From July 10th: Railway line to the right of the Rhine closed for several months

Between Hesse’s state capital Wiesbaden and Troisdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, the railway line is on the right Rhine Completely renovated from Friday and therefore closed for months. Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced that the construction team would switch off the overhead lines in the evening hours and the five-month construction phase on the 160-kilometer-long section would begin.

By mid-December, tracks, switches, overhead lines, signaling technology, bridges, tunnels, level crossings and train stations, among other things, are to be renewed and modernized. The aim is, among other things, to improve the reliability and punctuality of rail transport, as the DB explained. Around 1.6 billion euros will flow into the corridor renovation of the right stretch of the Rhine, which runs, among other things, through the Rheingau and the Middle Rhine Valley.

How can travelers get to their destination?

According to Deutsche Bahn, there is an extensive program with replacement buses on 13 lines. “These serve the missing train stops near the train station and some other easily accessible stops. “The tight timing creates numerous travel options,” the railway said. Express lines ensured the fastest possible connections between WiesbadenRüdesheim and Koblenz as well as between Koblenz, Bad Honnef, Bonn-Ramersdorf and Troisdorf. Additional trips are planned for school transport.

Where do I find the connections?

All replacement connections can be accessed electronically via bahn.de, the DB Navigator or the regional apps of the transport associations RMV, SPNV-Nord or Go.Rheinland, as the railway announced. A special website for replacement traffic has been set up at bahn.de/ersatzverkehr-rechter-rhein. The replacement vehicles are loud German railway Barrier-free, have WiFi and, according to previous information, some have toilets on board.

Switching to the water

Rhine ferries are also included in the replacement transport concept. The passenger ferry “Nixe” crosses the river between the Erpel on the right bank of the Rhine and Remagen, as the Rhineland-Palatinate North Rail Passenger Transport Association (SPNV) announced. The ferry is an additional way to connect to the existing transport network on the left bank of the Rhine.

There are also restrictions on the left bank of the Rhine

According to the DB, during the five-month construction phase, the specialists will replace or repair around 80 kilometers of tracks, almost 100 kilometers of overhead lines, 160 switches and 10 bridges. In addition, there is work on 36 train stations, among other things. According to Deutsche Bahn, freight traffic will essentially be redirected to the route on the left bank of the Rhine during the construction phase. There are also restrictions on local transport there, but there is a stable basic service, it was said.

Barriers remain closed

During the total closure, several level crossings between Wiesbaden and Lorchhausen in the Rheingau are partially permanently closed because the signal boxes are out of service. Attention: The tracks are used by construction vehicles and logistics trains. Detours are signposted on site. The following level crossings are affected:

• Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Gibber Straße (at the train station), closed from July 24th to November 19th
• Wiesbaden-Schierstein, Freudenbergstrasse (at the train station)
• Eltville, commercial route near Wallufer Straße 16
• Eltville, Kiedricher Straße
• Erbach, Sudetenstrasse/Boden
• Oestrich, Roman road
• Oestrich, Grenzstrasse
• Rüdesheim, Rheinufer height of Marktstrasse, closed except from July 30th to 31st
• Rüdesheim, banks of the Rhine near Villa Sturm
• Assmannshausen, Dreikönigstrasse
• Assmannshausen, Neugasse
• Lorchhausen, Rheinallee/Lorcher Straße

Residents should secure balcony furniture

Helicopters will be used on several sections of the route during the day to deliver new signals and remove the old ones. It won’t just be loud, the railway announced. “The rotors can create strong air movements. Residents are therefore asked to take precautionary measures to secure movable and light objects in gardens, terraces and balconies.” The planned flight days:

• July 11th and 12th: between Troisdorf and Bad Honnef
• August 10th to 13th: Niederlahnstein
• August 24th to 27th: Rüdesheim and Eltville
• September 7th to 11th: Loreley and Kamp-Bornhofen
• September 21st to 23rd: Oberlahnstein

© dpa-infocom, dpa:260710-930-361888/1