Schnabelwaid–Bayreuth railway

Schnabelwaid–Bayreuth railway
Route number:	512, 860
Line number:	5001
Line length:	18.2
Track gauge:	1435
Maximum speed:	140
Legend from Nuremberg Hbf(Nuremberg–Cheb) 0.0 Schnabelwaid (472 m) to Cheb(Nürnberg–Cheb) 5.6 Creußen (Oberfr) (434 m) 9.1 Red Main(90 m) 9.7 B 2 and B 85 9.8 Neuenreuth (b Creußen) 12.2 A 9 15.4 B 2 and B 85 16.6 from Hollfeld(Bayreuth–Hollfeld, Kreuzstein junction) 17.2 B 22(40 m) 17.8 B 2 and 17.8 Red Main(110 m) from Weiden (Oberpf)(Weiden–Bayreuth) 18,2 Bayreuth Hbf (344 m) to Weidenberg(Bayreuth–Warmensteinach) to Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg(Bayreuth–Neuenmarkt)

The Schnabelwaid–Bayreuth railway is an 18.2 km long single-track main line from Schnabelwaid via Creußen to Bayreuth in the German state of Bavaria. It is part of the Saxon-Franconian trunk line (German: Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale).

History

The line was built as a continuation of the Pegnitz Valley Railway from Nuremberg to Pegnitz to provide a direct connection from Bayreuth to Nuremberg that was shorter than the branch line opened in 1853 from Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg on the Ludwig South-North Railway. It was opened on 15 July 1877.

Route

The line branches off the Nuremberg–Cheb line at Schnabelwaid station and runs north next to highways B 2 and B 85 and the Red Main river to Bayreuth.

Just south of Bayreuth station the line crosses the valley of the Red Main on a 1.5 km-long embankment. On this embankment to the east of the Schnabelwaid–Bayreuth line is the parallel track of the Weiden–Bayreuth line. The two tracks cross the B 22 (Wieland-Wager Straße), the Bayreuth mill canal and finally, just before the entrance to Bayreuth station, the B 2 (Albrecht-Dürer Straße) and immediately afterwards the Red Main.

Line standards

The route is single track for its entire length and has passing places for trains at Creußen and Neuenreuth stations. The line has a maximum speed of 140 km/h.

Services

Franken-Sachsen-Express Interregio-Express services operates on the line, using class 612 diesel multiple units (DMUs), from Nuremberg to Bayreuth, and then on to Hof, Chemnitz and Dresden. In addition, Regional-Express services operate from Nuremberg to Bayreuth with class 610 and 612 DMUs and Regionalbahn services operate on the line with class 628 DMUs for school services.