Ruhland station

Ruhland station is located in the town of Ruhland in northwestern Upper Lusatia in the south of the German state of Brandenburg on the Großenhain–Cottbus railway and the Węgliniec–Roßlau railway. The station is a heritage-listed building.^[4]

Ruhland
Junction station
Main building and station forecourt
General information
Location	Am Bahnhof, Ruhland, Brandenburg Germany
Coordinates	51°27′11″N 13°51′58″E
Owned by	Deutsche Bahn
Operated by	DB Netz DB Station&Service
Line(s)	Großenhain–Cottbus Węgliniec–Roßlau BASF siding (formerly ZFE-Ruhland–Finsterwalde line)
Platforms	4
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	5422[1]
DS100 code	BRU[2]
IBNR	8010308
Category	5[1]
Fare zone	: 7963[3]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	20 April 1870
Services
Preceding station DB Regio Nordost Following station Lauchhammer towards Leipzig Hbf RE 11 Hosena towards Hoyerswerda Lauchhammer towards Elsterwerda RE 13 Senftenberg towards Cottbus Hbf Ortrand towards Dresden Hbf RE 15 Hosena towards Hoyerswerda RE 18 Senftenberg towards Cottbus Hbf Lauchhammer towards Falkenberg (Elster) RB 49 Schwarzheide Ost towards Cottbus Hbf
Location Ruhland Location in Brandenburg Show map of Brandenburg Ruhland Location in Germany Show map of Germany Ruhland Location in Europe Show map of Europe

History

Historical map of Ruhland node

Rear view of Ruhland station, remnants of the former station kitchen and sanitary facilities

The Cottbus-Großenhain Railway Company (Cottbus-Großenhainer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) was founded at the end of the 19th century by the railway financier Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal. Ruhland station began operations with the opening of the Großenhain–Cottbus railway on 20 April 1870. It became the administrative seat of the Upper Lusatian Railway Company (Oberlausitzer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), when it was established on 11 October 1871. The Upper Lusatian Railway opened the Kohlfurt (now Węgliniec)–Horka–Ruhland railway line on 1 June 1874. Ruhland became an important hub in the Prussian railway network. On 1 September 1883 the company and Ruhland station were taken over by the Prussian state. It operated direct trains to Magdeburg, Breslau (now Wrocław) in Lower Silesia, Dresden, Prague and Cottbus. Today, the station, which was once a hub of services between the Province of Lower Silesia, the Duchy of Anhalt and the Kingdom of Saxony, is only a stop for regional traffic.

On 31 January 2016, reconstruction work began on the tracks and platforms. The dilapidated bridges on Elsterbogen-Bernsdorfer Straße were to be replaced and the L 57 would be lowered, allowing increase use by road transport.

Intermodal terminal

Electric locomotive of the Rail4Chem between Ruhland and BASF Schwarzheide
(in the background is the bridge of the B169)

Ruhland station has a significant role in handling traffic to and from the premises of BASF Schwarzheide GmbH, which is about three kilometres away in the neighbouring town of Schwarzheide.^[5] Currently about 60,000 freight movements are handled annually at the station.

Former branch lines

In 1875, the Upper Lusatian Railway Company opened a branch line from Ruhland to the Lauchhammer iron works that later connected to the Zschipkau-Finsterwalde Railway (Schipkau-Finsterwalder Eisenbahn, ZFE). Passenger services closed in 1962.

The section from Ruhland to Lauchhammer Ost still serves as an industrial siding, mainly for handling the traffic from BASF Schwarzheide to and from BASF’s factories in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

Services

Rail services

Three Bombardier Talent 2 electric multiple units of DB Regio in July 2014; left is RE 18 to Dresden, middle RE 18 to Cottbus, right S4 to Geithain

The following services stop at Ruhland station (as of 25 June 2024):

Line	Route	Frequency (min)	Operator
RE 11	Hoyerswerda – Ruhland – Elsterwerda-Biehla – Falkenberg (Elster) – Torgau – Eilenburg – Leipzig	120	DB Regio Nordost
RE 13	Cottbus – Senftenberg – Ruhland – Elsterwerda-Biehla – Elsterwerda	120	DB Regio Nordost
RE 15	Hoyerswerda – Ruhland – Großenhain – Priestewitz – Dresden	120	DB Regio Nordost[6]
RE 18	Cottbus – Senftenberg – Ruhland – Großenhain – Priestewitz – Dresden	120	DB Regio Nordost
RB 49	Cottbus – Senftenberg – Ruhland – Elsterwerda-Biehla – Falkenberg (Elster)	120	DB Regio Nordost

A pair of Regionalbahn RB 49 services from Cottbus to Falkenberg (Elster) is extended daily to/from Stralsund via Berlin as Regional-Express RE 5.

Bus services

The station is also connected by several bus services: routes 601 (Senftenberg–Lauchammer), 610 (Ruhland–Großräschen), 611 (Schwarzheide–Ruhland–Guteborn–Hosena/Jannowitz) and 609 (Schwarzheide–Buckersdorf/Großmehlen/Ortrand).

References

1. "Stationspreisliste 2024" [Station price list 2024] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
2. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
3. "Alle Zielorte" (PDF). Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg. 1 January 2021. p. 64. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
4. "Denkmalliste des Landes Brandenburg, Landkreis Oberspreewald-Lausitz" (PDF) (in German). Government of Brandenburg. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
5. "Track plan of Ruhland station during the time of east Germany" (in German). www.sachsenschiene.net. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
6. "DB Regio Nordost betreibt das Netz Elbe-Elster" (in German). Deutsche Bahn AG. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

External links

• Construction work information of Deutsche Bahn (in German)
• Media related to Ruhland station at Wikimedia Commons
• "Historic postcard of the Ruhland station, platform area". Retrieved 1 November 2014.
• "Historic postcard, 1908, former station building (now the administration building) and freight shed". Retrieved 1 November 2014.