Three rail lines in Brandenburg to close for passengers in December

[U-Bahnfreund]

Three passenger services in northern Brandenburg are very likely to be axed by the end of the year:

RB63 between Joachimsthal and Templin (27.5 km, 5 intermediate stops, operator: NEB):
This was only reactivated in 2018 on a trial basis (after having closed in 2006), and the state says with less than 300 passengers daily it's not worth it to keep it going. The section between Eberswalde and Joachimsthal will remain. Source: RBB

RB73 between Kyritz Bürgerpark and Pritzwalk (29.1 km, 5 intermediate stops, operator: HANS) and RB74 between Pritzwalk and Meyenburg (19.6 km, 3 intermediate stops, operator: HANS):
These used to be hourly services, since a few years, they're already down to just a couple a day and now the state hasn't included them in the next transport plan for the coming years at all (i e. which services they will fund). Only the RB73 stub from Neustadt (Dosse) to Kyritz Bürgerpark (a station which only opened in 2019), remains. Source: Nordkurier, EU Tenders

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In my opinion a bad idea to close passenger rail lines again, Brandenburg has already seriously reduced their network since regionalisation in the 1990s. On the other hand, operating in this sparsely populated area is probably hard to do economically. But if they keep reducing the timetable, no wonder they are always less and less passengers. Also regarding that trial run, I wonder what happened these past years that might have impacted passengers numbers...

So if anyone wants some not-that touristy lines to travel on with the 9€ ticket, why not these ones while you still can

 

[rg177]

I used the RB73 and RB74 back in 2018 and it was painfully obvious that the passenger numbers weren't there. I remember Meyenburg also being absolutely devoid of life as I didn't see a single other person in the time I got off and went to the local Netto during the turnaround.

I wonder what will become of Pritzwalk West Station. It looked relatively new and I'm sure the only services it receives are those of the RB74, despite (I'm sure!) being located on the line to Wittenberge.

The RB73 had a few folk using it from Pritzwalk but it was indeed Kyritz that 90% of passengers (and a conductor) boarded.

I haven't tried the RB63 beyond Joachimsthal (the extension opening after I used what was, and will be again, a dead-end branch) so will be sure to have a visit through to Templin.

 

[30907]

I used the RB73 and RB74 back in 2018 and it was painfully obvious that the passenger numbers weren't there. I remember Meyenburg also being absolutely devoid of life as I didn't see a single other person in the time I got off and went to the local Netto during the turnaround.

Unfortunately true.

I wonder what will become of Pritzwalk West Station. It looked relatively new and I'm sure the only services it receives are those of the RB74, despite (I'm sure!) being located on the line to Wittenberge.

Think its on the stub of the Putlitz branch, which closed finally after my one visit.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Unfortunately true.

Think its on the stub of the Putlitz branch, which closed finally after my one visit.

I did a bit of reading about it earlier (I've done some of those lines back in the 90s) and it appears that what looks like double track is actually two independent single lines, one to Pritzwalk West (the stub of the old branch) and one to Wittenberge, very much like Bare Lane-Morecambe. Edit: confirmed by a quick Google Map view, they are indeed.

If the station is valuable, I guess the obvious answer is to build the platform out to meet the other track and serve it with the hourly Regionalexpress.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

RB63 Joachimsthal to Templin is a wonderful trip through the woods, the line has also been used occasionally for originating freight (wood) and freight diversions (oil tanks).

Instead of spending a few tens/hundreds of thousands to upgrade this line (crossings, passing loop) untold millions are spent on airports, and a motorway through the middle of Berlin is planned (lots of opposition to that fortunately). Not to mention other rail projects, an S-Bahn to Stahnsdorf should start running in the second half of the thirties.

 

[rg177]

If the station is valuable, I guess the obvious answer is to build the platform out to meet the other track and serve it with the hourly Regionalexpress.

That would make most sense, though I'm not sure if it warrants it. I had two fellow passengers joining me when I used the service (which required a walk from Pritzwalk).

Given a bit of love and investment the service might have done better, but HANS definitely weren't giving the service any of that nor was anyone else.

Meyenburg seemed to be functioning most as a dumping ground for all sorts of rotting stock. By contrast, the DB Regio RE service running through Pritzwalk, being part of a revitalised line, was doing quite successfully.

 

[Muzer]

Looks like replacement buses next week on RB73. Shame as I'll be in the Berlin area around that time!

 

[The exile]

That would make most sense, though I'm not sure if it warrants it. I had two fellow passengers joining me when I used the service (which required a walk from Pritzwalk).

Given a bit of love and investment the service might have done better, but HANS definitely weren't giving the service any of that nor was anyone else.

Meyenburg seemed to be functioning most as a dumping ground for all sorts of rotting stock. By contrast, the DB Regio RE service running through Pritzwalk, being part of a revitalised line, was doing quite successfully.

Pritzwalk West is basically there to serve the local grammar school, so has a bit of political significance. Whether that’s enough to merit moving it sideways (as it were) is another matter!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Pritzwalk West is basically there to serve the local grammar school, so has a bit of political significance. Whether that’s enough to merit moving it sideways (as it were) is another matter!

Given the tiny single-car DMUs that are used (not a vast amount different from a Class 139 Parry People Mover in size), wouldn't it be possible to serve that with a couple of buses?

 

[The exile]

Given the tiny single-car DMUs that are used (not a vast amount different from a Class 139 Parry People Mover in size), wouldn't it be possible to serve that with a couple of buses?

There was quite a big move a few years ago (about the time Pritzwalk West opened) to get school traffic off the roads and onto trains where possible. Don’t know how much this is still an issue having been “out of the loop” now for over 10 years .

 

[rg177]

I suppose it depends whether the traffic on that short stub is worth the funding probably required to fund the service, especially as it would be operated in isolation rather than being conveniently tacked onto another service.

The two passengers who joined me on that service back in 2018 also travelled across Pritzwalk up to one of the intermediate stations on the Meyenburg line, so would it not be easier to just run a bus rather than have them use a train for a short section just for the sake of it?

If there's sufficient traffic going to/from the Berlin and Wittenberge directions, I'd have suggested perhaps tacking an extra unit onto the RE services at relevant times and splitting/joining at Pritzwalk. It would probably only need the one unit but would be a bit of a waste of a driver. That said, it all depends where these schoolkids are going from/to.

Or, as others have suggested, shifting the platform would probably be a better long-term solution and might attract a few more non-school passengers.

Pritzwalk seemed to be the "hub" of HANS but of course now there'll be little to nothing left for them to operate. I assume there's somewhere in the vicinity of Kyritz or Neustadt (Dosse) for them to base a couple of units, if it'll continue to be HANS operating what's left of the RB73?