The Biederitz–Trebnitz railway is a double-tracked, standard gauge, electrified railway line in the German state of Saxony-Anhalttimetabled as (KBS) 254 and 256. The line begins in
Biederitz
Biederitz is a municipality in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It consists of the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Magdeburg and runs via
Güterglück
Güterglück is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Zerbst
Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, ...
towards
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
. According to
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
, the line ends at Trebnitz on the former border between the Duchy of Anhalt and Prussia.
History
In order to link the town of Zerbst to the rapidly growing railway network, the parliament of the Duchy of Anhalt decided to build a 13 kilometre long railway from Roßlau an der Elbe to Zerbst. This was opened on 1 November 1863. The operator was the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company who purchased the line on 1 October 1871 for a million marks and extended it on 1 July 1874 to Magdeburg. Until 1871 the section from Zerbst to Roßlau was called the ''Anhalt Leopold Railway'' (german: Anhaltische Leopoldsbahn). In 1882 the Prussian state railways took over the route.
The Biederitz–Trebnitz was opened eleven years later together with the Roßlau–Trebnitz section of the Trebnitz–Leipzig railway. Both sections are operated today as one route with timetable number 254.
The two-track line was electrified in 1923 as part of the Leipzig–Dessau–Magdeburg route. In 1946, the electrification was restored throughout the central German rail network, but the infrastructure was abruptly dismantled and delivered together with the locomotives to the USSR as war reparations. At the same time the second track was dismantled.
In the 1970s, the second track was restored. On 15 April 1975, electrical operations were resumed between Magdeburg Neustadt and Zerbst.
Route
The line passes the junction of the branch line to Altengrabow and then runs for its entire length to the southeast. After crossing
federal highway 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbered S ...
, it runs largely parallel with federal highway 184, which it passes under at
Gommern
Gommern () is a town in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately southeast of Magdeburg. On January 1, 2005, the municipalities Dannigkow, Dornburg, Karith, Ladeburg, Leitzkau, Menz, Nedlitz, Vehli ...
. It has already crossed a level crossing over federal highway 246 in Königsborn. At the former “tower station” (''Turmbahnhof'', that is two-level interchange station) of
Güterglück
Güterglück is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Zerbst
Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, ...
Kanonenbahn
The ''Kanonenbahn'' (literally "Cannons Railway") is a former German military strategic railway between Berlin and Metz via Güsten, Wetzlar, Koblenz and Trier. Metz is in Alsace-Lorraine, which was annexed by Germany after the Franco-Prussian W ...
''). After about three kilometres, the line ends at the former Trebnitz block post, north of the village of the same name and continues with a change of line number as the Trebnitz–Leipzig railway.
Operations
From 1993 to 1995, the section from Biederitz to the connecting curve to the Berlin-Blankenheim railway at Güterglück was part of a long-distance route served by Intercity-Express and Intercity trains from western Germany to Berlin during the upgrading of the Berlin–Magdeburg Railway, when the Güterglück–Belzig–Berlin-Wannsee was used as a detour at speeds up to 160 km/h. From 1994 there was also a pair of InterRegio trains with almost annual changes in route between Saxony and eastern Thuringia and north-west Germany. This long-distance train stopped between Magdeburg and Dessau only in Zerbst.
Currently passenger services on this line are operated by
DB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio bus ...
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
– Leipzig) and by Regionalbahn service RB 42 (Magdeburg–Dessau). In the peak hour there are additional services operating as RE 15 (Magdeburg– Lutherstadt Wittenberg).