Just beside the Czech Republic in Germany, there is a touristic tram line that runs from the vilage Bad Schandau up to a place called Lichenhain Waterfall. The line uses old trams and is both a historical and a touristic line to take. Before the Berlin wall was taken down and East-Germany was a communistic state, this line was hidden but now it is more popular than ever.
Here is a Map of the area that shows where you find Kirnitzschtalbahn
[osm_map_v3 map_center=”50.921,14.158″ zoom=”16″ width=”100%” height=”550″ ]
Kirnitzschtalbahn opened Many years ago
This line opened in 1898 as a single track line, with passing loops on its way. The line was going to be built to Rainweise, but due to economic reasons that never happened. The exact date it opened was on Saturday 28th of May 1898 and in the opening year this line had whooping 80000 passangers that rode the line. All of the wagons are bi-directional, so the line doesn’t need any loops at each end. The line is metre gaugue and is still in operation today. Today Kirnitzschtalbahn uses wagons that is built between 1925 and 1968.
Here is a nice Video showing the entire trip
Flooding caused reconstruction Twice
In 2002 and 2010, the line was hit by serious floods that caused damage to the track and its vehichles. But the love for the line has been so strong that both times the line have been rebuilt. The last section of the last flood was rebuilt and opened as late as December 2012.
Operated all year round
In summer months, Kirnitzschtalbahn is operated every half hour while in the winter months OVPS operates the line every 70 minutes. In summer, the line uses most of their vehicles while in winter they are typicalle operated by a single vehicle running up and down.
So, if you are in the area. Take this historical trip. It is fun and you get to try a historical line that is loved. A nice place to try and visit for sure. Also if you want to check out Czech Republic this country, then this line is just a few meters from the border.
Source
OVPS
