Węgliniec–Görlitz railway

The Węgliniec–Görlitz railway is a double-track railway line connecting Węgliniec and Zgorzelec in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of south-west Poland, then crossing the border over Lusatian Neisse into Görlitz in Saxony. Except for the final kilometre between the border and Görlitz station, the line is operated by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe as route no. 278, and the corresponding timetable (SRJP) has no. 260.

Węgliniec–Görlitz railway
A KD train at Zgorzelec ready to depart for Węgliniec
Overview
Locale
TerminiWęgliniec
Görlitz
Line number260
Technical
Line length26.532 km (16.486 mi)
Number of tracks2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification
Operating speedmaximum speed: 160 km/h (99.4 mph)
Route number
  • Węgliniec–Zgorzelec: PLK 278
  • Zgorzelec–border: PLK 274
  • border–Görlitz: DB 6211

History

The construction of the railway line started on 31 July 1845 when the station was built in Kohlfurt (nowadays Węgliniec), attracting a large number of railway employees into what used to be a small village. The single-track railway line was finished by 26 August 1847, and on 1 September, the opening ceremonies were held.[1] The purpose of the line was to connect the Berlin–Wrocław railway to the Görlitz–Dresden railway, and the latter was formally opened on the same day, 1 September 1847.[2] Later in the 1860s, the Silesian Mountain Railway was built, branching off at Zgorzelec railway station (then called Moys bei Görlitz) via Wałbrzych (Waldenburg-Dittersbach) to Wrocław (Breslau); in the same decade, the Węgliniec–Görlitz railway was converted to double-track.

In 1860s and 1870s, the village of Kohlfurt evolved into a major railway hub: the branch line to Lubań (then Lauban) on the Silesian Mountain Railway opened in 1865, and the Węgliniec–Roßlau railway reached Węgliniec (then Kohlfurt) in 1874. At this time, railway employees made up the majority of the village's population.[2]

The 2 km long section between Zgorzelec railway station (Moys bei Görlitz) and Görlitz station was electrified in 1923, with the electric traction in operation since 1 September 1923. The overhead lines were badly damaged in February 1945, and have not yet been restored.

In 1948, Polish State Railways constructed a bypass to allow traffic between Węgliniec and Lubań without having to reverse at Zgorzelec railway station. At this time, the new Zgorzelec Miasto railway station was built, so that the trains using the bypass could still serve the town of Zgorzelec.

On 24 November 2017, the Polish infrastructure operator PKP PLK signed a contract for the electrification of the Węgliniec–Zgorzelec railway. The work is expected to be completed in 2020, at the cost of around 70 million złoty (16.3 million euro), out of which, 85% are financed by the EU infrastructure fund.[3]

Train services

Since 2009, with an interruption between February and December 2015,[4][5] three daily Regional-Express trains run on the Węgliniec–Görlitz railway, on service between Wrocław Główny railway station and Dresden Hauptbahnhof. Additionally, Koleje Dolnośląskie run eleven weekday trains on route 278 (Węgliniec–Zgorzelec) in each direction, as well as two daily trains between Węgliniec and Lubań which bypass Zgorzelec railway station.

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References
  1. Rettig, Wilfried (1994). Eisenbahnknoten Görlitz (in German). Bufe Fachbuch-Verlag. p. 52. ISBN 3-922138-53-5.
  2. Rettig, Wilfried (1994). Eisenbahnknoten Görlitz (in German). Bufe Fachbuch-Verlag. p. 62. ISBN 3-922138-53-5.
  3. "PLK rozpoczynają elektryfikację trasy do Zgorzelca" (in Polish). 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  4. "Zmiany w rozkładzie jazdy pociągów na Dolnym Śląsku" (in Polish). Przewozy Regionalne. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  5. "Einstellung des Verkehrs Dresden – Görlitz – Wrocław/Breslau zum 01.03.2015" (PDF) (in German). ZVON und VVO. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
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