Lower Elbe Railway

Lower Elbe Railway
The Lower Elbe Railway in Northern Germany
Overview
Line number	1720
Service
Route number	121
Technical
Line length	103 km
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV, 16.7 Hz
Operating speed	160 km/h
Maximum incline	20 ‰
Route map km S-Bahn mileage in italics Hanover–Hamburg railway to Hanover Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway to Bremen A 253 169.37 12.3 Hamburg-Harburg 169.40 to Elbe bridge / Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Seeve Canal and Göhlbach 13.2 Hamburg-Harburg Rathaus 170.78 Hamburg-Unterelbe 170.80 to Port of Harburg 174.xx Hamburg Tempo factory 14.5 Hamburg-Heimfeld 15.4 end of tunnel 15.5 B 73 172.70 merge with S-Bahn A 7 Hamburg Port Railway to Kattwyk vertical lift bridge 175.11 Hamburg-Hausbruch freight yard to Waltershof and Altenwerder (CTA) container terminals 176.57 Hamburg-Hausbruch 1899– 1984 20.4 Hamburg-Neuwiedenthal 179.19 22.1 Hamburg-Neugraben 4 tracks ↑ DC 2 tracks ↓ AC 181.60 Hamburg-Fischbek Röttig barracks siding 182.90 Hamburg Lower Saxony border 183.50 Neu Wulmstorf (previously Daerstorf) B 3n 184.77 Ketzendorf gravel pit siding Este river 189.00 Bacardi tank terminal 190.25 Buxtehude Bremerhaven–Buxtehude railway to Bremerhaven via EVB 193.81 Neukloster Lühe river 198.96 Horneburg 203.29 Dollern 206.05 Agathenburg 208.60 A 26 Moor Express to Bremervörde 209.70 Industrial line to Stadersand, Bützfleth and Dow Chemical former Kehdingen District Railway to Itzwörden 211.18 Stade (S-Bahn terminus) 212.00 Schwinge river 218.68 Hammah 222.62 Himmelpforten 226.10 B 73 226.29 Temporary single-track bridge over Oste river 228.41 Hechthausen 234.97 Hemmoor 235.50 B 495 235.70 B 73 238.18 Warstade-Hemmoor closed 1991 243.18 Wingst (previously Höftgrube) 246.30 B 73 247.05 Cadenberge Neuhaus-Bülkau Canal 250.90 Neuhaus (Oste) closed 1991 Aue river 254.60 Hadeln Canal 257.00 B 73 (Otterndorf bypass) 258.60 Medem river 258.89 Otterndorf old B 73 267.08 Altenbruch closed 1991 Altenbruch Canal 30.4 Steubenhöft and CuxPort Bremerhaven–Cuxhaven railway to Bremerhaven 271.70 Cuxhaven CF 273.05 Cuxhaven

The Lower Elbe Railway (German: Niederelbebahn or Unterelbebahn), is a railway line between Hamburg and Cuxhaven in northwestern Germany, which was opened in 1881 by the Lower Elbe Railway Company (Unterelbesche Eisenbahngesellschaft). At 103.6 kilometres of length, the line runs close to the southern bank of the Lower Elbe river.

Line features

The Lower Elbe Railway is a main line since 1964 and is currently listed as Kursbuchstrecke 121. The line is part of the Strecke 1720, with the kilometrage starting at Lehrte near Hanover.

The line features two tracks on most sections, except between the stations Himmelpforten and Hechthausen. The line has been electrified between Hamburg and Stade since 1968.

The Hamburg S-Bahn line to Neugraben runs parallel to the line since 1984; and since 2008, toward Stade, using dual-voltage vehicles.

The trains between Cuxhaven and Hamburg have been operated by metronom since late 2007.

• 
  Lower Elbe Railway in Cadenberge
• 
  Lower Elbe and Lower Elbe Railway on a 1910 map

• 
  Trail between Belum and Kedingbruch
• 
  The line in Neuhaus (Oste)

External links

• www.niederelbebahn.de
• www.niederelbe-s-bahn.de
• former Kehdinger Kreisbahn