Vogtlandbahn - Origins

Origins

After German Reunification in 1990, there was a sharp drop in passenger numbers on the rail network in all the new Bundesländer. Saxony, and thus Vogtland was no exception. The railways had old locomotives rolling stock and couldn't compete with the rapidly improving roads. The Saxony government invested in an attempt to improve the attractiveness of the Zwickau–Falkenstein–Klingenthal line and the Herlasgrün–Falkenstein–Adorf (Kursbuchstrecke 539). The track was relaid to a 80 km/h standard, disabled access was facilitated at all stations and new stations opened. Maintenance and tracks were rationalised. Some platforms were removed, some stations such as Schöneck were restyled as simple halts.

To renew passenger confidence, new trainsets were bought and the timetables changed to allow easier connections between services and operators. In September 1994 it was privatised, going to the Regental-Bahnbetriebs-GmbH, a company from Viechtach, Bavaria. In January 1998 it came under the ownership of the Länderbahn group. So in contrast to their former owners the Deutsche Bahn of the DDR, these invested in the company's future. In 1998, the company built their own workshops in Neumark, which were opened in July 2000. The old sheds in Reichenbach were no longer needed.

A further success is the extension of the network into Zwickau town centre. Following the example set by the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, the lines extend from Zwickau Hauptbahnhof ("Main Railway Station") to the central markets. As most of the Vogtland network has not been electrified, the train-trams do not use current from the tramwires (as in Karlsruhe) but are driven by diesel engines. Between the Hauptbahnhof and Stadthall there was a link that could be reactivated. From there to Zentrum the train and the tram use the same tracks. To do this, dual-gauge track has been laid; there are three rails, the tram uses metre gauge (1000 mm), and the Vogtlandbahn uses standard gauge (1435 mm). An extra rail was laid next to the tram line so that they share one rail and each use one of the others as appropriate.

In the years that followed the Vogtlandbahn had many opportunities to bid for further routes to expand its network. From their core routes in the Vogtland they moved over into Bavaria and Thuringia, with lines to Hof, Schleiz and Gera. When the Czech Republic became a candidate for European Union membership a new market opened. In 2000, after a 55-year gap, the Zwickau–Klingenthal line was reconnected to Kraslice (Graslitz). In 2003 it connected to Sokolov (Falkenau) on the Czech Egertalbahn.

On 14 December 2003 the Vogtlandbahn secured an agreement with DB Regio AG to use the Gera–Weida–Zeulenroda–Mehltheuer line and thus started a general traffic service on the Elstertalbahn between Gera, Greiz and Weischlitz, which previously had required a change.

Following the extension of the Zwickau–Plauen–Bad Brambach line over the Czech border to Cheb (Eger) and thus Marktredwitz in Bavaria, the Plauen-Hof service was extended through Marktredwitz and Weiden (10 June 2001) to Regensburg (15 December 2002).

In the timetable changes of 8 December 2006 the Vogtlandbahn lost the Schönberg Schleiz route in Thuringia. An agreement with DB Regio Oberfranken in December 2006 allowed the Vogtlandbahn to run (Hof–) Münchberg-Helmbrechts and Lichtenfels–Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, alongside the Deutsche Bahn, providing the regional services.

Finally, in autumn 2004 Bavaria sold its final stake in the Länderbahn to the British-owned Arriva group, who already owned the Prignitz railway in Brandenburg. This made them the second largest railway company in Germany.