Hessische Landesbahn


Hessische Landesbahn is a regional transport company owned by the German state of Hesse, based in Frankfurt am Main. It provides bus and rail passenger transport services and, to a lesser extent, rail freight services in Hesse and across the state’s borders through its subsidiaries and affiliates.

Company

The management of Hessische Landesbahn is supervised by Veit Salzmann. The districts and the State of Hesse are represented by four people on the Supervisory Board and the employees also have four seats on the Board.

Structure

Hessische Landesbahn GmbH operates as the holding company of three subsidiaries:
HLB Hessenbus and HLB Hessenbahn are 100 per cent owned subsidiary, HLB Basis is almost 85% owned by HLB, while the remaining shares are mostly owned by local authorities.

History

The company was founded in 1955 as a holding company of several non-government-owned railways in Hesse, which operated as an integrated railway company with its own rail infrastructure, stations, etc., as well as operations on this infrastructure.
In the course of the separation of infrastructure and operations in 2005, three of the four subsidiaries of HLB: the Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn, the Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn and the Kassel-Naumburger Eisenbahn were united under the holding company of the Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn, since trading as HLB Basis, as the common infrastructure operator.

Train services

The subsidiaries of the Hessische Landesbahn operate 3.8 million train kilometres each year over 237.5 kilometres of line and 10.34 million vehicle kilometres each year over 1,013 km of bus route.
The main line of the HLB originally was the Königstein Railway between Königstein and Frankfurt-Höchst of the former Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn, known as the K-Bahn and part of the Frankfurter Verkehrsverbund.
In the 1990s, the HLB subsidiaries operated a number of local lines acquired from Deutsche Bahn in north and middle Hesse. Since 11 December 2005, HLB multiple units have operated on the Kahlgrund Railway from Hanau to Schöllkrippen in the Bavarian Spessart. Besides railways it operates buses and tram lines.
Since December 2010, HLB has also run on the main line Frankfurt–Gießen–Siegen/Marburg routes and, since December 2011, it has operated Regionalbahn services on the RMV lines 45 and 52 on the Limburg–Gießen–Alsfeld–Fulda and the Fulda–Gersfeld routes.

Investments

HLB Basis AG has a 50% interest in Regionalbahn Kassel, with the remainder held by Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft. The KVG operates the Kassel–Waldkappel railway, which combines rail freight and tram traffic. The RBK, in turn, holds 49% of Regionaltram Betriebsgesellschaft, a joint venture with Deutsche Bahn, which, as RegioTram Kassel, operates tram-trains in the Kassel area.
Through other subsidiaries the HLB operates passenger transport services beyond the Hessian borders in four of the six neighbouring states:
Hessische Landesbahn is a member of the Tarifverband der Bundeseigenen und Nichtbundeseigenen Eisenbahnen in Deutschland. Tickets for travel on Deutsche Bahn trains can therefore also be used on HLB trains.

Lines

The following lines, using the numbering of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund are operated by the Hessische Landesbahn:
ServiceLine nameRouteConcession periodNormal rolling stock
Soden RailwayFrankfurt-Höchst – Bad Soden am Taunus01.01.2003 – 14.12.2019
VT 2E, LINT 41/H
Königstein RailwayFrankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt-Höchst – Königstein im Taunus01.01.2003 – 14.12.2019
VT 2E, LINT 41/H
Taunus RailwayBad Homburg – Friedrichsdorf – Brandoberndorf01.01.2003 – 14.12.2019
VT 2E, LINT 41/H
Friedrichsdorf–Friedberg railwayFriedrichsdorf – Friedberg24.05.1998 – 14.12.2019GTW 2/6
Main-Lahn Railway
Ländches Railway		Limburg – Niedernhausen – Wiesbaden HbfDec. 2014 – Dec. 2019 GTW 2/6
from Dec 2015 Desiro
Main-Lahn RailwayLimburg – Niedernhausen – Frankfurt-Höchst – Frankfurt Hbf Dec. 2014 – Dec. 2019 GTW 2/6
from Dec 2015 Desiro
Limburg-Staffel–Siershahn railwayLimburg – Montabaur – SiershahnDec. 2014 – Dec. 2030LINT, GTW 2/6, 629
Lahn Valley Railway
Vogelsberg Railway		Limburg – Wetzlar – Gießen – Grünberg – Mücke – Alsfeld – Lauterbach Nord – Fulda11.12.2011 – 9.12.2023LINT 41
Lahn-Kinzig RailwayGießen – Hungen – Nidda – Glauburg-Stockheim – GelnhausenJan. 2001 – 14.12.2019GTW 2/6
Friedberg–Mücke railwayFriedberg – Wölfersheim-Södel30.05.1999 – 14.12.2019GTW 2/6
Beienheim–Schotten railway
Main-Weser Railway		 Friedberg – Beienheim – Reichelsheim – Echzell – Nidda 30.05.1999 – 14.12.2019GTW 2/6
Fulda–Gersfeld RailwayFulda – Gersfeld11.12.2011 – 9.12.2023LINT 27, LINT 41
Frankfurt-Hanau Railway
Main-Spessart railway		Frankfurt Hbf – Maintal – Hanau Hbf – Großkrotzenburg – Kahl am Main – Aschaffenburg HbfDec. 2018 – Dec. 2033Coradia Continental
Frankfurt Airport loop, Main Railway, Frankfurt–Hanau railway, Main-Spessart railwayFrankfurt Airport regional station – Frankfurt South – Maintal – Hanau Hbf – Großkrotzenburg – Kahl am Main – Aschaffenburg HbfDec. 2018 – Dec. 2033Coradia Continental
Rhine-Main RailwayWiesbaden Hbf – Mainz Hbf – Groß-Gerau – Darmstadt Hbf – Dieburg – Babenhausen – Aschaffenburg HbfDec. 2018 – Dec. 2033Coradia Continental
Oberwesterwald-BahnLimburg – Westerburg – Altenkirchen – Au – Betzdorf – Siegen Dec. 2014 – Dec. 2030LINT, GTW 2/6
Ruhr-Sieg-BahnSiegen – Finnentrop Dec. 2014 – Dec. 2030LINT, GTW 2/6
Dill RailwayDillenburg – Haiger – SiegenDec. 2014 – Dec. 2030LINT, GTW 2/6
Heller Valley RailwayBetzdorf – Herdorf – Haiger – DillenburgDec. 2015 – Dec. 2030LINT, GTW 2/6
Main-Weser Railway Frankfurt Hbf – Gießen – Marburg – Stadtallendorf – Schwalmstadt-Treysa – Wabern – Kassel Hbf13.12.2015 – 07.12.2024
Operating since 2010 on Frankfurt–Marburg section		FLIRT
Main-Weser Railway, Dill Railway Frankfurt Hbf – Gießen – Wetzlar – Dillenburg – Siegen12.12.2010 – 9.12.2023FLIRT