Operations
The line is heavily congested and gives priority to long-distance freight trains. Long distance passenger trains in the Rhine Valley use the West Rhine line and the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed line. When there are line closures on the left side, the long-distance trains are diverted to the East Rhine route. It that case the stop for Bonn is replaced with Bonn-Beuel.
Passenger services on the line are provided by RegionalBahn and Regional-Express trains. According to Deutsche Bahn timetables, the East Rhine route is KBS 465 (Cologne-Koblenz) and KBS 466 (Koblenz-Wiesbaden). The KBS 465 added a section from Cologne to Mönchengladbach a few years ago. All passenger trains start or finish at the Koblenz main station. Trains from there in the direction of Wiesbaden cross on the Horchheimer Bridge (south of Koblenz). Trains travelling in the direction of Cologne cross the Urmitz Railway Bridge (north of Koblenz), or travel via Vallendar over the Horchheimer Bridge.
Generally Regional-Express trains operate every two hours between the Frankfurt and Wiesbaden main train stations and Koblenz. RegionalBahn trains operate every two hours between the Wiesbaden main station and Koblenz.
Regional-Express trains operate every hour between Mönchengladbach main station and Koblenz, via Cologne Central Station and Vallendar, using the Horchheim bridge. RegionalBahn trains operate every hour between Mönchengladbach Hbf, Cologne Hbf and Koblenz, via the Urmitz Railway Bridge.
The northern section is also served hourly by the Rhein-Erft-Express (RE 8) and the Rhein-Erft-Bahn (RB 27) lines. The RE-8 serves the Cologne/Bonn Airport station and extends south of Koblenz on the Horchheimer Bridge. It uses Series-425 electric locomotives and a maximum speed of 140 km/h. The RB 27 operates between Porz and Koblenz, crossing from the north via the Urmitz Bridge. It operates non-stop from Koblenz to Cochem twice daily. The RB-27 uses Series-143 electric locomotives and three double-decker carriages with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. From Moenchengladbach to Rommerskirchen, the tariffs of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) apply; from Grevenbroich to Neuwied, those of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS); and from Unkel to Koblenz, the tariffs of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel (VRM).
Until 2010, the southern section was served by the Loreley-Bahn (RB 10) and the Loreley-Express (RE 10) rail lines, using electric class 143 or 110 locomotives and 4-5 coaches on a one to two-hour schedule. In 2007, the operation services on the section from the Koblenz–Frankfurt section was tendered by the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (Rhine-Main Transport Association, RMV) and the Zweckverband Schienenpersonennahverkehr Rheinland-Pfalz Nord (Association for Passenger Rail Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate North). On 12 December 2010, VIAS GmbH took over operations of the service, now called the RheingauLinie (SE 10). Between Koblenz, Lahnstein and Wiesbaden trains now stop at every station, but between Wiesbaden and Frankfurt Central Station there now only two stops. Similarly, between Neuwied and Koblenz Central Station there were initially no stations. Since its completion in April 2011, Koblenz City Centre Station has also been served. The Stadt-Express services run every hour, sometimes even every half hour. VIAS GmbH use new Stadler FLIRT sets for the service. Because of the renewal of track on the line in 2010 and the good acceleration of the FLIRT sets, the travel time is only slightly longer than that of the former RE 10, which did not stop at each station.
Between Koblenz and Kaub, tariffs of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel apply and between Lorchhausen and Wiesbaden/Frankfurt, the tariffs of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV).
Read more about this topic: East Rhine Railway
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