Wehra Valley Railway
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The Wehra Valley Railway (German: Wehratalbahn) was a 19.7 km long branch line from Schopfheim
to Bad Säckingen
in southwestern Germany, that was electrified in 1913 at the same time as the Wiesen Valley Railway. For part of its length it followed the river of the same name. The line runs through the Fahrnau Tunnel (Fahrnauer Tunnel) which, at that time, was one of the longest railway tunnels (3.169 km) in Germany
. The Wehra Valley Railway was intended as a strategic railway
circumnavigating Switzerland
near Basle and was laid ready to take a second track.
Passenger services were withdrawn from the line on 23 May 1971. Goods traffic between Bad Säckingen and Wehr continued to run until 1 September 1990. On 31 December 1994 the line was closed.
In a local council meeting on 19 April 2005, the town of Wehr (Baden) called for an expert opinion to determine whether the line could be reactivated. The report from Tübingen local transport advisor Ulrich Grosse was positive, although its restoration would be relatively expensive and only possible for a short time. Initially the route will be protected from being built on. Currently checks are being carried out to see whether the Fahrnau Tunnel can be reopened.
Schopfheim
Schopfheim is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach.The town is the birthplace of Gisela Oeri....
to Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen is a rural town in the administrative district of Waldshut in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is famous as the "Trumpeteer's City" because of the book "The Trumpeteer of Säckingen", a famous 19th century novel by German author Joseph Victor von Scheffel.- Geography :Bad...
in southwestern Germany, that was electrified in 1913 at the same time as the Wiesen Valley Railway. For part of its length it followed the river of the same name. The line runs through the Fahrnau Tunnel (Fahrnauer Tunnel) which, at that time, was one of the longest railway tunnels (3.169 km) in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The Wehra Valley Railway was intended as a strategic railway
Strategic railway
A strategic railway is a railway proposed or constructed primarily for military strategic purposes, as opposed to the usual purpose of a railway, which is the transport of civilian passengers or freight. Although the archetypal strategic railway would be one constructed solely as part of a...
circumnavigating Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
near Basle and was laid ready to take a second track.
Passenger services were withdrawn from the line on 23 May 1971. Goods traffic between Bad Säckingen and Wehr continued to run until 1 September 1990. On 31 December 1994 the line was closed.
In a local council meeting on 19 April 2005, the town of Wehr (Baden) called for an expert opinion to determine whether the line could be reactivated. The report from Tübingen local transport advisor Ulrich Grosse was positive, although its restoration would be relatively expensive and only possible for a short time. Initially the route will be protected from being built on. Currently checks are being carried out to see whether the Fahrnau Tunnel can be reopened.