Just Trains 16 Bischofsheim
Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, is a small city of 250,000 that lies on the left bank of the Rhein opposite Mainz-Kastel, Hessen, just north of the confluence of the Rhein and Main and famous for its 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral and for being the birthplace of modern printing.
The city’s railway geography is complex with the two Rhein railways meeting and exchanging over a pair of bridges – one north of the city – one south. There is also the river Main to cross! Bischofsheim Rbf is not one of Germany’s largest but its location on this crossroads, its proximity to Opel’s largest factory in Europe and Frankfurt generates heavy and varied traffic. With the closure of the central Frankfurt Rbf near the Messe in the 2000s, it is now the de facto distribution yard for the area west of Frankfurt. Perhaps the strongest traffic flow is Intermodal from the Belgian and Dutch North Sea ports and Cologne to Baden Württemberg, Basel, Italy. This is not a major route for German automotive exports- most of that is from Bavaria rather than Baden Württemberg- but is interesting nevertheless.
This is a film for aficionados of modern rail-freight, but we also do a quick run through of passenger services serving Mainz- Bischofsheim station.
RT 50mins. Filmed in 4K. Captioned ©FHP 2020
