Waldshut–Koblenz Rhine Bridge

Geschichte

The Waldshut–Koblenz Rhine Bridge is a single-track railway bridge on the Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut railway, between Waldshut and Koblenz AG, crossing the Rhine and the border between Germany and Switzerland. It was the first railway bridge built over the Rhine below Lake Constance. It is the only major railway bridge over the Rhine, which is completely preserved in its original condition and is one of Europe's few lattice truss bridges.The bridge carries passenger services of line S27 of the Aargau S-Bahn, operating between Baden and Waldshut, and line S41 of the Zurich S-Bahn, operating between Winterthur and Waldshut.HistoryOn 26 August 1857 the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways signed an agreement with the Swiss Northeastern Railway to construct the cross-border Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut railway, including the Rhine bridge. Thus on 18 August 1859, the line was commissioned as the first connection between the Baden Mainline and the Swiss railway network. The current main rail connection between Germany and Switzerland, the Basel Link Line, was opened 14 years later. The Baden architect Robert Gerwig designed the bridge and managed its construction. The steel superstructure was supplied and installed by the Gebrüder Benckiser company of Pforzheim. The bridge was designed for two tracks, but only one track was installed. Due to increasing traffic loads, the bridge was strengthened in 1912 and 1913, being reinforced to carry axle loads and then the track was moved from the eastern side of the bridge to the middle. The demolition of the bridge planned by the German army on 24 April 1945 was not in fact carried out, so the technical landmark of the bridge in its original design is still preserved today.