Trains and other things: Montabaur, Braubach, St Goarshausen, Kaub

Today I will take a round tour from Frankfurt and back, I will take Cologne-Frankfurt high speed railway up north until Troisdorf, then back along East Rhine railway.

DB Class 446, Bombardier Twindexx Vario is the newest double deck regional train in use since December 2017 here by DB Regio Franken

DB Class 111 "111 094", and Bombardier Traxx P160 DE ME "245 016"

ÖBB Class 1116, Siemens ES 64 U2

DB Class 245 is a diesel version of Traxx locomotive

Frankfurt main station opened in 1888. The station has 24 platforms with 26 tracks on one level.

Constructed between 1883-1887

My first train today will be an ICE service to Brussels, I will however only travel to Montabaur.

ICE train to the right. DB Class 641, Siemens Desiro Classic to the left

RB61 to Dieburg

ICE train to Brussels

1st class coach

Shorty after leaving Frankfurt airport station, the train is reaching 300km/h

The high speed line opened in 2002

The line is following auto bahn 3, and due to long and steep climbs and descends, it is only operated by passenger trains. There are only 2 stations along the high speed line that can be passed at 300km/h, Limburg Süd and Montabaur. Here I am getting off in Montabaur.

Montabaur castle seen from the station

Montabaur station is also serving Limburg-Siershahn railway

Stadler GTW 2/6 from HLBahn

The high speed line has 2 bypass tracks in the middle, and 2 side tracks for the passenger stop

Passing train

Cologne-Frankfurt high speed railway is operated exlusively by a single vehicle type, ICE 3

Montabaur is famous for its shoe making tradition

Old town

Jewish memorial in Montabaur

Info billboard about replacement of the old station with the new

Besides the high speed and local train tracks, there are also several fright rail tracks. Here is DB Class 261, Voith Gravita 10 BB locomotive.

A3 (E35) highway next to the station.

I'm taking the next ICE train that stops here in Montabaur

This is ICE 820 service from Munich to Essen

I'm getting off at the next stop, Siegburg/Bonn, which is a combined ICE and S-Bahn station

DB Class 423 S-Bahn train

DB Class 407

Bonn Stadtbahn is also operating this station

I'm taking S-Bahn one stop to Troisdorf

At Troisdorf I will change to a regional train back south along East Rhine railway.

DB Class 463, Siemens Desiro HC (High Capacity) is the new EMU that is being tested by RRX (Rhein Ruhr Express) and is scheduled to enter the service during 2018.

From Wikipedia: "The Desiro HC was presented at Innotrans 2014. The multiple unit has both single-storey and double-decker cars and should combine the advantages of both concepts with increased space. The middle part of the powered single-decker wagons and the lower deck of the non-powered double-decker intermediate wagons are accessible from the platform without steps or ramps."

High speed line passing Troisdorf

S-Bahn Köln

My next train is this RE8 service between Mönchengladbach and Koblenz, also named Rhein-Erft-Express.

Operated with DB Class 425. Basically it is same train as DB Class 423 (used for S-Bahn services), but Class 425 has less doors, and it has a WC.

Inside 1st class of Class 425

East Rhine Railway is a 179km long double track electrified railway between Köln and Wiesbaden. Here is Bonn-Oberkassel station

Rhine river

Niederdollendorf

The line is heavy congested with freight trains, which I'm planning to take photos of during the rest of the day

Engers

I'm getting off at Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein station, next to Schloss Philippsburg

Directly after disembarkation I see a freight train

DB Class 145, AdTranz F140 AC

This train station once served long distance trains not stopping at Koblenz Hbf, today there is only hourly RE8 service operated here.

Kath. Pfarrkirche St. Peter on the other side of the Rhine

DB Class 189, Siemens Eurosprinter ES 64 F4

The locomotive is from MRCE dispolok and it is hired to TX Logistik

The locomotive is supporting to be operated in Netherlands, Germany and Austria

SBB Class 482, Bombardier Traxx F140 AC1 from SBB Cargo

Memorial of German Unity on the other side of Rhine

DB Class 187, Bombardier Traxx F140 AC3

This locomotive has been in service since 2017

ÖBB Class 1042 is a locomotive from 1968, here operated by Centralbahn

This locomotive is a rare view nowadays, in fact I have seen this type in Sweden when I travelled year 2016. Hectorrail has 12 locomotives of this type.

Rhine river is one of the busiest waterways in the world

Castle Philippsburg

DB Class 425 from Koblenz

After 1 hour waiting, I'm taking the next train

Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul

East Rhine railway below. My train is crossing the bridge to the other side of the Rhine

At Koblenz Hbf it is necessary to change trains in order ot continue on the East Rhine Railway further south.

DB Class 425 and DB Class 442

My next train is RB10 service between Neuwied and Frankfurt

Passing same bridge again, now in the other direction

Shortly after Koblenz, I'm getting off in Braubach. RB10 is operated by VIAS and the line has Stadler Flirt trains.

Castle Marksburg, the only undestroyed castle on the Middle Rhine.

DB Class 189, Siemens ES 64 F4 from DB Cargo

Now I see a freight train that is travelling to Scandinavia

DB Class 185, "185 402" is a Traxx F140 AC2

This locomotive is supporting systems for Germany, Denmark and Sweden

Terminal for cruise ships

War memorial

Village of Spay on the other side

Looks very empty now in the winter, but I'm sure it's crowded here in the summer

DB Class 152, Siemens ES 64 F

I'm continuning my journey south

It's easy to spot trains on the other side of the river

Next stop for me is St. Goarshausen

BLS class 488, Traxx F140 MS

The locomotive is supporting systems for Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria

Rheinfels Castle

DB Class 145, AdTranz Traxx F140 AC

Evangelische Kirche Sankt Goarshausen and Kath. Kirche St. Johannes

There are trains wherever you look

Burg Katz

On the other side is the village of St. Goar

SBB train on the other side

Now I have some troubles, there are two trains coming from both side, so I have to catch them both

It's DB Class 185, Traxx F140 AC2 from DB Cargo

On the other side it's SBB Class 482, Traxx F140 AC1 from SBB Cargo

In 2014, it was estimated that around 180 to 300 freight trains were passing here each day, plus 100 during the night. This number has probably increased in 2018.