Halle-Bebra railway

Thuringian Railway

Halle (Saale) Hbf–Bebra
Route number:	581, 580, 605
Line number:	6340, 3800
Line length:	210.36
Track gauge:	1435
Voltage:	15 kV 16.7 Hz AC
Maximum incline:	2 %
Maximum speed:	160
Legend To Berlin and Magdeburg 0.00 Halle To Leipzig To Kassel 5.86 Halle-Ammendorf to HSL Weiße Elster Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle HSL (u.c.) 9.95 Schkopau 13.5 Merseburg To Querfurt 17.54 Leunawerke Nord 19.29 Leunawerke Süd from Leipzig 23.80 Großkorbetha 32.00 Weißenfels 34.84 To Zeitz 37.35 Leißling Saale bridge at Goseck (65+82+62 m) Saale bridge at Henne (75+74+113+40 m) 45.62 Naumburg (Saale) Saale bridge 8, Bad Kösen (128 m) 52.64 Bad Kösen Saale bridge 9, Saaleck (111 m) Saale bridge, Saaleck junction (81 m) 55.9 Saaleck junction to Jena Saale; border Saxony-Anhalt–Thuringia From Jena 58.48 Großheringen 60.66 Bad Sulza 66.11 Niedertrebra 71.68 Apolda viaduct (103 m) Ilm bridge at Oberrossla (90 m) 79.07 Oßmannstedt From Jena 87.13 Weimar 94.82 Hopfgarten 100.88 Vieselbach From Halle/Leipzig (u. c.) 108.35 Erfurt Hbf Gera Gera To Nuremberg (u. c.) Gera 114.17 Erfurt-Bischleben Nuremberg-Erfurt HSL (u.c.) 33,4 (A 71) 120.89 To Schweinfurt// 125.51 Wandersleben 130.46 Seebergen To Gotha Ost Gotha viaduct (122 m) 136.37 Gotha 141.38 Leina canal (aqueduct) From Friedrichroda 146.92 Fröttstädt triangular 150.90 Mechterstädt 152.22 Mechterstädt-Sättelstädt 153.80 Sättelstädt 157.49 Schönau (Hörsel) 160.20 triangular 165.27 Eisenach Werra Railway to Meiningen 167.30 Eisenach West 168.80 Eisenach Opelwerk 168.88 Eisenach-Stedtfeld Hörsel VR and Opel 173.95 Hörschel Werra bridge at Hörschel (182 m) 175.62 Wartha 176.70 Thüringia–Hesse border 178.36 Herleshausen 182.70 Wommen 183.82 Thüringia–Hesse border 189.32 Gerstungen Weiha bridge, Untersuhl 191.34 Thüringia–Hesse border 191.62 Wildeck-Obersuhl 194.10 Wildeck-Bosserode Suhl bridge, Raßdorf 196.24 Thüringia–Hesse border 197.96 Thüringia–Hesse border 198.79 Wildeck-Hönebach 199.34 Hönebach tunnel (983 m) 205.15 Ronshausen 206.39 Berlin curve to Fulda 209.00 Weiterode junction (to Bebra goods station) Fulda 210.36 Bebra To Göttingen and Kassel

The Thuringian Railway (German: Thüringer Bahn) is a 210 kilometre-long railway line from Halle (Saale) via Erfurt and Gerstungen to Bebra, mainly in Thuringia. As far as Gerstungen the line originally belonged to the Thuringian Railway Company (Thüringische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft). From Gerstungen to Bebra, it was owned by the Frederick William Northern Railway (Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn), named after the Prussian king, Frederick William IV. It is now a two-track, electrified, standard gauge mainline operated by DB Netze. It was built between 1846 and 1849 and was the first railway line in Thuringia (apart from a small piece of the Leipzig–Hof line of the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company—Sächsisch-Bayerische Eisenbahn-Compagnie—near Altenburg). All types of trains from Regionalbahn to ICE currently run on the line except Interregio-Express. Four of the six largest cities in Thuringia are located on the line.

History

The Thuringian Railway is part of the southern east-west line between Halle and Kassel. It follows an old trade route, the Via Regia between Leipzig and Frankfurt. Its construction was agreed to under a treaty signed on 20 December 1841 between the Kingdom of Prussia, the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The first section from Halle to Weissenfels was opened by the Thuringian Railway Company on 20 June 1846. Six months later, on 19 December, it was opened to Weimar and on 1 April 1847, it was opened to Erfurt. The Erfurt–Eisenach section opened on 24 June 1847 and the rest on 25 September 1849.

Route

Hall–Großkorbetha

Großkorbetha–Saaleck junction

Saaleck–Erfurt

Erfurt–Neudietendorf

Neudietendorf–Eisenach

Eisenach–Gerstungen

Gerstungen–Bebra

Berlin curve

Since 1914, there has been a connecting curve from the former Faßdorf junction (206.39 km) to the North–South railway from Bebra to Bad Hersfeld, which removed reversal in Bebra for trains from Erfurt to Frankfurt. Until 1952 there was an additional third track from Faßdorf up to Hönebach Tunnel because of the 1.1 percent grade. After 1945, the connecting curve was no longer used because it was normally required for locomotives to be changed in Bebra. In 1989, a bridge on the curve was closed as it had fallen into disrepair. With the modernisation of the line after 1990, this section was repaired and put back into operation.

Modernisation since 1990

The section between Erfurt and Bebra was modernised as part of a German Unity Transport Project (German: Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit, a project launched after German reunification) No. 7 at a total cost of 913 million euros. Since May 1995 the route has been electrified throughout, and the speed limit generally raised to 160 km / h, with the exception of the stations of Erfurt and Bebra and the Hönebach Tunnel (983 metres long, with a 90 km / h limit). Electronic signal boxes were built in Eisenach and Neudietendorf, and one was later installed at Erfurt station. The electronic interlocking in Neudietendorf manages all signals and switches on the Erfurt-Bischleben–Wandersleben section; the Eisennach interlocking controls the Wandersleben–Gerstungen section. The section west of Gerstungen is monitored from Bebra.

The Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway is being built in parallel with the eastern section of the line between Halle and Erfurt and is due to open in 2015. Its route runs north of the Thuringia line through sparsely populated areas and is intended mainly for long-distance passenger and fast freight trains, thereby relieving the congested old line and providing shorter journey times. Under the current plan completed in 1997 the section of the Thuringia line between the junction of the high-speed line at Schkopau and Halle is scheduled to be upgraded to 200 km / h. The planning permission for the high-speed line also provides as an option the extension of section of the line between Erfurt and Eisenach that is cleared for a maximum speed of 200 km / h. In particular, level crossings would be eliminated.

Passenger services

ICE trains run hourly between Dresden and Frankfurt (Main) on this line via Naumburg, Weimar, Erfurt, Gotha (every 2 hours) and Eisenach.

Every two hours, Intercity trains run between Stralsund, Berlin and Dusseldorf via Halle, Weissenfels, Naumburg, Weimar, Erfurt, Gotha, Eisenach and Bebra.

The following services run in 2010 on the Thüringer Railway or part of it:

Freight

Major freight stations are located in Halle, Großkorbetha, Vieselbach (freight transport centre), Erfurt, Eisenach (automotive, wood), Gerstungen and Bebra.

Notes

References

• Hager, Bernhard (December 2007 / January 2008). "Spuren einer anderen Zeit. Die Magistrale Eisenach - Bebra im Spiegel der Geschichte (Traces of another time - the Eisenach - Bebra line in the mirror of history)" (in German). Eisenbahn Geschichte (Railway History) (25): 10–25.
• Hager, Bernhard (February / March 2008). "Die Magistrale Eisenach - Bebra im Spiegel der Geschichte. Teil 2: Entspannungspolitik und Wiedervereinigung (The Eisenach - Bebra line in the mirror of history, part 2: policy during detente and reunification)" (in German). Eisenbahn Geschichte (Railway History) (26): 14–29.
• Schuster-Wald, Dieter (1996) (in German). Interzonenverkehr Bebra-Eisenach (Bebra-Eisenach Interzone Transport). Freiburg: EK-Verlag. ISBN 3-88255-420-7.
• Thielmann, Georg; Pabst, Roland (2006) (in German). Die Thüringer Stammbahn (The Thuringian trunk line). Arnstadt: Wachsenburgverlag. ISBN 3-935795-00-9.
• Walter, Günter (2005) (in German). Aquädukt und Bahnhof Leinakanal (Leina canal aqueducts and stations). Bad Langensalza: Verlag Rockstuhl. ISBN 3-937135-50-2.
• Walter, Günter (12/2006). "Herleshausen im Westen, aber die Eisenbahn im Osten" (in German). Der Eisenbahningenieur (The railway Engineer) (57): 56–60.

External links

• "Operating points, kilometrages and photographs" (in German). http://www.rbd-erfurt.de/Strecken1/HalleGuntershausen/Halle-Guntershausen1.htm. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
• "Förtha–Gerstungen detour" (in German). http://www.rbd-erfurt.de/Strecken1/FoerthaGerstungen/FoerthaGerstungen.htm. Retrieved 12 November 2011.

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