New shine for the Aartalbahn: Museums railway starts in November!

New shine for the Aartalbahn: Museums railway starts in November!

After a long waiting time of 15 years, the Aartalbahn returns to the rails. The company will be resumed from November 3, 2024, but initially as part of special museum railways. The first trips begin at the main train station in Wiesbaden and lead to the Henkell sparkling wine cellar. The train, pulled by the steam locomotive 52 4867, starts at 9.30 a.m. On the same day, further trips are planned at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Aartalbahn is not only a nostalgic section of German traffic history, but is also valued as Hesse's long technical monument. It is noteworthy that personal trains ran regularly on this route until the 1980s. But then there were significant standards, which were largely caused by damage to the infrastructure. Most recently, the company was discontinued in 2009 when an already damaged railway bridge was hit by a truck again.

club engagement and future plans

The Nassau Touristik-Bahn (NTB) has worked closely with the city of Wiesbaden since 2020 to create the prerequisites for reopening. The city's traffic department, Andreas Kowol, emphasizes the importance of the financial investments and the volunteer work of the association, which not only enable museum operations, but also lay the foundations for future regular operation.

The chairwoman of the association Andreas Foster was enthusiastic about the progress and also mentioned the hope that the route can be expanded again in the future towards iron hand and taunus. The feasibility study, which has recently been published, indicates that the reactivation of the route from Wiesbaden to Bad Schwalbach is economically sensible and eligible. The Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs has already applied for the financing of the project to the Federal Ministry of Transport and run talks with Deutsche Bahn.

A crucial milestone on the way to complete restarting is the planned stop at Waldstraße, which could further improve access to the railway line. With the increasing expectations and the positive forecasts, the resumption of regular operation for spring 2025 is in sight.

ticket information and public

tickets for the first trips are already available and can be purchased on the Aartalbahn website. There is a high interest in these extraordinary trips, which should not only attract rail fans, but also families and tourists. The association has already sparked great interest by creating a unique experience for passengers.

For more information on the trips that start on November 3, and future developments, the Aartalbahn website is the best starting point. With the reopening of the Aartalbahn, a piece of history comes to life that invites visitors to a nostalgic journey into the past, while at the same time maintaining hope for a modern mode of transport in this region.

The entire project shows how committed joint projects can initiate positive developments in cooperation with the responsible authorities. The success of the Aartalbahn could serve as an example of similar projects and illustrates the importance of historical traffic routes today.