106-769: The Halle–Bebra railway , known in German as the Thüringer Bahn ("Thuringian Railway"), 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 . From Gerstungen to Bebra, it was owned by the Frederick William Northern Railway ( Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn ), named after
212-611: A shooting incident at a synagogue in Halle. The Federal Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwalt) classified the attack as an act of right-wing terrorism stemming from antisemitism ; as a consequence security measures at Jewish facilities were increased. Halle has a population of about 238,000 and is the largest city in Saxony-Anhalt State. In the East Germany era, Halle had a lot of big industry with many workplaces. At
318-901: A 3.614 km-long line branches off the Thuringian Railway to connect it with the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway . The Thuringian Railway runs through Halle-Amendorf station and then crosses the White Elster . This is followed by the crossing of the Saale and Schkopau station. Here the Buna-Werke plastics factory is connected via the Thuringian railway to the railway network of the Middle German Chemical Triangle . South of Schkopau
424-546: A node for clock-face scheduling . Since 2014, planning has been under way for the replacement or the upgrading of the line to the east of the Hönebach Tunnel, also for 160 km/h. After completion of these measures, the line between the Berlin curve and Erfurt would thus be largely operable at 160 km/h at least. Modernisation, including the upgrade of the stations Schkopau and Bad Kösen for barrier-free access ,
530-524: A road next to the railway embankment. A total of about 30 staff and passengers were injured. On 11 June 1981 at 16:50, the D 1453 express from Düsseldorf to Chemnitz (then Karl-Marx-Stadt) crashed in Erfurt-Bischleben station. Due to a buckle in the track due to heat, two carriages of the train crashed down a slope and a carriage collided against the signal box. 14 passengers were killed and 93 were seriously injured. A freight train derailed on
636-495: A total of 6300 m of noise barriers was built. The permitted operating speed in this section was raised after completion of the construction work from 120 km/h to 160 km/h. A total of €92.5 million was invested, €64.4 million of it from the European Regional Development Fund . The upgrade of the 5.6 km-long section was completed at the end of May 2008. The connection to
742-482: Is independent politician Bernd Wiegand since 2012. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 October 2019, with a runoff held on 27 October, and the results were as follows: The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: Salt, also known as white gold , was extracted from four "Borns" (well-like structures). The four Borns/brine named Gutjahrbrunnen, Meteritzbrunnen, Deutscher Born and Hackeborn, were located around
848-425: Is an important radio hub - Halle Radio Tower is Germany's second-tallest lattice tower, and at night many public German radio stations from all over the country switch to the broadcasting center of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Halle which is responsible for the night program. The Halle tramway is one of the most extensive German tramway networks, and Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof is the second-most important hub of
954-666: Is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. As of 2018 it is Germany's 11th largest airport by passengers, handling more than 2.57 million mainly with flights to European leisure destinations. In terms of cargo traffic, the airport is the fifth-busiest in Europe and the second-busiest in Germany after Frankfurt Airport . The football team Hallescher FC Wacker 1900 had some regional importance before World War II. In
1060-564: Is exhibited in the Halle State Museum of Prehistory . The city is the birthplace of composer George Frideric Handel , who was born in the Handel House that has been converted into a music museum. Halle (Saale) is located in the southern part of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, along the river Saale which drains the surrounding plains and the greater part of the neighboring Free State of Thuringia just to its south, and
1166-751: Is expected to open at the timetable change in December 2017. This section is one of the busiest lines in Thuringia. The line here runs in the valleys of the Gera and the Apfelstädt . The 12 kilometre-long section was equipped with two additional tracks in 1910–1912 for freight traffic and a flying junction was built at Neudietendorf station towards Arnstadt on the Erfurt–Schweinfurt line . These tracks were dismantled in 1945 for reparations. In 1967,
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#17327766438311272-695: Is managed by Nahverkehrssservicegesellschaft Thüringen (Thuringian local transport authority). Until December 2015, this line was operated with DB Regio trains, which also used Halberstädt central-entry carriages or double-deck carriages. In the peak hour, services on line 22A ran on the Eisenach–Gotha–Erfurt/Erfurt–Weimar–Apolda route until 2014, using class 612 or Siemens Desiro Classic (class 642) EMUs. These additional services have been operated as part of line RB20 since December 2014. They are also partly operated between Erfurt and Apolda by Erfurter Bahn multiple units. The services of
1378-585: Is one of the main economic and educational centers of Central Germany . The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , with campuses in Halle and Wittenberg , is the largest university in Saxony-Anhalt and one of the oldest universities in Germany. The university hospital of Halle ( Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale) ) is the largest hospital in the state. The German National Academy of Sciences ( Leopoldina ) has its seat in Halle. Halle
1484-658: Is one of the oldest boys' choirs in the world. The University of Halle was founded here in 1694. It is now combined with the University of Wittenberg and called the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg . The university's medical school was established by Friedrich Hoffmann . Its botanical garden , the Botanische Garten der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg , dates back to 1698. Halle's German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
1590-518: Is planned in the coming years with federal and state funds. The Thuringian trunk line is served by both long-distance and regional passenger services. The railway is more susceptible to delays than any line in Thuringia, except the Weimar–Gera railway , due to the high traffic volume on this route and the mixed operation of express and regional passenger traffic with long routes, along with goods traffic. Regional passenger services run over only parts of
1696-676: Is reached after passing through the Großen Seeberg hills. The western and central part of Gotha station were destroyed during the Second World War by bombing and were only partially rebuilt, so that the station building is now much smaller. On the forecourt of the station is the beginning of route of the Thuringian Forest Railway ( Thüringerwaldbahn ), an overland interurban tramway to Bad Tabarz via Waltershausen and Friedrichroda . In Gotha station,
1802-528: Is slightly more populous than the state capital, Magdeburg . With Leipzig, the largest city of Saxony , Halle forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle conurbation. Leipzig/Halle International Airport lies between the two cities, in Schkeuditz . The Leipzig-Halle conurbation is at the heart of the larger Central German Metropolitan Region . Halle lies in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Leipzig Bay ,
1908-515: Is the 2nd largest city in Saxony-Anhalt and its state capital has a big rivalry with Halle since the founding of the federal state. Both cities have very similar populations. Magdeburg is about 100 km (62.137 miles) away from Halle. Both cities compete to be the best city of the state. Wandersleben Wandersleben is a village and a former municipality in the district of Gotha , in Thuringia , Germany . Since 1 January 2009, it
2014-529: Is the first town on the line with a stop for long-distance traffic. Southwest of Naumburg, the line passes through the scenic Saale-Unstrut-Triasland nature park, where the Saale valley is lined with vineyards. After the spa town of Bad Kösen , the Saal Railway branches to the south towards Jena , Saalfeld and Munich. Above the Saale valley here are the castles of Saaleck and Rudelsburg. Electric traction
2120-640: Is the main railway station. Halle's prominence as a railway centre grew with the arrival of the Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway . Leipzig is also connected to this route, but since it is mostly a terminus station (the Leipzig City Tunnel , opened in 2013, is mostly used by suburban S-Bahn trains and unsuitable for the high-speed network) and the route via Halle is shorter, Halle is used as an intermediate stop by many Berlin-Munich trains. Leipzig/Halle Airport (opened in 1927)
2226-621: Is the oldest and one of the most respected scientific societies in Germany. Halle is also home to Germany's oldest Protestant church library, known as the Marienbibliothek [ de ] , with 27,000 titles. The seat of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology , one of the world's largest social anthropological research institutions and a part of the Max Planck Society , is in Halle. Halle
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#17327766438312332-660: Is the oldest branch line of Thuringia. The Thuringian Railway here runs in the valley of the Hörsel , until it reaches the Werra , which it follows past Eisenach . The line runs along the charming Hörsel valley between the Hörselberge range to the north and the Thuringian Forest to the south. Mechterstädt-Sättelstädt station emerged in the 1930s as a railway siding for the construction of the nearby A 4 autobahn . After
2438-526: Is the passage through Gotha, which is to be ungraded for 180 km/h. This includes, among other things, the renewal of the superstructure on a 28 km-long section and the renewal of 30 sets of points. In addition, the subgrade is to be improved over a length of four kilometres along the Leina Canal and two bridges are to be rebuilt in Fröttstädt and Seebergen. ETCS Level 2 is to be installed as
2544-409: Is very busy as it combines east–west traffic ( Dresden – Frankfurt ) with north–south traffic ( Berlin – Munich ). Already in 1937, 30 long-distance trains ran on this section each day, in 1989, there were as many as 37 long-distance trains and there were 35 pairs of trains in 2004. South of Großkorbetha station the line runs near the Saale , crossing it eight times before Saaleck. Next, the line reaches
2650-620: The DR rail construction branch in Bitterfeld; this was also travelling towards Eisenach. Because of defects in the track on the Fröttstädt–Mechterstädt-Sättelstädt section, the arriving express was only running at 50 km/h, but the locomotive was only 50 m from the obstacle before the driver recognised the situation and could initiate the emergency brakes and trigger an emergency signal. On 23 June 1976 at about 17:25,
2756-662: The Duchy of Magdeburg , while it was an important location for Martin Luther 's Reformation in the 16th century. Cardinal Albert of Mainz ( Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545) also impacted on the town in this period. According to historic documents, the city of Halle became a member of the Hanseatic League at least as early as 1281. Halle became a center for Pietism , a movement encouraged by King Frederick William I of Prussia (reigned 1713–1740) because it caused
2862-654: The Germanic root for salt, and salt-harvesting has taken place in Halle since at least the Bronze Age (2300–600 BC). From 1965 to 1995, the official name was Halle/Saale . The earliest documented mention of Halle dates from AD 806. It became a part of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in the 10th century and remained so until 1680, when the Margraviate of Brandenburg annexed it together with Magdeburg as
2968-661: The Halloren is displayed occasionally at the Technical Museum Saline. It is a unique collection of silver and gold goblets dating back to 1266. The ancient craft of "Schausieden" (boiling of the brine) can be observed there too. The State Museum of Prehistory houses the Nebra sky disk , a significant Bronze-Age find with astronomical significance. Halle Zoo contributes to the EAZA breeding programme, in particular for
3074-525: The Magdeburg-Halle-Leipzig line , completing a connection between Magdeburg and Dresden . From 1841 to 1860, other lines to Erfurt , Kassel and Berlin followed. The centrepiece of Halle's urban public transport system is the Halle (Saale) tramway network . It includes the world's first major electric-powered inner-city tram line, which was opened in 1891. Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof
3180-711: The Ohra Valley Railway branches off to Gräfenroda to the south and the Gotha–Leinefelde railway branches off to Göttingen in the north. The line reached the watershed between the Weser and Elbe rivers shortly after Gotha, at the 141.8 km mark. The line is 324.4 metres above sea level at its highest point. At the 142 km mark the line used to run under the Leina Canal aqueduct. Since this technical monument represented an obstacle to electrifying
3286-626: The Prussian king, Frederick William IV . It is now a two-track, electrified , standard gauge mainline operated by DB Netze . It was opened 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
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3392-532: The S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland rapid transit network after Leipzig Hauptbahnhof . The Saale-Elster Viaduct , the longest bridge in Germany and longest high-speed rail bridge in Europe, which is part of the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway , runs through the southern borough of Planena. The Nebra sky disc that was discovered in Nebra in the Unstrut valley between Halle and Erfurt ,
3498-562: The Soviet Union , France, Netherlands and other nations were forced to work in the Siebel aircraft plants, making combat aircraft. The plant was later dismantled. In Ammendorf , a large factory owned by Orgacid [ de ] produced mustard gas . Near the end of World War II, there were two bombing raids carried out against the town: the first on 31 March 1945, the second a few days later. The first attack took place between
3604-685: The War of the Fourth Coalition , French and Prussian forces clashed in the Battle of Halle on 17 October 1806. The fighting moved from the covered bridges on the city's west side, through the streets and market place, to the eastern suburbs. In 1815 Halle became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony . During World War II , KZ-Außenlager Birkhahn , a subcamp of Buchenwald was in Halle, where prisoners from Poland, Czechoslovakia,
3710-628: The Weimar–Gera railway was not electrified. Both InterRegio lines served in addition to the stops of the Intercity services, the stations in Bebra, Gotha, Naumburg and Weißenfels. With the upgrade of the main line for the use of tilting trains, the IC 9 service was converted in the summer of 2000 to operation by ICE T as the new ICE 50 (Wiesbaden/Saarbrücken–Frankfurt–Erfurt–Leipzig–Dresden) service. The journey times were shortened by about 20 minutes and for
3816-661: The main line from Leipzig . The section to Weißenfels was electrified in 1959. During the existence of the German Democratic Republic , this section of the line had great importance, especially for commuting from Halle-Neustadt to the chemical works in Leuna and Buna. From 1967 to 1990 passenger trains operated on this route with up to twelve double-deck carriages. These trains had the largest seating capacity in Germany. The 32-kilometer Großkorbetha–Saaleck junction section in central Germany ( Mitteldeutschland )
3922-526: The 15th to the 17th century: Hall in Sachsen ; until the beginning of the 20th century: Halle an der Saale [ˈhalə ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈzaːlə] ; from 1965 to 1995: Halle/Saale ) is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt . It is the fifth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after ( East ) Berlin , Leipzig , Dresden and Chemnitz , as well as the 31st-largest city of Germany. With around 244,000 inhabitants, it
4028-684: The Angolan lion and the Malaysian tiger . Halle is also known for its thriving coypu (or nutria) population, which is native to South America. With writers such as Heine , Eichendorff , Schleiermacher , Tieck and Novalis the town was a vibrant scene of the German Romanticism . Also Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a regular guest at the house of his close friend Johann Friedrich Reichardt . German-American expressionist painter Lyonel Feininger worked in Halle on an invitation by
4134-557: The Bebra–Halle railway. The Hessian section between Bebra and Eisenach has been operated by Cantus as NVV line R6 with Stadler Flirt electric multiple units (EMUs) since December 2006. Previously this section was served by Deutsche Bahn using both Halberstädter Mitteleinstiegswagen (Halberstädt central-entry carriages) and double-deck carriages. During the peak hour, some trains ran from Erfurt to Bebra or from Eisenach to Bad Hersfeld . Line RB20 runs between Eisenach and Halle (Saale) and
4240-640: The Cup tournament in 1956 and 1962. The most prominent player was 72-times international Bernd Bransch , who was with Chemie in the 1960s and 1970s. These days, Hallescher FC usually plays in the third division. The general sports club SV Halle [ de ] , originating from Chemie Halle , created a notable number of Olympic gold medallists and world champions, mainly in nautical and watersports, e.g., swimmer Kornelia Ender won four Olympic gold medals in 1976 and Andreas Hajek won four rowing world championships between 1998 and 2001. The basketball team of
4346-485: The D ;28 were derailed, 27 passengers and railway staff were injured and there was enormous property damage. The state-controlled GDR media concealed the incident and it was only mentioned in a three-line note in a local newspaper. The accident was caused by a dispatcher error and by capacity bottlenecks. The train collided in the station area with an unscheduled freight train containing twenty gravel wagons and operated by
Halle–Bebra railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-675: The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . The first section from Halle to Weissenfels was opened by the Thuringian Railway Company ( Thüringische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ) 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. In February 1990, rail workers and executives of both national railways came together in Eisenach to initiate
4558-411: The Federal Transport Plan ( Bundesverkehrswegeplan ) of 2015, the upgrade of the Erfurt line and the Neudietendorf–Eisenach line for 200 km/h to optimise connections to/from Frankfurt through the new Erfurt ICE junction. For this purpose, the elimination of level crossings is due to be completed to the end of 2017. The state also announced the upgrade of the line from Erfurt towards Halle/Leipzig, with
4664-414: The German Championship Wacker reached the semi-finals in 1921, and the quarter-finals in 1928. The successor team became East German champions in 1949 and 1952 under the names of ZSG Union and BSG Turbine Halle . From these evolved today's Turbine Halle and Hallescher FC . In the era of the German Democratic Republic, the latter club (as Chemie Halle ) was a mainstay in the first division and won
4770-415: The Hallmarket (or "Under Market"), now a market square with a fountain, just across from the TV station, MDR . The brine was highly concentrated and boiled in Koten , simple structured houses made from reed and clay. Salters, who wore a unique uniform with eighteen silver buttons, were known as Halloren , and this name was later used for the chocolates in the shape of these buttons. The Halloren-Werke ,
4876-411: The IC services, two InterRegio services were added In 1993. The first line (36) ran from Frankfurt via Erfurt and Halle to Berlin, with some services continuing to the Baltic coast. The second line (20) ran from Aachen via Paderborn , Kassel and Erfurt, continuing to Gera and Chemnitz. The electric locomotives of these trains were substituted with diesel locomotives in Weimar, since the following line,
4982-428: The Red Tower was set on fire by artillery and destroyed. The Market Church and the Church of St. George received more hits. However, the city was spared further damage because an aerial bombardment was canceled, after former naval officer Felix von Luckner negotiated the city's surrender to the American army. In July, the Americans withdrew and the city was occupied by the Red Army . After World War II, Halle served as
5088-414: The Thuringian Railway from the north. Erfurt Hauptbahnhof was extensively remodelled from 2003 to 2008 as part of the building of a high-speed line from Nuremberg via Erfurt to Halle/Leipzig (see Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway and Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway ). The northern section between Erfurt and Halle/Leipzig was put into operation on 13 December 2015. The southern section to Nuremberg
5194-442: The Thuringian Railway were tendered in 2012 as part of the Elektronetzes Saale-Thüringen-Südharz (Saale-Thuringia-South Harz Electric Network). The contract was awarded to Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland , which took over the regional operations for 15 years in December 2015. Three and five-part Talent-2 electric multiple units are used. On the eastern section, four new, two-hour routes have been operated since then, in addition to
5300-405: The Thuringian basin, northwards from the Thuringian Forest . Leipzig, one of Germany's major cities, is only 35 kilometres (22 mi) away. Its area is 135.01 km (52.13 sq mi). Köppen climate classification classifies its climate as oceanic (Cfb). However, it is close to being a cold semi-arid climate (BSk). Using the most current climate data from April 2017 to March 2022,
5406-442: The Thuringian railway, thus relieving the congestion on the old line and also shortening travel times. The first stage of the reconstruction, beginning in October 2005, ran from the southern approach to Halle to the exit from the high-speed line to the city. A new external platform was built at Halle-Ammendorf station south of the existing location. A new electronic interlocking took over the functions of four former signal boxes and
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#17327766438315512-427: The Wandersleben–Gerstungen section. The section from Gerstungen is supervised by the track plan signal box in Bebra. In exceptional cases, the unstaffed signal box in Hönebach is staffed. The freight yard in Eisenach is also controlled by a track plan signal box. The project was carried out by Deutsche Bahn AG . A total of €913 million was invested within the scope of the German Unity Transport Project no. 7, allowing
5618-433: The annual precipitation is 17 mm too much to be classified as a cold semi-arid climate. For example, using the climate data from September 2015 to August 2020, the climate would fulfill the requirements to be classified as a cold semi-arid climate. Notwithstanding, the great variation of annual precipitation between the years allows agriculture and large trees to grow, surviving recurring drought periods and years like in
5724-462: The area's large Lutheran population to be more inclined to Fredrick William I's religion ( Calvinism ), as well as more loyal to the Prussian king instead of to the decentralized feudal system. By the 1740s Halle had established many orphanages as well as schools for the wealthy in the sober style Pietism encouraged. This Halle education was the first time the "modern education" system was established. The Halle Pietists also combatted poverty. During
5830-414: The beginning of 1993. The planning for the free route between Eisenach and Gerstungen had been completed and the preliminary design for Gerstungen station had been confirmed. The state's plan was sufficiently developed for the initiation of the planning approval process of the 110-kV line in Thuringia and fine-tuning was in progress in the spring of 1993. The further modernisation of the Erfurt–Bebra section
5936-432: The capital of the short-lived administrative region of Saxony-Anhalt until 1952, when the East German government abolished its "Länder" (states). As a part of East Germany (until 1990), it functioned as the capital of the administrative district ( Bezirk ) of Halle. When Saxony-Anhalt was re-established as a Bundesland in 1990, Magdeburg , not Halle, became the capital. On 9 October 2019, two people were killed in
6042-471: The city from 1929 to 1931. As one of eleven views of the city termed Halle Cycle , he painted in 1931 Die Türme über der Stadt (The towers above the city), which is now in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. This painting appeared on a 55 eurocent stamp on 5 December 2002 as a part of the series "Deutsche Malerei des 20. Jahrhunderts" (German painting of the 20th century). Ludwig Wucherer made Halle an important rail hub in central Germany. In 1840 he opened
6148-402: The city of Weißenfels, where a main line branches off to Gera via Zeitz . Until Die Wende there was also a large freight yard with 252 sets of points in Weissenfels ; today there are still 12 sets of points and five tracks. The importance of Weissenfels as a railway junction has been reduced with passenger operations based in Naumburg and freight operations based in Großkorbetha. Naumburg
6254-486: The closing of the gap between Bebra and Eisenach. In May 1991, the first train ran on the reconstructed section. The Eisenach–Gerstungen section was reopened for the 1991 timetable change and the second track was opened on 26 September 1992. At the same time, the Förtha–Gerstungen railway was abandoned as a bypass of the West German territory and was dismantled in 1993. The electrotechnical services of Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Bundesbahn took part in discussions on
6360-483: The club – these days known as Lions and focusing on the woman's team which plays in the national first division – won five men's and 10 women's championships of the German Democratic Republic. The Hallescher FC's location is extremely close to a train station. Halle is twinned with: Halle also has friendly relations with: Halle (Saale) and Leipzig are the two centres of the Central German Metropolitan Region with more than 2.4 million people. Magdeburg , which
6466-523: The combined RE3/RE7 express service runs from Würzburg via Schweinfurt and Suhl to Erfurt and, after a 20-minute stop, continues from there with a number change via Weimar and Gera to Altenburg or Elsterberg. This service is also operated with class 612 tilting trains. Between Wandersleben and Neudietendorf and between Erfurt and Weimar, these trains are the only ones which can operate at 160 km/h. Non-tilting trains are limited to 140 km and 120 km/h respectively. Other regional services use
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#17327766438316572-433: The electrification of the 88 km-long section between Bebra and Neudietendorf. This resulted in an upgrade program which, among other things, increased the speed of the line to 160 km/h (and potentially 200 km/h), the elimination of level crossings and the reconstruction of the Berlin Curve ( Berliner Kurve ) that bypasses Bebra towards Fulda. A framework design was adopted for the Neudietendorf–Eisenach section by
6678-409: The end of Communism, the main line has been served by Intercity services. The former line 9 operated at two-hour intervals from Saarbrücken via Frankfurt and continuing to Erfurt, Leipzig and Dresden. The EuroCity train pair Goethe , which ran from Paris to Prague, also ran over the Thuringian Railway. These trains stopped only in Eisenach, Erfurt and Weimar on the Thuringian Railway. In addition to
6784-437: The exception, for example, of Erfurt and Bebra stations and the Hönebach Tunnel (983 m long, 90 km/h). Electronic interlockings were installed in Eisenach and Neudietendorf and another was later installed at Erfurt Hauptbahnhof. The Neudietendorf electronic interlocking controls all signals and turnouts on the section from Erfurt-Bischleben to the approach to Wandersleben and the Eisenach electronic interlocking controls
6890-435: The existing Regionalbahn RB20 service, as Regional-Express or Stadt-Express services: Erfurt–Halle, Erfurt–Großkorbetha(–Leipzig), (Saalfeld–Jena–)Bad Kösen–Halle and (Saalfeld–Jena–)Bad Kösen–Großkorbetha(–Leipzig), to compensate for the loss of long-distance services as a result of the commissioning of the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway . Due to the reconstruction of the Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof railway node,
6996-425: The express services on the Naumburg–Halle section are operated by DB Regio for the time being, which run via Halle to Köthen and Magdeburg. Between Gotha and Weimar, the Regional-Express service, RE1 runs over the Thuringian Railway. These trains, which are composed of class 612 tilting trains , run from Göttingen to Glauchau . Some RE1 services also continued to Chemnitz and Zwickau prior to 2014. In addition,
7102-491: The first time large parts of the main line could be operated at a top speed of 160 km/h. The InterRegio traffic on the Bebra–Halle railway ended in 2002. IR 36 service was replaced by IC 15 and IR 20 was replaced by the new IC 51 service, with services now beginning and ending in Weimar. In 2004, IC 15 service was converted to ICE-T operation and integrated into line 50, which now ran hourly between Frankfurt (Main) and Dresden. The IC 51 service, which previously ended in Weimar,
7208-410: The high-speed line, including a flying junction, was built in a second stage from 2010 to 2011. Extensive construction work took place between Erfurt and Weimar from 2010 to 2012. The line between Erfurt and the junction with the high-speed line to Halle/Leipzig was renovated, the stations in Weimar and Vieselbach were renovated and overhead wire, which had been erected in 1967 and was over 40 years old,
7314-409: The international express D 354, running from Berlin to Paris crashed at the western end of Eisenach station. The locomotive, a V180 and two following carriages remained on the tracks after passing over a defective set of points, but the following cars derailed and collided with a postal wagon and a shunting locomotive running on the adjacent track. The postal wagon and the shunting locomotive crashed onto
7420-431: The line except Interregio-Express . Four of the six largest cities in Thuringia are located on the line. 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
7526-436: The line is only open to Heimboldhausen, where it connects to Unterbreizbach ). It is particularly important for the potash industry ( K+S ). In Gerstungen the Thuringian railway leaves the valley of the Werra and rises to the Hönebach Tunnel, which is on the watershed between the Werra and Fulda . The maximum speed is 90 km/h because of the narrow width of the tunnel. West of the tunnel, the line runs through Ronshausen in
7632-749: The line reaches Erfurt , the state capital of Thuringia. From Weimar the line is also part of the Mid-Germany Connection . In the Erfurt suburb of Vieselbach there is a rail freight centre on the line and east of Erfurt Hauptbahnhof there is a large marshalling yard and a freight yard. Just before the Hauptbahnhof, the new line from Halle/Leipzig , the Nordhausen–Erfurt railway and the Nordhausen-Erfurt railway connect to
7738-598: The line runs through Merseburg , the first middle-sized city on the line. Here a line branches to the west through the Geisel valley to Querfurt and the largely decommissioned Merseburg–Leipzig line branches off to the east. Immediately south of Merseburg the line runs through the Leuna-Werke (where IG Farben produced synthetic oil during World War II and which is now a location of a Total oil refinery and numerous chemical factories) to Großkorbetha , where it meets
7844-521: The line was electrified and in 1975 part of a third track along with the flying junction were restored. Since 2005, the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed line has been under construction next to the line for the first few kilometres between Erfurt and the district of Bischleben. West of Neudietendorf station, the line passes the Drei Gleichen ("three like") castles on its way towards Gotha , which
7950-474: The line, it has been bypassed since 1994 by a new northerly route. This also increased the radius of curvature and the highest point was raised a few metres higher. From 1912 there was an operations depot at the Leina Canal. Passenger trains stopped there on race days at the nearby Boxberg race course (an early English-style horse racing course) from sometime before 1945 until 1950. The Friedrichroda Railway branches off from Fröttstädt station to Friedrichroda and
8056-469: The maximum speed raised for all conventional trains to 160 km/h, which is currently only the case for tilting trains. The line, as part of the Fulda–Erfurt axis, is to be prepared by the end of 2017 for the use of eddy current brake ( ICE 3 ). A 19 km-long section between Eisenach and Gerstungen would be largely upgraded for 160 km/h operations by 2017. This will allow Erfurt to operate as
8162-570: The new double sets. From 12 January to September 2016, ICE line 28 between Berlin and Munich was redirected over the Erfurt–Bebra section (using the Berlin Curve) due to a blockade on the direct route. In addition, several night trains run over the line to Basel and Prague. Important freight terminals are located in Halle, Großkorbetha, Vieselbach (freight transport centre), Erfurt, Eisenach (car industry, timber), Gerstungen (traction change of
8268-480: The newly opened Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway from Erfurt since December 2015. The trains of line 15 stop on the Thuringian Railway only in Erfurt. In addition, three IC train pairs of the former IC line 51 remain, which, coming from Kassel, stop in Bebra, Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt and Weimar. One train pair continues from Weimar via Großheringen on the Saal Railway to Jena-Göschwitz , another train runs from Weimar via Naumburg to Halle. These are operated with
8374-590: The next Intercity-Express stop is reached at Weimar. The station , from which the Woodland Railway branches off to the east towards Jena and Gera , is relatively far from the inner city. In Weimar, the Thuringian Railway leaves the valley of the Ilm and initially runs west along the foot of the Ettersberg (Etter Mountain) and then through the flat Thuringian Basin, where, about 20 kilometres from Weimar,
8480-542: The night of 13 March 1986 on the Halle–Erfurt railway near the station of Leissling, in the former district of Weissenfels (now part of Burgenlandkreis ); it contained 26 wagons laden with cement, some of which were derailed. Nobody was injured, but significant damage occurred to the track and overhead wire. The cause of the accident was a broken wheel on a freight wagon. Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale) , or simply Halle ( German: [ˈhalə] ; from
8586-550: The old Erfurt–Halle/Leipzig railway would have also been upgraded for speeds of up to 200 km/h. An upgrade of the section between Neudietendorf and Eisenach for a maximum speed of 200 km/h is provided as an option. The Erfurt–Eisenach section is to be upgraded by December 2019 for speeds of 200 km/h over a length of about 54 km as part of German Unity Transport Project no. 7. The top speed will be raised from 140 to 160 km/h from Erfurt to Wandersleben and to 200 km/h continuing to Eisenach. An exception to this
8692-399: The old line was made impassable at the border by the dismantling of approximately 100 m of the track immediately next to the border. It was not until 1991, after reunification, that the old Thuringian Railway main line was rebuilt; it was put back into operation on 25 May 1991. Subsequently, the bypass line was shut down and dismantled. After the inauguration of the railway in 1849, Gerstungen
8798-470: The oldest chocolate factory in Germany, was founded in 1804. Old documents are on display and a chocolate room can be visited. Within East Germany , Halle's chemical industry, now mainly shut down, was of great importance. The two main companies in the region were Buna-Werke and Leuna , and Halle-Neustadt was built in the 1960s to accommodate the employees of these two factories. Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Händel (later George Frideric Handel )
8904-480: The potassium trains) and Bebra. The Thuringian Railway starts in Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof , which it leaves in a southerly direction. It is the most important railway line in southern Saxony-Anhalt. Immediately south of the station the line to Leipzig branches to the east. Further south in the city of Halle, the Halle–Kassel line leaves the Thuringian Railway running to the west. Shortly before Amendorf station,
9010-528: The railway station and the city's centre, and the second bombing was in the southern district. It killed over 1,000 inhabitants and destroyed 3,600 buildings. Among them, are the Market Church , St. George Church, the Old Town Hall, the municipal theatre, historic buildings on Bruederstrasse and on Grosse Steinstrasse, and the city cemetery. On 17 April 1945, American soldiers occupied Halle, and
9116-542: The services were changed several times during this period. Basically, the timetable was provided a service every two hours, with all trains stopping in Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Naumburg, while an alternating service also ran every two hours but only stopped in Eisenach and Erfurt and as a result achieved the approximately 15 minute shorter running times of the tilting-train period. Services on line 15 between Frankfurt and Berlin and line 50 between Frankfurt and Dresden are again operated exclusively with ICEs and have used
9222-553: The short sections of the line between Naumburg and Saaleck and between Erfurt and Neudietendorf. In long-distance passenger traffic, the Thuringian Railway represents an important part of the Frankfurt–Berlin and the Frankfurt–Dresden corridors. Even during the division of Germany until 1989, transit trains ran between Frankfurt and Berlin and express trains ran between Frankfurt and Dresden, Leipzig, Cottbus or Chemnitz. Since
9328-708: The southernmost part of the North German Plain , and is the largest city on the River Saale (a tributary of the Elbe ), which is the third-longest river flowing entirely in Germany after the Weser and the Main . The White Elster flows into the Saale in the southern borough of Silberhöhe. Halle is the fourth-largest city in the Thuringian - Upper Saxon dialect area after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz. Halle
9434-408: The summers of 2018 and 2019 with severe drought because of regularly occurring wet periods and years and absence of extremely high temperatures - never reaching 40 °C (104 °F). With its vegetation, Halle is far from the steppe or semi-desert vegetation typical of cold semi-arid climates. Halle's early history is connected with the harvesting of salt. The name of the river Saale contains
9540-621: The time Halle was one of the leading cities in East Germany, along with Leipzig and Dresden . Halle reached its highest population in 1991 with about 305,000 people. Since German reunification , Halle's population began to decline due to its loss of industry, with many people moving to former West Germany . Halle is now considered one of the poorest cities in Germany. Halle's foreign population began to grow in 2015 after refugees from Syria and other war torn countries moved to Halle. Population of foreign residents: The current mayor of Halle
9646-470: The town of Bad Sulza is also known as Thuringian Tuscany because its gently rolling hills with their vineyards and mild climate recalls Tuscany . The next major town on the Thuringian Railway is Apolda . Until 150 years ago it was still a small farming town with about 2,500 inhabitants, but the construction of the railway line and the growth of the textile industry gave an enormous boost to the town and by 1900 it had nearly 25,000 residents. Further southwest,
9752-420: The train protection system. These measures are designed to shorten the travel time by up to 3 minutes and to achieve a travel time of 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 hours between Dresden and Frankfurt am Main. According to earlier information, the upgrade was to be completed in 2017. The journey time between Erfurt and Frankfurt Airport would be less than two hours. The Free State of Thuringia submitted, in preparation for
9858-402: The travel time for long-distance traffic between Bebra and Erfurt to be reduced from 135 minutes (in 1990) to 59 minutes. The Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway has been operating parallel to the eastern section between Halle and Erfurt since 2015. The line, which runs north of the Thuringian Railway through sparsely populated areas, has taken a large part of the long-distance traffic from
9964-591: The valley between the Seulingswald forest in the south and the Richelsdorf Hills in the north to Bebra where it ends at the lines to Frankfurt, Göttingen and Kassel. 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
10070-519: The war, the Red Army used the northern part of the station to load and unload tanks for the nearby Kindel firing range until 1990. The line crosses the A 4, passes through the community of Wutha-Farnroda , where formerly the Ruhla Railway branched off, and finally reaches the city of Eisenach , which is the first Intercity-Express stop since Erfurt. The Thuringian Railway leaves Eisenach to
10176-618: The west and reaches the Werra, which it crosses in Hörschel. At Herleshausen the line passes through Hessian territory for seven km, before returning to Thuringia and continuing to Gerstungen . The fact that the line crossed the Inner German border five-times during the division of Germany created security problems for the GDR. Until 1978, freight trains ran to Herleshausen , then the line
10282-786: Was a centre of German Pietism and played an important role in establishing the Lutheran church in North America, when Henry Muhlenberg and others were sent as missionaries to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. Muhlenberg is now called the first Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America. He and his son, Frederick Muhlenberg , who was the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives , were graduates of Halle University. The Silver Treasure of
10388-403: Was a train crash between an express train and a passenger train in the entry area of Großheringen station on the Saale bridge. 34 people were killed and 27 were seriously injured. Early in the morning of 29 January 1962, the D 28 express train from Berlin to Eisenach was involved in an accident at Mechterstädt-Sättelstädt station. The locomotive, the sleeping car and two passenger cars of
10494-429: 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. On 24 December 1935, there
10600-622: Was an interchange station between the Thuringian Railway and the Frederick William Northern Railway ( Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn ). From 1946, it was the border station between the Reichsbahndirektion ( railway division , Rbd) Erfurt and the Rbd Kassel as well as between East Germany and West Germany. Also in Gerstungen a branch line branches off through the Werra valley via Heringen and Vacha to Bad Salzungen (today
10706-514: Was born in Halle in 1685 and spent the first 17 years of his life in the city. The house where he lived is now a museum about his life. To celebrate his music, Halle has staged a Handel Festival since 1922, annually in June since 1952. The Franckesche Stiftungen (Francke Foundations) are home to the Stadtsingechor zu Halle [ de ] , which was founded before the year 1116 and
10812-438: Was carried out as Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit Nr. 7 (German Unity Transport Project no. 7). The estimated cost of the section between Neudietendorf and the state border was 1.6 billion DM . The electrification of the section was started in 1993 and completed in the summer of 1995 in time for a timetable change. Since May 1995, the line has been electrified and the maximum speed is 160 km/h in substantial parts, with
10918-642: Was closed between Wartha and Gerstungen . For this reason, in the years 1961/1962, after the establishment of the Berlin Wall , a single-track detour line was built in East Germany, the Förtha–Gerstungen railway . At Förtha the line branched off the Werra Railway and ran to the east to connect with the Thuringian Railway in Gerstungen, bypassing the Herleshausen–Wommen section. In July 1988,
11024-469: Was extended to Berlin and Stralsund. In 2008, due to a problem with axles, the tilt technology of the ICE-T sets had been taken out of service. The timetable was revised in order to be able to better absorb the resulting extensions of travel time. From 2010 to 2015, a mixed cycle of Intercity and ICE services operated on the Thuringian Railway, each with the number 50. The running distances and the train types of
11130-450: Was possible on this section for the first time in 1941, but five years later, in 1946, all components of the electrical equipment were removed as reparations to the Soviet Union . In 1965, the line was re-electrified, this time to Neudietendorf . The line continues to the southwest past Saaleck, through a series of bends in the valley of the Ilm , which it crosses four times. The area around
11236-443: Was replaced. Preparations were also made for the integration of the high-speed line. The railway node of Merseburg has been extensively modernised since March 2011. New track and overhead wire as well as an electronic interlocking were installed. At the station, the platform and the passenger subway were thoroughly renovated. The extensive works were completed in 2013. According to the planning as envisaged in 1997, some sections of
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