The Pockau-Lengefeld–Neuhausen railway, one of two lines also called the Flöha Valley Railway (), is a branch line in the German state of Saxony. It runs in the valley of the Flöha from Pockau via Olbernhau to Neuhausen. Since 2001, the route has been operated by Erzgebirgsbahn, part of Deutsche Bahn's RegioNetz subsidiary.
History
A railway into the upper Flöha valley and to Marienberg was already under consideration in 1863, when the construction of the railway from Chemnitz to Freiberg was debated. Initially, a route south of the current one was planned to connect towns in the Ore Mountains to the railway network. When these plans were abandoned, a railway through the Flöha valley via Olbernhau to Chomutov (German: Komotau; then in the Austrian Empire and from 1867 in Austria-Hungary, now in the Czech Republic) was considered. At the same time, a committee for the construction of a railway via Marienberg and Reitzenhain to Komotau was established in Marienberg. Thus, in 1867 two projects were in competition for the concession to build a railway in the Flöha Valley. After the Buschtěhrader Eisenbahn (Buštěhrad Railway) and the town of Chomutov expressed their preference for a line via Marienberg, this route was given priority. The Saxon government approved of the concession with the condition that the line was to be built using private, non-government funds.
The Chemnitz-Komotauer Eisenbahngesellschaft (Chemnitz-Chomutov Railway Company) was formed on 15 August 1871 with the aims of constructing and operating the line. The railway construction company Pleßner & Co. of Berlin was tasked with the execution of the construction work.
Construction of line to Olbernhau
The first sod was turned on 22 February 1872. Italian workers also took part in the construction because of their extensive experience in stonework. The economical crisis of 1873 caused economical difficulties for the construction company, so that the railway company was forced to take over the completion. Construction of the railway was finished in early 1875.
Because of financial losses, the Chemnitz-Komotauer Eisenbahngesellschaft had to sell the line to the Saxon state after only one year of operation. On 4 December 1876 it was transferred into the ownership of the Royal Saxon State Railways who operated the line from then on.
Extension to Neuhausen
A petition had already been submitted calling for an extension of the line in 1883. The project, which was being developed at the time, foresaw a narrow gauge railways from Olbernhau via Sayda to Bienenmühle to connect with the Nossen–Moldava v Krušných horách railway. The project was pursued in particular by Neuhausen pastor Dr. Süß and the Sayda railway committee. In July 1890, the Saxon Finance Ministry examined the situation in the Flöha valley and presented its own project in the autumn of 1891 which only provided only for a branch line from Olbernhau to Neuhausen, but in standard gauge. The two chambers of the Saxon Landtag agreed to the project in February 1892.
Preparatory work for the construction of the line started in 1892, and the actual construction on the line in October 1893. It took about two years, until the autumn of 1895, to finish. A total of 13,541 metres of track with 39 sets of points were laid. On 24 September 1895, the official inspection took place and found no defects. On 30 September 1895, the line was officially opened with a special train for invited guests. Scheduled passenger operations with four daily pairs of trains on the Pockau-Lengefeld–Neuhausen route commenced on 1 October 1895.
On 3 May 1927, the branch line from Olbernhau-Grünthal to Deutschneudorf (Schweinitztalbahn, Schweinitz Valley Railway) was opened. This line was closed in 1969.
Freight operations on the section between Olbernhau-Grünthal and Neuhausen ceased on 1 January 1994. Passenger services operated until 9 June 2001, after which the route was closed due to the poor state of the tracks.