Frankenwaldbahn

The climb over the Frankenwald from the Main valley to the Thuringian border at Probstzella by Kronach and Ludwigsstadt, finished in October 1885 and steep enough to need banking engines.

The Franconian Forest Railway, KBS 840, was completed in October 1885 and carries the Munich–Nuremberg–Bamberg–Jena–Halle/Leipzig–Berlin trunk over the Frankenwald. It leaves the Ludwig South-North Railway at Marktzeuln and climbs from Pressig-Rothenkirchen on one side and Probstzella on the other to the summit at Steinbach am Wald. The ruling gradient is 29 ‰, and heavy freight still takes a banking locomotive at the head or the tail.

Stations

1. 1 kmHochstadt-Marktzeuln
2. 16 kmKronach
3. 21 kmGundelsdorf
4. 24 kmStockheim(Oberfr)
5. 30 kmPressig-Rothenkirchen
6. 36 kmFörtschendorf
7. 42 kmSteinbach am Wald
8. 48 kmLudwigsstadt
9. 54 kmProbstzella

The stations this train called at in the operator’s timetable (ÖBB Scotty, the RE 14 on 12 October 2026), in order along the line as drawn here, with the distance along it. Other runs of the train may skip some of them, and the timetable can change.

Along the way

• Marktzeuln, off the Ludwig South-North Railway
• Kronach
• The 29 ‰ climb from Pressig-Rothenkirchen
• Steinbach am Wald summit
• Probstzella

How this line was checked

• Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 7734952: the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 5 m from it
• Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line sits under 100 m from the shape of RE 14
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the Frankenwaldbahn?

The Frankenwaldbahn runs 54 km from Hochstadt-Marktzeuln to Probstzella.

How long does the Frankenwaldbahn take?

The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 45 min for the 54 km. That is an average of 72 km/h end to end.

Who runs the Frankenwaldbahn?

DB Regio, with RE 14.

How old is the Frankenwaldbahn?

The line has been in service since 1885. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does the Frankenwaldbahn run?

10 direct trains on a weekday (counted on 2 September 2026).

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