The Breckenheim–Wiesbaden railway is a long railway line in the vicinity of the Hessian state capital of Wiesbaden. It connects the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line with Wiesbaden Central Station.
The double-track line was built from the late 1990s as a new line. It was completed in December 2002. With a scheduled train service of two long-distance pairs each day on the section between Kinzenberg and Breckenheim junctions, it is one of the least-congested sections of railway in Germany. This section is not used by either regional passenger or freight traffic.
The total cost of construction of the line amounted to €279 million. It was originally estimated to cost €29 million less. The additional costs were assumed by Deutsche Bahn.
Route
The line branches off the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed line at Breckenheim junction near the Wiesbaden Cross autobahn junction on the A 3 autobahn, which it passes under in Wandersmann North Tunnel. After running through a short section of trough (with concrete walls) near Wallau it runs through the Wandersmann South Tunnel, passing under the A 66 autobahn. It resurfaces west of the Wallau autobahn junction. The route runs parallel to the A 66 through Nordenstadt on the northern edge of Lucius D. Clay Kaserne (a U.S. base formerly called the Wiesbaden Army Airfield) to Erbenheim. At the 10 kilometre mark from Breckenheim junction, it connects with the Ländches Railway (Ländchesbahn), which it follows to Wiesbaden Central Station and reaches at the 13 kilometre mark.
History
The connection from Wiesbaden to the new line was planned under various options for the Cologne-Rhine/Main high-speed line under discussion during the 1980s. Only in the case of a purely left-bank route (to the west of the Rhine) was a link not provided to Wiesbaden. The Hessian state government considered that a remote link to the Wiesbaden would be inadequate. The forecasts in the 1990s were that more than 1,000 passengers a day would use high-speed services to Wiesbaden.
The (ultimately realised) right bank route between Cologne and Frankfurt along the A 3 initially provided for a connection from Niedernhausen to Wiesbaden Central Station. This required the construction of an 11 kilometre long tunnel between the northern edge of the city and the station. This option was originally analysed with a maximum grade of 2.5 percent, which was subsequently increased to 4 percent. The city of Wiesbaden suggested that the continuation of the route to Frankfurt be abandoned and that all trains run via Wiesbaden Central Station and from there run on existing (partially upgraded) lines. Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) examined numerous route options between the Niedernhausen-Wiesbaden Central Station route and a corridor between Niedernhausen and Wiesbaden Cross (along the A 3). Primary emphasis was placed on a grade of up to 4.0 percent. A variant developed at this time envisaged, for example, the building of a station between Bierstadt and Erbenheim, east of the settlement of Hainerberg. South of Erbenheim station there would be a branch line. Geological studies showed significant geological problems with a route running under Bierstadt and the Salzbach valley. DB then distanced itself from such variations, looking for geologically favourable solutions, even if they required trains to reverse in the central station. From a variety of route options, three were examined closely: A variant of an option that DB had examined before with the high-speed line running from the north along the A 3 with a branch line running from the vicinity of Wiesbaden Cross to Wiesbaden. It would reach Wiesbaden Central Station by running along the A 66 and the Ländches Railway between Wiesbaden and Niedernhausen. The so-called "Best Wiesbaden Solution" (Beste Wiesbadener Lösung) was left as the most favourable of the options that would provide a new line through Wiesbaden Central Station. From Wiesbaden Central Station, the route would follow the A 66 to Wiesbaden's Cross and from there run to Frankfurt Airport. While parts of the railway would be in cuttings, it would run through the city of Wiesbaden in a continuous tunnel. The so-called "Hainerberg variant" envisaged a route parallel with the B 455 with a new station near Hainerberg. South of this point the line would branch towards Wiesbaden and Frankfurt. This variant was assessed as having a large potential for urban development in eastern Wiesbaden, but would have reduced traffic to Wiesbaden Central Station.