Initial attempts to improve attractiveness of branch lines using the example of the Mühlkreisbahn

Facing the goal of climate neutrality by 2040 and the associated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in the transport sector, rail is of great importance. In addition to the main lines, branch lines (secondary railway lines) should also support the modal shift from road to rail, both in passenger and freight transport. The thesis aims to increase the significance of branch lines for climate and transport policy goals and to identify potentials for future development.

Branch lines often fail to meet passengers’ requirements, as in rural areas the focus in recent decades has primarily been on road infrastructure and thus an investment backlog has been observed for many branch lines. Due to historical route layouts with tight curves and low line speeds, in most cases journey times on branch lines no longer meet the demands of passengers. They are often no longer competitive with road travel times.

The availability of rail infrastructure causes high costs, which are only economically justifiable if certain demand criteria are met. The findings of this thesis show that passenger transport on branch lines appears to make sense especially from a demand for three buses per hour or from a number of 2,000 potential daily passengers.

Using the practical example of the Mühlkreisbahn, it could be shown that there are possibilities for improvements even with limited financial resources. A target concept tries to reduce journey times by ten minutes and increase the frequency of trains. To achieve these goals, increases in line speed and an additional train station are needed. It is proposed that parallel traffic by regional buses should be largely abandoned and replaced by feeders to the railway stations.