Izera railway

Izera railway ( _pl. Kolej Izerska, _de. Zackenbahn) is a line connecting Polish town Jelenia Góra (Hirschberg) with Szklarska Poręba (Schreiberhau). It is a part of former Prussian "Zackenbahn" [Zackenbahn named after the river Zacken (Polish: Kamienna), a tributary to Bober (Polish: Bóbr). Before 1945 the name "Isergebirgsbahn" was used for the railway line Friedeberg am Queis (Mirsk) - Bad Flinsberg (Świeradów-Zdrój)] , that used to connect Prussia with the Austro-Hungarian Empire via the New World Pass [Czech: "Novosvětský průsmyk", German: " _de. Neuweltpass"] . The line is currently operated by PKP.

History

The first section at the foothills of the Giant Mountains (Riesengebirge/Karkonosze/Krkonoše) was completed in 1891. The mountain section took several more years to finish. The railway station Jakobsthal (Jakuszyce) close to the New World Pass became the highest railway station in Prussia. The terminal station was Polaun/Grünthal (Kořenov). The complete track was opened in 1902, together with the Cog railway Tannwald-Grünthal. The line was electrified in 1923.

In April 1945 most of the locomotives were evacuated. Some were captured in the border station Polaun/Grünthal by the advancing Red Army. After the war, the electric equipment was dismounted and together with the remaining locomotives transported to the Soviet Union as reparation.
Silesia was transferred to Poland, and cross-border traffic was abolished. Following an exchange of border territories between Czechoslovakia and Poland, the Bohemian part was extended to Harrachov, that became a new terminal station.

Polish State Railways (PKP) operated passenger trains as far as Szklarska Poręba Huta ("Josephinenhütte") and freight trains as far as Jakuszyce. The track as far as Szklarska Poręba Górna was electrified again in 1987. Except for a one-day celebration on the 100th anniversary in 2002, cross border traffic was never restored. Re-opening is being discussed, the earliest possible date is summer 2009.

Some believe the section between Szklarska Poręba Górna and Harachov would be an ideal location for a steam locomotive scenic railway.

Notes

ee also

* Polish rail border crossings

External links

* [http://www.zackenbahn.de/ zackenbahn.de] (German)
* [http://info.fuw.edu.pl/~michalj/kolej/izery/ Map depicting the territory exchange between Czechoslovakia and Poland]