinn depot (due to an incorrect points setting). The train returned to the line on 10 September with only one powered end car for high speed runs of up to On 17 November 1986, a presentation run for journalists took place at —even higher speeds could not be achieved on the short section. The Fulda–Würzburg ( of new line) and Edesheim–Nörten Hardenberg (near Göttingen, ) sections were officially put into operation at the timetable change on 29 May 1988. Federal Transport Minister Jürgen Warnke had previously officially opened the line to traffic at Fulda station. In Fulda and Würzburg, the commissioning of the DM 3.2 billion (around €1.6 billion) section was celebrated with station celebrations on 28 and 29 May 1988. Numerous shuttle trips between Würzburg and Fulda on ICE V sets and an IC set were also offered. Initially, the maximum speed of the long distance trains, which could reach speeds of up to , was limited to within the tunnel. Studies had shown that higher running speeds required pressurised vehicles, which were not yet available in sufficient numbers at the time. On 16 February 1989, the maximum speed allowed for IC trains in the tunnel was increased to (without taking travel times into account), although there were still not enough pressurised cars available. In the first year of operation in the Fulda–Würzburg section, crosswinds on the high viaducts also proved to be critical. After storm warnings from the Offenbach weather office, freight trains were diverted over the old line for a total of 13 nights between May and August 1988. Shortly thereafter, wind measuring devices were installed on the two particularly high viaducts over the Sinn and the Fliede. Thanks to the locally precise measurements, freight trains were now able to use the lines without restrictions up to wind force 10, and beyond that at a maximum speed of Only freight trains with empty containers and flat wagons were diverted as a result of wind force ten. In 1989, multi stage test subjects were examined between Fulda and Würzburg, from which pressure comfort criteria for Deutsche Bahn were derived, which in turn found their way into a relevant set of rules by the International Union of Railways (UIC). Before the southern section went into operation, 760 train drivers had acquired route knowledge, including 60 Intercity train drivers and around 700 freight train drivers. For the first time, some of the six instructional trips that were common at the time in each direction were (on a trial basis) replaced by a video recording.

The section between Göttingen and Nörten Hardenberg was put into operation on 18 May 1990. Since the Linienzugbeeinflussung (LZB) train control system was not yet available, the maximum speed was until the whole line was commissioned, without any significant gain in travel time. Freight trains have been running on the new section since the end of April 1990. At the end of 1979, the Bundesbahn still expected to be able to open the section between Edesheim and Göttingen in 1985.

With the start of scheduled ICE traffic on 2 June 1991, the full length of the line was put into operation; at the same time, the second new line between Mannheim and Stuttgart went into full operation. After the commissioning of the Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high speed railway, the travel time was just over 5:30 hours. Between Kassel and Göttingen, the route length was reduced by around , and the previously necessary long detour via Eichenberg was no longer necessary. The new line permanently took up of land, which is an average of 2.9 ha per km (4.4 acres per mile) of line. The costs rose steadily during the course of construction. In 1977, DM 8.05 billion (around €4.11 billion) was estimated, in the spring of 1982 the total had risen to DM 10.5 billion (around €5.4 billion). In June 1982, costs of DM 11.7 billion At the end of 1984, Deutsche Bundesbahn announced cost reductions and acceleration of construction for the first two new lines. Completion would have taken place in 1991, and the total cost of DM 14.7 billion would be DM 850 million lower than originally planned (1 January 1984 prices). The authority justified this development, among other things, with cost saving tunnel construction methods, more accurate estimates during the realisation of the projects and the competitive situation in the construction industry. Completion was planned at this time for 1993 These costs were also assumed in mid 1985. In 1986, the costs were estimated at DM 10.995 billion.

In November 1988, a new Talgo set reached a speed of on the line. After commissioning, in 1991 and 1992, the tunnels were equipped with radio technology for C Netz, VHF radio and the Eurosignal pager system. The line was upgraded around 2005/2006 for public GSM mobile communications. Numerous newly erected transmitting stations—including tunnel radio systems—ensure constant reception in carriages for mobile phones. In 1993, an overhead line that could be used at speeds of up to was erected on a test section between Hanover and Göttingen to test the possibility of further increases in speed on the new lines. The Nantenbach Curve (connecting curve from Würzburg towards Frankfurt am Main) was completed in 1994. On 4 May 1998, a Eurotrain set reached a speed of near Orxhausen. In 1994 a Talgo unit pulled by the Intercity Experimental reached a speed of between Hanover and Göttingen. The track's substructure proved to be too hard during operation, which meant the ballast wore out faster than expected. A renovation with sleeper anchours planned for 2019 could not wait. From 23 April to 8 May 2016, the section between Hanover and Kassel was closed for cleaning and partial replacement of the ballast. A total of 130,000 tons of new gravel was to be placed. At the beginning of May 2016, Deutsche Bahn put out to tender the planning of comprehensive track renewal between and Jühnde. About of track and 75 sets of points were to be renewed and six sets of points were to be dismantled. At the end of December 2015, the Federal Railway Authority had already granted planning approval for the dismantling of the Giften and Sudheim transfer points and a total of six sets of points in the depots. Fiber optic sensors were tested on the Fulda–Würzburg section (as of 2016). The general overhaul began in 2019 with the renewal of tracks, points and technology. For the first section between Hanover and Göttingen, there was a complete closure of the track between 11 June and 14 December 2019. The diversion took place via the Hanoverian Southern Railway along the Leine Valley, which resulted in a travel time extension of 30 to 45 minutes and train cancellations. The overhaul of the section from Göttingen to Kassel followed between 24 April and 16 July 2021. During the closure, trains were diverted via Hameln–Altenbeken–Warburg (without a stop in Göttingen), Eichenberg–Hann Münden or Eichenberg–Bebra (without a stop in Kassel). The section between the Rohrbach depot and Würzburg was put back into operation in advance and gradually on 17 October 2022. The remaining Kassel–Fulda section will be renovated from April 17 to 9 December 2023, with and 70 sets of points being renewed on an section. The refurbishment should be completed by the end of 2023. In November 2022, Deutsche Bahn applied for a first partial renewal of Rauheberg Tunnel, which is to be carried out in 2023 and 2024. This requires an expected 82 day total closure in the section between Jühnde and Kattenbühl.

As part of the ICE world record run on 1 May 1988, the Intercity Experimental test train set a world speed record for rail vehicles. It reached a speed of in the Würzburg–Fulda section, north of the Einmalberg tunnel (route kilometre 287.956). The track and train were specially prepared for the record run. The world record lasted just over a year and a half before it was surpassed on 5 December 1989 by the French TGV Atlantique with 482.4 km/h. As early as 17 November 1986, the Intercity Experimental set a new speed record for three phase vehicles in Mühlberg tunnel at
With a speed of , the EuroSprinter 64 P locomotive 127 001 6 set a new world record for three phase locomotives on 6 August 1993 between Würzburg and Fulda.

On 3 September 1986, the day of its first trip on the line , the ICE predecessor train, the Intercity Experimental derailed in Burgsinn depot when the powered end car 410 001 crossed a set of points at the junction to the existing line. On 29 June 1991, two freight trains collided in a tunnel near Jühnde. After a disruption, one of the engine drivers switched off the LZB train equipment and ran past a stop signal. In the first half of 1999, three accidents occurred within a short period of time due to Italian sliding wall wagons, in which the Mengershausen, Ersrode and Gehrenrode sets of points were destroyed, with the first two not being rebuilt. On 2 March 1999, a wagon of a freight train derailed in Leinebusch tunnel and caught fire. Fighting the fire with the rescue train was unsatisfactory. On 28 April 1999, four wagons of a freight train derailed when entering Schalkenberg tunnel due to a wagon overheating. On 13 May 1999, an Italian freight wagon, which was the last wagon in the ICG 50710 from Kornwestheim to Bremen, derailed at kilometre 58. Over an section, the concrete sleepers were smashed and signalling equipment damaged. The damage was in the millions, the opposite track remained closed until the following day and the accident affected track was closed until 23 May 1999. After a class 245 sliding wall wagon was the cause of an accident for the third time in a row, the Federal Railway Authority prohibited the operation of these wagons at more than 60 km/h. On 26 April 2008, at 9:05 p. m., ICE 885 came to a standstill in Landrücken Tunnel, damaged, after colliding with sheep entering the tunnel. Ten of the twelve cars and both power cars of the 14 car train derailed. 19 passengers were injured, four of them moderately. This was the first derailment of an ICE in normal operation in a tunnel. The section between Fulda and Burgsinn depot remained closed for several weeks. Long distance traffic was diverted via the old North–South railway in this section, with travel time extended by around 30 minutes.