Main Railway

{{Short description|Railway in Germany}} {{Infobox rail line |box_width = auto |name = Main Railway |native_name = Mainbahn |native_name_lang = de |type = Heavy rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail, Commuter rail Intercity rail |status = Operational |locale = Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Germany |start = Mainz Hbf |end = Frankfurt (Main) Hbf |stations = 12 |open = 3 January 1863 |close = |owner = Deutsche Bahn |operator = DB Regio, Rhein-Main S-Bahn |linelength = {{convert|37.5|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} | tracks = Double track |gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}} |routenumber =471, 645.8, 645.9 |linenumber = *3520 (Mainz–Frankfurt Hbf) *3650 (Frankfurt Stadion–Frankfurt Süd) *3538 (drittes Gl. Gustavsburg–Bischofsheim) | electrification = 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary |speed_km/h = 160 |map_state = |map = {{Routemap|inline=1|title =no |footnote = Source: German railway atlas<ref name=Eisenbahnatlas >{{cite book|title=Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) |publisher= Schweers + Wall | year= 2009 |isbn= 978-3-89494-139-0|pages=151–53}}</ref>|map= STR~~ ~~ ~~West Rhine Railway from Boppard BS2+l\BS2+lr~~ ~~ ~~{{BSsplit|From rail bypass and|Taunus line to Wiesbaden {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S8|size=x12}}}} ABZg+r\STR~~ ~~ ~~Line from Alzey STR\ABZg+l~~ ~~ ~~From Mainz harbour BHF\S+BHF~~0.000~~'''Mainz Hbf''' tSTRa\TUNNEL1~~ ~~ ~~Mainz railway tunnel north (northbound) tSTR\STR~~ ~~ ~~New Mainz tunnel (southbound) tSTRe\TUNNEL2~~ ~~ ~~Mainz railway tunnel south (northbound) BHF\S+BHF~~1.800~~Mainz Römisches Theater eABZg+l\eKRZo~~ ~~ ~~Former line from Mainz Hauptbahnhof ABZqr\ABZgr~~ ~~ ~~Line to Ludwigshafen exBOOT\hKRZWae+GRZq~~3.076~~ ~~South bridge (Mainz), border RP/Hesse exKBHFaq\eABZg+r~~ ~~Former train ferry~~Rhine-Main Railway \ABZg+r~~Mainz-Gustavsburg harbour siding \SBHF~~4.580~~Mainz-Gustavsburg STR+l\KRZu~~ ~~ ~~Mainz rail bypass, from Taunus Railway {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S9|size=x12}} BHF\S+BHF~~7.780~~Mainz-Bischofsheim BS2rc\BS2r~~ ~~ ~~To Mainz-Bischofsheim ABZgr~~Rhine-Main Railway to Darmstadt BST~~9.560~~Mainz-Bischofsheim Ültg II junction SBHF~~11.206~~Rüsselsheim-Opelwerk S+BHF~~12.220~~Rüsselsheim SBHF~~15.875~~Raunheim BST~~17.373~~Raunheim Mönchwald junction ABZgr~~Connecting curve to HSL to Frankfurt SBRÜCKE~~ ~~ ~~A 3 KRZu~~ ~~ ~~Frankfurt Airport–Cologne HSL ABZg+r~~19.1~~Raunheim Caltex & Ticona siding BST~~19.349~~Raunheim Brunnenschneise junction ABZg+l~~Connecting curve from HSL to Cologne ABZg+r~~ ~~ ~~Industrial sidings SBHF~~23.812~~Kelsterbach ABZgr~~Frankfurt Airport loop {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S8|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S9|size=x12}} eHST~~26.9~~Frankfurt-Schwanheim<ref> Passenger services had stopped serving the halt of Schwanheim by 15 November 1901 ({{cite journal|publisher=Eisenbahndirektion Mainz |title=Sammlung der herausgegebenen Amtsblätter |date=9 November 1901 |volume=5 |issue= 53 |page= 372|language=de}}, item 508)</ref> ABZq+r\KRZu\STR+r~~ ~~ ~~Frankfurt Airport loop {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S8|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S9|size=x12}} BS2c1\BS2+lr\BS2+lc\BS2c4~~29.096~~Frankfurt-Schwanheim Fernbahn junction \STRo\STRo\~~ ~~ ~~A 5 \ABZg+r\STR\~~ ~~ ~~{{BSsplit|Mannheim–Frankfurt railway|to Riedstadt-Goddelau {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S7|size=x12}}}} \S+BHF\SBHF\~~31.375~~Frankfurt (Main) Stadion ABZq+r\ABZgr\STR\~~ ~~ ~~bypass line via Forsthaus (see below) STRl\ABZg+r\STR\~~ ~~ ~~connecting line from Forsthaus S+BHF\SHST~~33.192~~Frankfurt-Niederrad hKRZWae\hKRZWae~~ ~~ ~~Old Niederräd bridge / new Niederräd bridge DST\STR~~34.250~~Frankfurt-Niederrad Brücke KRZo\KRZo~~ ~~ ~~Frankfurt City Link Line STR+l\ABZglr\KRZo\ABZq+r~~ ~~ ~~to Main-Lahn line to Frankfurt-Höchst STR\STR\ABZg+l\KRZo~~ ~~ ~~{{BSto|Main-Lahn Railway|from Frankfurt-Höchst {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S1|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S2|size=x12}}}} STR\STR\STR\ABZg2~~ ~~ ~~to Taunus Railway to Frankfurt-Höchst STR\STR\STR\ABZg+1u~~ ~~ ~~line from Frankfurt-Griesheim ABZg+l\KRZu\KRZu\KRZu~~35.358~~{{BSsplit|Frankfurt (Main) Gutleuthof (junction)|Taunus Railway from Frankfurt-Höchst}} STR\STR\ABZg+l\KRZu~~ ~~ ~~{{BSsplit|Homburg embankment|from Mainzer Landstraße}} STR\STR\STR\DST~~35.360~~Frankfurt outer yard STR\STR\ABZg+l\ABZlr~~ ~~ ~~to Galluswarte STR\KRWl\KRWl+r\KRW+r KRZu\STRq\KRZu\KRZu~~ ~~ ~~Main-Weser bridge – Galluswarte line STR\\BST\BST~~36.444~~Frankfurt (Main) Hoch/Tief~~(station part) STR\\STR\STRl~~ ~~ ~~to the City Tunnel {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S1|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S2|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S8|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S9|size=x12}} KRZu\STR+r\KRWl\KRW+r~~ ~~ ~~lines from Darmstadt and from Offenbach ABZg+l\STRr\STR+l\KRZu~~ ~~ ~~Main-Weser Railway from Gießen eABZg+r\\STRl\ABZg+r~~ ~~ ~~former line from Peace Bridge (see below) KS+BHFxe\\\KS+BHFxe~~37.508~~'''Frankfurt (Main) Hbf'''~~(since 1888) {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S7|size=x12}} exKBHFe\\\exKBHFe~~ ~~''Frankfurt western stations''~~(until 1888) |map2-title = Originally part of route (now bypass line) |map2 = \STR\STR~~ ~~ ~~line from Mainz (see above) \S+BHF\SBHF~~31.4~~Frankfurt am Main Stadion \ABZgl+l\STRl~~ ~~ ~~{{BSto|current line via Frankfurt-Niederrad|(see above)}} BST~~33.2~~{{BSto|Forsthaus (Frankfurt)|(junction, former station)}} STR+l\ABZglr\STR+r~~ ~~ ~~connecting curve to Darmstadt, Frankfurt ABZqr\KRZo\ABZg+r~~ ~~ ~~Main-Neckar Railway from Darmstadt STR+l\dSTRq\xKRZr\xKRZl\dSTRq~~ ~~ ~~{{BSto|current line to Main-Neckar Bridge|(see above)}} eABZg+l\exdSTRq\exABZg+lr\exSTRr\d~~ ~~ ~~former Lokalbahn, Main-Neckar Railway S+BHF\d\exSTR\d\~~36.6~~'''Frankfurt South''' ABZgr\d\exSTR\d\~~ ~~ ~~South Main line to Hanau ABZgr\d\exSTR\d\~~ ~~ ~~North Main line to Hanau tSTRa\d\exSTR\d\~~ ~~ ~~City Tunnel to Frankfurt Hbf (underground) exhKRZWae~~ ~~ ~~Peace Bridge (old Main-Neckar Bridge) exSTR+l\exdSTRq\exSTRr\d\~~ ~~ ~~former route of the Main-Neckar railway xABZg+l\STR+l\STR+l\STR+l~~ ~~ ~~current bridge (see above) KS+BHFxe\KBHFxe\KBHFxe\tSTRa~~ ~~'''Frankfurt (Main) Hbf'''~~(since 1888) {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S7|size=x12}} exSTR\exSTR\exSTR\tSBHF~~{{BSto|Frankfurt (Main) Hbf underground|(since 1978)}} exSTR\exSTR\exSTR\tSTRl~~ ~~ ~~City Tunnel to South Station/Offenbach exSTR\exSTR\exSTR\~~ ~~ ~~{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S3|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S4|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S5|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S6|size=x12}} and {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S1|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S2|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S8|size=x12}}{{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S9|size=x12}} exKBHFe\exKBHFe\exKBHFe\~~??.?~~''Frankfurt western stations''~~(until 1888) }} }} The '''Main Railway''' (German: ''Mainbahn'') is a 37.5 km-long double-track electrified railway line, which runs on the south side of the river Main from Mainz to Frankfurt central station.

== History ==

Immediately after the opening of the Rhine-Main Railway from Mainz to Aschaffenburg by the Hessian Ludwig Railway Company in 1858, it was anxious to also own a connection to Frankfurt. Therefore, it built the new line from a branch off the Rhine-Main line at Bischofsheim along the left (southern) bank of the Main to Frankfurt. It thereby put itself into competition with the parallel Taunus Railway, which runs on the right bank of the Main. The concession for building and operating the line was awarded by Grand Duchy of Hesse on 15 August 1861 and by the senate of the Free City of Frankfurt on 17 January 1862.

The building of the line took only one and a half years. A test run took place on 20 December 1862 and it was opened on 3 January 1863. The line originally ran through the former Forsthaus station and today's Friedensbrücke (Peace Bridge, now a road bridge) in Frankfurt across the Main to the former Main-Neckar station. This entry was replaced on 16 January 1882 by the current alignment through ''Goldstein'' station (later: ''Frankfurt-Sportfeld'', now: Frankfurt (Main) Stadion), Niederrad station and the Niederräder Main bridge.

On 1 February 1897, it along with the rest of the Hessian Ludwigs railway became part of the Prussian-Hessian Railway Company. Electrification of the line was completed on 15 December 1958.

On 2 February 1990, one of the worst train accidents in the Rhine-Main area occurred near Rüsselsheim when a train from Frankfurt collided with one from Wiesbaden and derailed, killing 17 people and injuring over 80, some seriously.

Since 1999 the Raunheim Mönchwald–Raunheim Mönchhof connecting curve has provided a connection with the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line, allowing long-distance trains to and from on the Left Rhine line to use the Frankfurt Airport long-distance station.

== Buildings== The following structures are original and those marked are listed monuments: {| class="wikitable" ! Location ! Building ! Year ! km ! Monument |- | Bischofsheim | Station building | 1958 | {{0}}8.25 | align="center" | * |- | Rüsselsheim | Linesmen house | 1863 | 12.80 | align="center" | * |- | Raunheim | Station building | 1863 | 15.87 | align="center" | * |- | Raunheim | Linesmen house | 1863 | 17.39 | align="center" | * |- | Kelsterbach | Rail bridge | 1863 | 21.75 | |- | Kelsterbach | Linesmen house | 1863 | 23.60 | align="center" | * |- | Kelsterbach | Station building | 1863 | 23.81 | align="center" | * |- | Stadion | Station building | 1879 | 31.37 | align="center" | * |- | Niederrad | Station building | 1882 | 33.19 | align="center" | * |- | Sachsenhausen | Rail bridge | 1864 | 34.47 | |- |}

== Services ==

The Main Railway is used by long-distance and local passenger services as well as freight traffic,

=== Long distance === [[File:Frankfurt am Main- Bahnhof Frankfurt-Louisa- auf Bahnsteig zu Gleis 2- Richtung Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof (ICE 1) 20.5.2012.JPG|thumb|left|ICE 1 on the connecting curve from the Main Railway in Frankfurt-Louisa station]] {{main|List of Intercity-Express lines|List of German Intercity services}}

The line is used by "individual services" (not at regular intervals through the day) of ICE lines 20, 31, 50 and 91 as well as IC line 31.

The long-distance services depart from Mainz Hauptbahnhof, passing through Raunheim Mönchwald junction via the connecting line to the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway to Frankfurt Airport long-distance station.

From here trains run non-stop to Frankfurt am Main Stadion station and via the current route to Frankfurt South station or via the current route to Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof. A few trains use the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway to Mannheim Hauptbahnhof.

=== Local services ===

[[File:Bischofsheimer (Mainspitze) Bahnhof- auf Bahnsteig zu Gleis 2- Richtung Frankfurt am Main (S-Bahn Rhein-Main 423 304-5) 29.3.2009.JPG|thumb|left|S8 service in Mainz-Bischofsheim station running towards Hanau Hbf]]

Regional and Rhine-Main S-Bahn services run between Kelsterbach station and Frankfurt-Schwanheim Fernbahn junction over the Airport loop.

{| class="wikitable" ! Line ! Route ! Frequency |- | {{Bahnlinie|RE|55||white|grey}} | {{nowrap|Frankfurt Airport regional –}} {{nowrap|'''Frankfurt South''' –}} Offenbach – Hanau – Aschaffenburg | align="center" | Individual services |- | {{Bahnlinie|RB|75||white|grey}} | Wiesbaden – '''Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim''' – Darmstadt | align="center" | 60 min |- | {{Bahnlinie|RE|2/3||white|grey}} | Koblenz or Saarbrücken – '''Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim''' – {{nowrap|Frankfurt Airport regional –}} '''Frankfurt (Main) Hbf''' | align="center" | 60 min |- | {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S8|size=x15}} | Wiesbaden – '''Mainz – Mainz-Bischofsheim – Kelsterbach''' – {{nowrap|Frankfurt Airport regional –}} {{nowrap|Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (underground) –}} Frankfurt City Tunnel – Offenbach City Tunnel – Hanau | align="center" | 30 min |- | {{ric|Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S9|size=x15}} | Wiesbaden – Mainz-Kastel – '''Mainz-Bischofsheim – Kelsterbach''' – {{nowrap|Frankfurt Airport regional –}} {{nowrap|Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (underground) –}} Frankfurt City Tunnel – Offenbach City Tunnel – Hanau | align="center" | 30 min |}

==Notes==

== References== * {{cite book|editor=Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen |title=Eisenbahn in Hessen. Eisenbahnenbauten- und strecken 1839–1939 |edition=1 |publisher= Theiss Verlag |location= Stuttgart|year= 2005 | isbn= 3-8062-1917-6 |volume= 2 |issue=1 |pages= 302ff (line 018) |language=German}}

Category:Railway lines in Hesse Category:Transport in Frankfurt Category:Railway lines in Rhineland-Palatinate Category:Rhine-Main S-Bahn Category:Railway lines opened in 1863 Category:Transport in Mainz Category:Buildings and structures in Groß-Gerau (district)