The Frankfurt Airport loop (German: Flughafenschleife Frankfurt) is a double-track railway line connecting Frankfurt and Frankfurt Airport and operated as part of the Frankfurt S-Bahn. It is electrified at 15 kV/16.7 Hz.
The line was built in two stages between 1968 and 1980 and has since been mainly used by S-Bahn services.
Route
The airport S-Bahn connects the S-Bahn network of the city of Frankfurt am Main from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof with Frankfurt Airport and Kelsterbach. The connecting line runs on the surface to the airport area, where it runs in a tunnel.
The core of the line is an approximately 2.2 kilometre-long tunnel. On the double-track section, the tunnel is 8.80 metres wide and its height above the railhead is 5.50 metres and the track spacing is 4.00 metres.
On the west side of the station, a future connection is planned for an air freight centre.
The airport loop involves a detour of 2.1 kilometres compared to the direct line from Frankfurt Stadion to Kelsterbach.
Services
S-Bahn services S8 and S9 and Regional-Express services RE2 and RE3 run on the line. The S-Bahn operates at 15-minute intervals to Wiesbaden either via Mainz or via Mainz-Kastel and in the opposite direction to Hanau via Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof underground, the city tunnels of Frankfurt and Offenbach and Offenbach Ost.
Regional services run hourly to Koblenz (RE2, via Mainz and Bingen) or Saarbrücken (RE3, via Mainz and Idar-Oberstein). In the opposite direction, the regional services run to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.
History
According to Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), it had long been interested in the provision of a connection from Frankfurt Airport to the rail network in 1969. However, due to a lack of funds and a lack of understanding of the necessity of the measure, the plan could not have taken shape until then.
With the advent of jet aircraft, the number of aircraft movements at Frankfurt Airport increased by 8 percent per year between 1965 and 1970, while the number of passengers increased on average by 19 percent per year. In 1971, the airport passed the 10 million passenger mark. 24 million passengers were projected in 1980 and 30 million in 1985. It was forecast that about 30 to 35 percent of passengers and airport workers would use an airport railway. Three to four thousand passengers were expected in the peak hour, the sum of both directions. The forecasts were revised downward in 1972 to 17.5 million passengers in 1979.
Planning and construction
The Federal Transport Policy Program (Verkehrspolitische Programm der Bundesregierung) of 1967 (known as the Leber Plan), according to DB information, inspired the planning and financing of the Frankfurt Airport railway. In June 1968, the railway division (Bundesbahndirektion) of Frankfurt am Main received planning approval for the airport railway. A 7.5 kilometre-long new line with an approximately 1.5 kilometre-long tunnel was planned. In total, 17 new bridges were planned along the line.
On 18 April 1969, Deutsche Bundesbahn and the FAG airport company concluded a financing agreement for connecting the airport to the railway network.
At the end of 1971, Deutsche Bundesbahn announced that it was bringing forward the opening of the airport railway, at least for the section between the Hauptbahnhof and the airport, from autumn 1972 to spring 1972. The total length of the new line between the junction at Frankfurt Sportfeld (now Frankfurt Stadion) and the junction at Kelsterbach, was 7.5 km.
According to the planning status of 1971, two trains per hour and direction would operate and, after the upgrade of S-Bahn tracks towards Frankfurt, operations would be run at 10-minute intervals. Long-distance trains would not normally be routed through the airport. The estimated cost of the project was estimated to be DM 94 million in 1968 and around DM 100 million in 1971.