Possibly the least-visited area of diesel loco haulage in Germany at the moment – admittedly possibly in part due to the “blandness” of the locos concerned – is the route between Leipzig and Chemnitz, operated by Siemens Eurorunner class 223s.

The area of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany) is now a desert in terms of diesel locomotive haulage on passenger trains.  The cessation of through running to Szczecin by EC178/EC179 “Alois Negrelli” in Summer 2012 left Summer weekend-only 218-hauled Intercity portions on the island of Usedom as the only booked mainline diesel-hauled trains in the entire (former) country.

223 055 at Chemnitz Hbf (Photo: Darren Fawcett)

The December 2015 timetable change, however, brought something of an oasis to this desert, when the private Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn (MRB) took over the operation of one particular route from the incumbent DB Regio.

The unelectrified 38-mile cross-country route between Leipzig and Chemnitz links what were two of the four largest cities in the GDR – although, of course, Chemnitz was known as Karl-Marx-Stadt in those days.  Chemnitz cannot be described as particularly inspiring, being notable for having lots of Communist-era architecture, being the “fallback” target for Allied bombers in February 1945 if Dresden had been covered by cloud, and being widely believed to have the lowest birth rate of any city in the entire world.  The route will never win any scenery awards, although there is some interest in the area – for example, it passes within 10 miles of Colditz Castle, the site of the wartime POW camp that was the subject of a famous 1955 movie.

Anyway, back to the trains!

223 152 at Chemnitz Hbf (Photo: Darren Fawcett)

Motive Power

The trains are formed of Siemens “Eurorunner” class 223 diesels – noted for being almost silent! – and four- or five-strong rakes of GDR-era Halberstädter carriages, operated in push-pull mode.

The pool consists of the three machines that were in the fleet of NOB on the “Marschbahn” route prior to their replacement by the troubled 245.2 fleet – 223 053, 223 054 and 223 055 – plus two locos that were new to passenger work; 223 144 and 223 152.

However, at the time of writing, 223 152 had been hired to ALEX for use on diesel-hauled passenger services in the Bayern region.  In September/October 2017, it had previously been engaged on the island of Rügen with one carriage, replacing the usual class 650 single-car DMU on the shuttle from Bergen auf Rügen to Lauterbach Mole while it received works attention.

Moves

Three sets of stock (and, consequently, three locos) are in use 7 days a week between Leipzig and Chemnitz each day, and moves are very easy to put together.

Departures are hourly from each end (xx:20 from Leipzig and xx:31 from Chemnitz) with an end-to-end journey time of 59 minutes.

Heading towards Chemnitz, the “leaping shack” is Geithain (+5), and heading towards Leipzig, Narsdorf (+9) and Bad Lausick (+39).  Therefore all three turns can be covered in, for example, a “Leipzig > Geithain > Bad Lausick > somewhere” move in just over an hour.

The above is a link to a YouTube video uploaded by user SvenRailworld showing 223 054 making a sprightly departure from Leipzig Hbf in February 2016.

Controversy

Although pleasing from an enthusiast’s perspective to see a revival of loco-hauled operation an environment where it is otherwise in its death throes, it has not been universally welcomed by the locals.

The increased noise levels (not in terms of engine noise, but of wheel-on-rail and of the cast iron brakes of the stock) have gained much criticism in a country that culturally values silence – and that is not to mention that lack of air conditioning, slam doors etc that have generally been perceived as a backwards step by those that use them every day.

There have also been reports of trains with no serviceable toilets, as well as (unrelated to the rolling stock) driver sickness causing cancellations on the route.

223 053 at Leipzig Hbf (Photo: Darren Fawcett)

The Future

The MRB have the franchise for the route until 2023 – at least – and it seems as if the class 223 locos and Halberstädter stock will continue in use until then, although it must be wondered whether the sheer weight of public discontent will force another solution sooner.

Update 31/03/18: The above words must have been prescient as it was announced in the last week of March 2018 that replacement coaching stock will be obtained ASAP.  Also, a further loco will be available after Easter 2018 to provide greater operational resilience, although its number is not yet known.

245 212 at Westerland on a rake of drafted-in DB Intercity stock, 08/04/17 (JW)

Regional traffic on the Hamburg to Westerland “Marschbahn” route has been suffering from disruption for some time, and this does not look to end any time soon.  From a haulage and photography perspective, this may result in some interesting opportunities to remain present until Spring 2018.

This passenger rail traffic on the Marschbahn is some of the most important in Germany, given that the railway represents the only fixed transport link between the mainland and the North Sea island of Sylt, via the Hindenburgdamm causeway.  Sylt is a popular tourist destination, and it relies on the train service over the causeway to function effectively – all road traffic has to be conveyed on trains to and from Niebüll, and this itself has been a particular political hot potato over recent years.

The operation of the Hamburg to Westerland regional passenger trains passed from DB Regio to the private operator Nord-Ostsee-Bahn (NOB) at the December 2005 timetable change.  NOB retained the franchise for 11 years, operating the service with little fuss with a mixture of Siemens class 223 and MaK class 251 diesel locomotives.

Motive Power

2014 marked the root of the current problems.  The organisation that co-ordinates public transport in Schleswig-Holstein – now known as “NAH.SH” – decreed that a fleet of 15 brand-new Bombardier Traxx class 245.2 locomotives (245 201-215) would be procured by the investment company Paribus for use specifically on the Marschbahn regional trains, regardless of operator.  These entered traffic from late 2015.  At about the same time, it was announced that the franchise would be returning to DB Regio as of the December 2016 timetable change, using the 245.2s and the existing Bombardier “Married Pair” carriages.

However, problems with the 245.2s have been legion since day one.  Initially, they suffered from frequent overheating issues and required fire brigade attendance worryingly often.  Software problems have been frequent and oil and coolant issues have been frequently reported as the cause of failures too.  This is over and above an acceptable level of “teething troubles” and is clearly unsustainable. In October 2017 it was announced that they must again go through a rolling programme of works visits for software updates and that the fleet is not expected to be back at the planned-for level of availability until Spring 2018.

Part of the problem, it is commonly believed by railwaymen and observers alike, is that the 245s are very technology-heavy locomotives, a fleet of which has been ordered without any real prototype having been tested.  Throughout the entire history of (West) German diesel and electric motive power, all new technology has been thoroughly tested on the duties expected to be carried out before an order is placed – here, we are seeing issues being discovered for the first time on the front line.  The Marschbahn is far from flat and the locos get very warm on these demanding duties.

With a full fleet of 245.2s unable to be fielded, DB Fernverkehr Niebüll depot’s allocation of 245.0s (245 021-027) have been pushed into service on these diagrams, with at least one such loco being in use on these workings each day.  Originally procured to replace pairs of 218s on Intercity and car train workings, their own poor account of themselves has seen them generally relegated to half-length Niebüll to Westerland car trains only – although it is technically possible to get haulage from these (thanks to the “Sylt Shuttle Plus” DMU workings that attach to the rear of the car trains – article on this in production), they are otherwise very rare on passenger trains.

Additionally, a number of class 223s and 251s have been called back to the Marschbahn to help prop the service up.  It is unclear whether these machines will be easily ridden behind once the 245.2s are back in action.

Only one class 218 “rabbit” diesel-hydraulic working has been recorded on the regional traffic since the troubles began – when 218 381 piloted an early morning southbound service to save on a light engine path.  Further 218 use is not expected on these services as they are booked to be worked entirely by drivers who no longer sign them.

October 2017 has also seen problems with class 245s hit the headlines in the Frankfurt area – perhaps surprisingly given they have five locos (245 016-020) for four very leisurely peak hour-only diagrams.  Commuters were reported as being “left in the lurch” specifically by 245s, which suffered three fires in just eight days.

Of note, the Intercity traffic on the Marschbahn – almost entirely in the hands of pairs of 40-year-old class 218s – is not affected.  These locomotives continue to provide sterling and reliable service, and some are even being put through Bremen works even now, ostensibly to continue to work on Intercity duties on this route until 2025.

Carriages

The “Married Pair” carriages are also providing trouble.  On 11th November 2016, a coupling defect was identified with one of the vehicles that led to the entire fleet of 90 being immediately withdrawn from traffic.  Even now, nearly a year later, only 68 are back in service.  This has led to all manner of scratch sets being formed from withdrawn Intercity and “fresh air” regional stock obtained from across Germany.

Indeed, DB Regio, which inherited the fleet at a time when none of the vehicles was operational, are apparently considering pursuing NOB for some form of compensation.

Once a “part of the furniture” across the former West Germany, the centre-cab diesel-hydraulic locos of the V100 family are now fairly rare to pin down on passenger-carrying workings.

Due to a number of simultaneous steam loco failures, however, three of them are planned to be used on passenger-carrying trains within relatively close proximity in the south-west corner of Germany this coming Sunday, 2nd July 2017.  These last minute substitutions are leading to something of an impromptu “diesel gala” in Baden-Württemberg.

Murgtalbahn

A class 213 (presumed to be 213 340) from the Albtal Verkehrsgesellschaft will haul the following:

This is a monthly endeavour by the Ulmer Eisenbahnfreunde / Dampfnostalgie Karlsruhe, ostensibly booked for 2-10-0 steam loco 58 311, but this is currently out of traffic.  “Krokodil” E94 088 (ex-ÖBB 1020 010) is its replacement, but this too is unavailable this weekend, hence the substitution by the 213.  More information here.

Strohgäubahn

212 309 will haul three round trips from Korntal to Weissach as part of GES Stuttgart’s “Feurige Elias” calendar:

Again, this is due to the unavailability of steam traction.  More details here.

Schwäbischewaldbahn

212 084 of the DBK Historische Bahn will also be substituting for their excellent 2-6-2T 64 419, which is temporarily out of traffic too.

More details here.  To note, reaching Schorndorf from Stuttgart is made more difficult this weekend due to engineering work between the two, necessitating the use of rail replacement buses to bridge the gap.

Example move!

It is possible to ride behind all three V100s during the course of the day.  There is more than one way to do it – all of which involve several buses and multiple units – but probably the most palatable is as follows – in a 12-hour day centred on Stuttgart:-

08:48 Stuttgart Hbf – Korntal arr 09:01 (S-Bahn, route S6)
09:16 Korntal – Weissach arr 10:11 (212 309)
10:17 Weissach – Leondorf arr 10:41 (no.634 bus)
10:47 Leondorf – Stuttgart Hbf arr 11:12 (S-Bahn, route S6)
11:45 Stuttgart Hbf – Waiblingen arr 11:59 (S-Bahn, route S3)
12:07 Waiblingen – Schorndorf arr 12:37 (rail replacement bus)
12:50 Schorndorf – Welzheim arr 13:14 (no.228 bus)
14:35 Welzheim – Schorndorf arr 15:34 (212 084)
15:48 Schorndorf – Endersbach arr 16:02 (S-Bahn, route S2)
16:08 Endersbach – Waiblingen arr 16:24 (rail replacement bus)
16:40 Waiblingen – Stuttgart Hbf arr 16:55 (S-Bahn, route S2)
17:08 Stuttgart Hbf – Karlsruhe Hbf arr 17:51 (IC2366)
18:09 Karlsruhe Hbf – Rastatt arr 18:22 (RE4737)
19:09 Rastatt – Karlsruhe Hbf arr 19:38 (213 340)
20:05 Karlsruhe Hbf – Stuttgart Hbf arr 20:58 (IRE4915)

So, in conclusion, desperate, but – as long as everything runs, and to time – eminently doable!

As of 05/07/17, only 75 of the 90 class 112.1 remain in traffic.

Only 31 of the 39 class 114s remain in traffic:-

218 484 at Hüffenhardt, 27/06/15 (JW)

A special event will be held over the weekend of 24th and 25th June 2017 to celebrate the “Grenzüberschreitendes Bahnjubiläum Winden – Wissembourg”; the 20th anniversary of the reopening of the cross-border route between Winden, in the German Land of Rheinland-Pfalz, and Wissembourg, in France.

This route, closed in 1975 and reopened in March 1997, has been “off the radar” for locomotive fans since occasional class 218 diesel-hydraulic haulage ceased on summer Saturday specials in 2013; this was also the last time that we saw booked class 218 operation into France.

A two-train shuttle will be operated between Winden and Wissembourg – one formed of a modern SNCF class X73500 DMU, and the other top and tailed by CFL 2-10-0 steam locomotive 5519 and a 218.  The 218 is presumed to be either 218 483 or 218 484 from DB Regio at Karlsruhe (which have not had any passenger diagrams for a good number of years, and only make sporadic short-notice forays onto passenger work these days).  5519 should lead into Wissembourg, with the 218 leading back out.

218 412 awaits departure from Wissembourg, 05/08/12 (JW)

The diagram for the “hauled” set each day is as follows:-

07:30 Neustadt Hbf – Wissembourg
10:25 Wissembourg – Winden
11:15 Winden – Wissembourg
13:25 Wissembourg – Winden
14:15 Winden – Wissembourg
16:25 Wissembourg – Winden
17:15 Winden – Wissembourg
19:25 Wissembourg – Neustadt Hbf

Service train tickets are valid for travel on all of these.

More information in a German-language online leaflet here and in French here.

Many thanks to Jonas Briest for his help with this article!