The Bad Kleinen–Rostock railway is a double track electrified railway in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Ludwigslust–Bad Kleinen section of the line is double track. The line was opened in 1850 by the Mecklenburg Railway Company () and is one of the oldest railways in Germany and is part of the Leipzig–Magdeburg–Schwerin–Rostock main line.
Route
From Bad Kleinen station the line runs to the east, initially along the north bank of the Schweriner See (lake) through a forested area with many lakes. Near Blankenberg station the line crosses the Wismar–Karow line, which closed in 1998. The Wismar–Karow line station is located south of the main line. The line reaches the valley of Warnow river near Warnow station (which is closed for passenger services). The route then turns to the northeast. On the northern outskirts of Bützow the line to Güstrow branches off. Another line runs to Güstrow from south of Schwaan station. Beyond Schwaan the line crosses the Warnow again. Before Rostock the line branches off the old line to Friedrich-Franz station. The curve to Rostock Hauptbahnhof is the only single-track section of the line and runs parallel with the line from Neustrelitz and Tessin.
History
Planning and Construction
The Berlin–Hamburg line, opened in 1846, was the first railway passing through the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Immediately afterwards Mecklenburg-Schwerin began work on a link from Hagenow to Schwerin, which was opened on 1 May 1847. On 12 July 1848, the line was extended to Wismar. It was decided that the route to Rostock and Güstrow would run via Kleinen (now Bad Kleinen). This involved a deviation from a straight line, but avoided the cost of an expensive embankment over Lake Schwerin (Schweriner See). The state granted 700,000 thalers to finance the railway.
On 13 May 1850, a branch line was opened from Bützow to Güstrow. The station was built in the southeast of Rostock near the old Steintor gate and the Warnow river. The city decided to name it Friedrich Franz station after the ruling Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II. The station building was opened in 1853.
Initially, two pairs of trains a day ran between Rostock and Hagenow, stopping in Schwaan, Bützow, Blankenberg, Kleinen and Schwerin. Three pairs of trains ran between Wismar and Kleinen and between Bützow and Güstrow as feeder services.
Development of the line up to 1945
In the following years the network was further expanded. Between 1863 and 1867 the line to Güstrow was extended to Neubrandenburg and Stettin (now Szczecin). The construction of the Lübeck–Bad Kleinen line in 1870 established an east–west line from Hamburg to Stettin; it ran along the Bad Kleinen–Rostock line between Bad Kleinen and Bützow. In 1905 five pairs of passenger trains and one pair express trains (with an additional train in the summer months) ran on the line, mainly on the Hamburg to Stettin route. Through coaches were detached from these trains to run to Rostock and Warnemünde.
In Rostock, the situation changed with the construction of the Lloyd Railway between Neustrelitz and Warnemünde in 1886, which had its own railway station in Rostock. As having two different stations in the city was undesirable, it was decided that all passenger trains should use the Lloyd station, which was later called Rostock Hauptbahnhof. From 1896, the trains from Bützow ran to this station. After a connection was opened from the Stralsund line to the Hauptbahnhof in 1905, the old Friedrich Franz station became a freight yard only. Also significant for the line was the reconstruction of the Warnemünde station in 1903 and the establishment of a direct train ferry service to Gedser, Denmark. From then on direct Hamburg–Rostock–Copenhagen trains operated, with sections continuing to Stockholm and Oslo.
In 1934 services consisted of two pairs of high-quality express trains (D-Zug)—with an additional service in the summer—between Hamburg and Scandinavia, a semi-fast train between Rostock and Uelzen, an express train between Rostock and Lübeck and, in summer, an express train between Rostock and Leipzig. Between Bad Kleinen and Bützow there was one D-Zug and one ordinary express train (with through coaches to Rostock) on the Hamburg–Stettin route.