South Palatinate Railway - Marketing Names

Marketing Names

The alternate name of Queichtalbahn takes its name from the Queich river, which the line follows from Landau to Hauenstein. The line between Landau and Zweibrücken was built as a single line for the purposes of rail operations and was initially called the Südpfalzbahn or Südpfalz-strecke (Southern Palatinate railway or line), or occasionally the Queichtalbahn. Both terms are geographically somewhat misleading, as the line only runs through the Queich valley from Landau until shortly before Hauenstein and only the section from Landau to Hinterweidenthal is located within the Southern Palatinate.

Since 1994 the line has been split in the Deutsche Bahn timetable into two sections, east and west of Pirmasens Nord, the term Queichtalbahn is now mainly used for the eastern section from Landau to Pirmasens Nord, while the western part is often called the Schwarzbachtalbahn (Schwarzbach Valley Railway) as the line runs from Pirmasens Nord to Zweibrücken through the valley of the Schwarzbach.