Rail Trail Route B: Bad Oldesloe–Trittau

The old bike paths are a great thing - there are three of them in Schleswig-Holstein. Old railway lines have been converted into great bike paths in the middle of nature. However, this section is a bit in need of renovation - due to various potholes with the road bike difficult to drive.

Route B:
Royal Prussian State Railway Route
Bad Oldesloe - Trittau
Length: 22 kmOpening of the railway line: August 1, 1887
Closure of the railway line: May 30, 1976
Expansion as a cycle path: around 1990
This route begins in the spa park in Bad Oldesloe. If you arrive by train, it is only a few hundred meters to the spa park. If you come by car, you can easily park at the spa park stadium (street "Am Kurpark").
From Bad Oldesloe, Route B leads via Rümpel, Rolfshagen, Barkhorst, Mollhagen, Sprenge, Dwerkaten and Grönwohld to Trittau.
Route B ends in the north of Trittau, but you can continue on the W16eg of the former railway line to the center of Trittau. The railway line from Bad Oldesloe via Trittau to Schwarzenbek was built by the Royal Prussian Railway Administration (KPEV) and opened in 1887.
This was primarily for strategic reasons: the line was part of the direct connection between Kiel and Berlin and at the same time an eastern bypass of Hamburg. The railway line was therefore designed primarily for its supra-regional importance, which is evident, among other things, in the long, straight sections of the line and the remote location from the towns.
It was also planned to expand the line to two tracks, but this never happened. Various bridge structures etc. were already designed for a second track. The railway line fell short of its intended importance because just a few years after its opening, an even more direct connection to Berlin was created with the Bad Oldesloe - Ratzeburg - Zarrentin railway line.
Until 1976, the Bad Oldesloe - Schwarzenbek railway line was still of regional importance for commuter and freight traffic. In the following years, passenger traffic was first stopped and then, gradually, freight transport was also stopped completely until 1984.
This high-quality cycle path was then built on the old railway line in the Stormarn district. kreis-stormarn.de/freizeit-und-tourismus/bahnradwege/route-b-koeniglich-preussische-staatsbahn-trasse.html