Lübeck–Hamburg railway

The Hamburg–Lübeck railway is one of the most important mainline railways of the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. It connects the two Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, and is part of the line to Denmark. The line was opened in 1865.

Lübeck–Hamburg
The Lübeck–Hamburg line
Overview
Line number	1120
Locale	Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg
Service
Route number	104, 140
Technical
Line length	62.8 km (39.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map from Kiel, from Puttgarden from Lübeck-Travemünde 0.000 Lübeck Hbf to Bad Segeberg 2.150 Lübeck main freight yard Lübeck-Genin 2.488 to Lüneburg, to Bad Kleinen Trave Elbe-Lübeck Canal 4.747 5.800 less 1053 m 0 Lübeck-Moisling (in planning) 7.520 Lübeck-Niendorf Trave 15.833 Reinfeld (Holstein) B 75 Trave from Neumünster (39.969) 23.887 Bad Oldesloe (S-Bahn planned) to Elmshorn to Ratzeburg to Schwarzenbek (33.885) 29.971 Kupfermühle (S-Bahn planned) A 21 28.451 35.405 Bargteheide (S-Bahn planned) (end of planned S-Bahn) 23.946 39.910 Ahrensburg-Gartenholz (S-Bahn planned) 40.300 Ahrensburg Nord (siding) 41.242 Hünnau 21.419 42.437 Ahrensburg (S-Bahn planned) 43.491 U1 Volksdorf – Großhansdorf Ahrensburg West (planned) 16.827 47.029 Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg state border 16.079 00,000 Stellmoorer Quellfluss 13.583 00,000 Wandse 51.000 Hamburg-Rahlstedt Bbf 12.691 00,000 Wandse 12.223 51.665 Hamburg-Rahlstedt (S-Bahn planned) 10.864 00,000 Wandse 10.496 00,000 Pulverhof (planned) 9.273 54.436 Hamburg-Tonndorf (formerly Wandsbek Ost, dismantling planned) 7.620 00,000 Holstenhofweg (planned) 6.829 00,000 System change DC/AC (planned) 6.038 00,000 Bovestraße (planned) 5.844 00,000 Gehölzgraben 58.200 Hamburg-Wandsbek (passenger services closed in 2021) 5.329 00,000 Claudiusstraße (planned) 4.590 00,000 Freight bypass 4.300 00,000 S-Bahn from Ohlsdorf/Airport 4.170 59.689 Hamburg Hasselbrook 2.793 00,000 Landwehr 1.530 00,000 Hamburg Berliner Tor S-Bahn from Bergedorf, from Berlin S-Bahn from Harburg from Hanover, to Berlin 0.110 63.896 Hamburg Hbf (Keilbahnhof) to Hamburg-Altona Source: German railway atlas

Route

The line runs the south-west from Lübeck through mostly agricultural, undulating land. The Trave river is crossed three times. The most important intermediate stop is Bad Oldesloe, where the line connects with hourly services on the line to Bad Segeberg and Neumünster, operated by Nordbahn. Between Ahrensburg and Hamburg-Rahlstedt the line runs along the Stellmoor tunnel valley. In the city of Hamburg the line crosses the rail freight bypass and then runs parallel to the S-Bahn line until Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is reached from the east.

History

The first plans to build a direct rail link between Hamburg and Lübeck were put forward in 1831. Because of the refusal of the Danish authorities to allow a direct line to be built through Holstein-Glückstadt, which was ruled by the King of Denmark, the Lübeck–Büchen line was built by the Lübeck-Büchen Railway Company (Lübeck-Büchener Eisenbahn, LBE). This provided a connection between Lübeck and the Berlin-Hamburg railway, but meant that trains to Hamburg had to take the route via Büchen. This was approximately 32 km (20 mi) longer that the direct line, which was only opened by the LBE on 1 August 1865. In 1875/76 the track was duplicated.

In 1963, the Lübeck–Puttgarden and Rødby Havn–Copenhagen lines were completed as part of the Vogelfluglinie (literally: bird flight line) to Copenhagen. This increased the range of long distance trains between Lübeck and Hamburg. In addition to the trains to Copenhagen there were Interzone trains (trains between East and West Germany) to Rostock. Express trains, the Merkur Trans Europ Express and Trans-Europ-Express-Marchandises freight trains were hauled to Puttgarden by the class DB-221 diesel locomotives.

In the 1960s and 1970s express trains in push-pull operations were hauled by class DB-220 diesel locomotives.

The Travemünde–Lübeck and the Lübeck–Hamburg lines were electrified in 2008. Electric operation began from the timetable change in December 2008. Since that time, Intercity-Express trains have also operated between Munich, Hamburg and Lübeck.

Operations

IC3 of the DSB in Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

Lübeck–Hamburg Regional-Express in Bad Oldesloe station

The construction of the Great Belt Bridge between Funen and Zealand significantly reduced long-distance rail traffic on the Hamburg–Lübeck–Copenhagen route. Since December 2007 Deutsche Bahn ICE TD (withdrawn from 2016) and DSB IC3 trains have operated on the route.

Between Lübeck and Hamburg Regional-Express trains run every twice an hour from morning to evening from Monday to Friday and hourly on weekends. This section has the greatest number of train passengers in Schleswig-Holstein. The Regional-Express trains stop only in Reinfeld, Bad Oldesloe and at times in Ahrensburg. Regionalbahn trains operate on the Hamburg–Bad Oldesloe section, stopping at all stations. They are almost always composed of double-decker coaches. They are propelled in push-pull mode by electric locomotives, either class 112 or 143.

Ahrensburg-Gartenholz halt was built between Ahrensburg and Bargteheide in 2009. It opened in 2010. The opening was delayed because the station had to be modified. Although international trains never stop there, they do pass through, so the station has to comply with international standards.

Future

The level crossing in Marienthal will be replaced by an underpass.

Starting in 2017, the Hamburg–Bad Oldesloe section will be upgraded for S-Bahn operations with new stations at Claudiusstraße, Bovestraße, Holstenhofweg and Pulverhof. By 2018, the railway crossing at the Hammer Straße in Marienthal will be replaced by an underpass, which is seen as a prerequisite for the expansion of the S-Bahn.

External links

• Media related to Lübeck–Hamburg railway line at Wikimedia Commons