European Railroad Discussion > Landslide along Rhein (Germany) Blocks Major Freight Line

Earlier in the week, a landslide blocked the major freight route on the northeast bank of the Rhein in Germany.  The article does not specify exactly where it occurred; but it occurred near the town of Kestert in the historic Middle Rhein valley between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz.  The line on the northeast bank is primarilly a freight line, with only local passenger trains.  The primary passenger route along the river is on the opposite (southwest) bank of the Rhein.

Translation of the article dated 18 March from German:
Europe's busiest freight train route remains closed. On Monday morning, rocks and rubble had slipped onto the tracks. The B42 (federal highway) was heavily polluted by a cloud of dust and fine debris. Nobody was injured in the landslide. Road traffic was largely diverted and a replacement bus service was set up. A camera from the opposite side of the Rhine filmed the landslide.

https://www.antenne-kh.de/kamera-filmt-hangrutsch-im-mittelrheintal.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kamera-filmt-hangrutsch-im-mittelrheintal&fbclid=IwAR33ilvv_9zFnYLD22DpdypUjb_BmHGcHP4RrF8yn6Dv8i35bSV_pxcxHP8



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/21 04:15 by zars.

Nice video footage! 

I bicycled this route in September, 2019.  Busiest rail lines I've ever seen.  A train every 5 or 10 minutes, it seemed, all day long.  Double track main lines on both sides of the river.  

Photo 1 -- Steep bluffs. Kestert is across the river and to my right.  
Photo 2 -- Kestert

Looks like a high-risk landslide area. The "lump" along the river directly above my bicycle in Photo 1 appears to be a fsitt RG ly recent collapse of the entire bluff -  5000 or 10000 years ago?  Same vintage as the collapse in the Columbis River Gorrge st the Bridge of the Gods?  

From the photo in the attached article, the landslide occurred upsriver in Phoyo 2, around the bend.  

Ted in OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/21 13:49 by gobbl3gook.

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When I was there in December of 2018; I rode the ferry across the Rhein from Bingen am Rhein to Rüdesheim am Rhein.  This was the only passenger train I saw on this line, a DMU train run by the Hesse (German state) train operating company.

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Ever since the NBS between Cologne and Frankfort siphoned off a significant chunk of the IC passenger business there appears to be increased freight traffic on the West Bank line.

Gordon