Franconian Forest Railway
Encyclopedia
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
, electrified,
GSM-R
GSM-R
GSM-R, Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway or GSM-Railway is an international wireless communications standard for railway communication and applications. A sub-system of European Rail Traffic Management System , it is used for communication between train and railway regulation...
, tilting train
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
s
The Franconian Forest Railway (German: Frankenwaldbahn), route no. KBS 840, is an 88 kilometre long, electrified, double-tracked main line
Main line (railway)
The Mainline or Main line of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings and spurs are connected....
from Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels station
Lichtenfels station is in the town of Lichtenfels in Upper Franconia in the German state of Bavaria. It is a regional rail hub and an ICE stop on the Hamburg–Berlin Munich route and is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a station of category 3.-Location :...
via Kronach
Kronach
Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....
to Saalfeld
Saalfeld station
Saalfeld station is the station of the city of Saalfeld in the southeast of the German state of Thuringia...
. It is part of the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
–Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
–Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
–Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
–Halle/Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
–Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
trunk route. It was completed in October 1885.
The Franconian Forest line branches off from the Ludwig South-North Railway
Ludwig South-North Railway
The Ludwig South-North railway , built between 1843 and 1854, was the first railway line to be constructed by Royal Bavarian State Railways...
at Marktzeuln
Marktzeuln
Marktzeuln is a municipality in the district of Lichtenfels in Bavaria in Germany....
. Climbing the ramps from Pressig-Rothenkirchen
Pressig
Pressig is a municipality in the district of Kronach, administrative region Upper Franconia, in Bavaria in Germany....
and Probstzella
Probstzella
Probstzella is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany.-History:Between 1945 and 1990 Probstzella station served as East German inner German border crossing for rail transport...
to Steinbach am Wald
Steinbach am Wald
Steinbach is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany.-History:The village was first mentioned in 1190. Until 1388 it was part of 'Eygen Teuschnitz', a large estate of Langheim monastery.-Economy:...
the line ascends the heights of the Franconian Forest (Frankenwald). The ramps have a maximum incline of 29 ‰ and, even today, heavy goods trains require an additional banking locomotive at the front or rear of the train.
Route
Rodach
Rodach may refer to several locations in southern Germany:*Rodach , a tributary of the Itz river*Rodach , a tributary of the Main river*Wilde Rodach, also a tributary of the Main river*Bad Rodach, a city in the district of Coburg, Bavaria...
Valley to Kronach
Kronach
Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....
. From there it switches to the valley of the Haßlach and follows it, getting ever narrower and steeper, to Pressig and onto the watershed between the Rhine and Elbe basins in Steinbach am Wald
Steinbach am Wald
Steinbach is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany.-History:The village was first mentioned in 1190. Until 1388 it was part of 'Eygen Teuschnitz', a large estate of Langheim monastery.-Economy:...
. Here the line reaches its highest point at 594.54 m above NN and crosses the Rennsteig
Rennsteig
The Rennsteig is a ridge walk as well as an historical boundary path in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringian Highland and Franconian Forest in central Germany....
in a cutting. It immediately begins its descent on the left hand side of the valley towards Ludwigsstadt, where it reaches the Loquitz
Loquitz
Loquitz is a river of Bavaria, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Bavaria...
. After passing the old halt of Lauenstein the line traverses the foothills of the Thuringian Slate Mountains on the left bank of the narrow river valley reaching Probstzella shortly after crossing the Bavarian-Thuringian border. Next the line follows the bends of the River Loquitz, as the valley widens, until the point where the river discharges into the Saale at Kaulsdorf. The railway accompanies the River Saale on the remaining ten kilometres to Saalfeld, crossing it once beyond Breternitz. Parallel to the railway line runs the B 173 main road from Lichtenfels to Kronach and the B85
Bundesstraße 85
The Bundesstraße 85 runs southeast through Thuringia and Bavaria, from Kyffhäuser to Passau, near the Austrian border. B85 is approximately long.Cities and towns along B85:...
from Kronach to Saalfeld.