The West Rhine Railway, or Linke Rheinstrecke, dates back to the 1840s as a gradual effort to link Köln, Bonn and Koblenz to Mainz, with the southern section between Koblenz and Mainz opening in the late 1850s. This line is well known for running along the left bank of the Rhein.
The Main Railway, or Mainbahn, was built following the completion of the Rhein-Main-Bahn which connected Mainz to Aschaffenburg. This new line was to branch off at Bischofsheim and continue along the Rhein, eventually reaching Frankfurt am Main, and was built in less than 2 years, opening in January 1863.
Combined, the Linke Rheinstrecke and Mainbahn offered a direct route from Köln to Frankfurt, and until the eventual opening of the highspeed line, made it one of the busiest lines in all of Germany. Even in recent history it remains important however, with a station built to serve Frankfurt Airport in 1972, followed by Gateway Gardens station which opened in 2019. Both of these stations are reached by means of an underground tunnel which burrows itself under the terminals of the Airport.
The lines are served by a mix of regional and intercity traffic, although most notably in the past few years, services have been strikingly branded as SÜWEX (Südwest-Express), opting for a base white livery rather than red, and using a fleet of state-of-the-art DB BR 429.1 EMUs.
Included Scenarios
A total of 7 Career scenarios are included as well as 3 Railfan Mode scenarios:
- 01. In the Rush Hour
- 02. Autumn Along the Rhine
- 03. Construction Work on the Line
- 04. On a Hot Summer Day
- 05. Stormy Day
- 06. Winter Trip
- 07. Christmas Day
- [Railfan] Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof
- [Railfan] St Goar
- [Railfan] Mainz-Bischofsheim
More scenarios are available on the Steam Workshop online and in-game. Train Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding many more hours of exciting gameplay. With scenarios being added daily, why don’t you check it out now!
Key Features
- 130 km (80-mile) route covering:
- Picturesque Linke Rheinstrecke from Koblenz Hbf to Mainz Hbf
- Historic Mainbahn from Mainz Hbf to Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
- Picturesque Linke Rheinstrecke from Koblenz Hbf to Mainz Hbf
- 34 detailed stations in total
- Includes both Regional and Long Distance stations at Frankfurt Airport
- Gateway Gardens station is also featured
- Includes:
- DB BR 429.1 FLIRT 3 in DB SÜWEX livery
- DB BR 411 ICE T in DB ICE livery
- DB BR 423 in DB S-Bahn Rhein-Main livery
- DB BR 101 in DB Traffic Red livery
- DB BR 185.1 in DB Traffic Red livery
- DB BR 294 in DB Railion Red livery
- DB BR 429.1 FLIRT 3 in DB SÜWEX livery
- 7 Career and 3 Railfan Mode scenarios
- Quick Drive compatible
- Download size: 1.3GB
