Leinefelde station is a major railway junction in the German state of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
and is the most important station in
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; English: ''Oak-field'') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of the state of Thuringia ("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in th ...
. It is located in the town of Leinefelde in the Thuringian municipality of
Leinefelde-Worbis
Leinefelde-Worbis is a town in the district of Eichsfeld, in northwestern Thuringia, Germany. The town was formed on March 16, 2004, from the former independent towns Leinefelde and Worbis along with the municipalities of Breitenbach and Wintz ...
in the
Eichsfeld district. The
Halle–Kassel and
Gotha–Leinefelde railways meet there and in the past the now closed
Leinefelde–Wulften and
Leinefelde–Treysa railways also connected with the station. The latter route was part of the
Kanonenbahn (Cannons Railway) between
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
.
History
With the construction of the ''großen Rheinstraße'' (Great Rhine Road), the current
federal highway 80, between
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
and Berlin in 1826 and the ''Reichsstraße'' (National Road), the current
federal highway 247, from
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen.
Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and bec ...
to
Duderstadt
Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen.
It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). In earlier times it was the private wealth of the Roman Cat ...
in 1834, Leinefelde began to develop into a road hub.
With the construction of the
Halle–Nordhausen–Leinefelde–Eichenberg–Kassel/Göttingen railway in 1867, Leinefelde was also connected by rail. The
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
* Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
**Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
* Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost ...
–
Eichenberg section of the line was officially opened on 9 July 1867. When a few years later the
Gotha–Leinefelde railway
The Gotha–Leinefelde railway connects Gotha and Leinefelde in the German state of Thuringia. It was opened in 1870 by the Thuringian Railway Company (german: Thüringische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft). The line is about 67.1 km long. Regional-Exp ...
was opened, the station became a railway junction and it was redesignated as the ''Zentralbahnhof des Eichsfeldes'' (Central station of
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; English: ''Oak-field'') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of the state of Thuringia ("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in th ...
).
The
Kanonenbahn between
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, which runs through Leinefelde, was completed by the opening of the
rail connection from Leinefelde to Eschwege in 1880.
From 1897, Leinefelde was also the starting point of the Leinefelde–Wulften railway, connecting Leinefelde via Breitenbach, Worbis and Wintzingerode and
Duderstadt
Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen.
It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). In earlier times it was the private wealth of the Roman Cat ...
with the
South Harz Railway
The South Harz Railway (german: Südharzstrecke or ''Südharzbahn'') is a railway line through the German states of Lower Saxony and Thuringia. It runs from Northeim to Nordhausen, via Herzberg am Harz, Bad Lauterberg-Barbis, Bad Sachsa, Walkenri ...
(''Südharzstrecke''). The line was interrupted between
Teistungen
Teistungen is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany.
Teistungen was first mentioned in 1090 as the site of Teistungenburg monastery, a filiation of Beuren monastery. The old monastery buildings were demolished in 19 ...
and Duderstadt from 1945 by the establishment of the
inner German border
The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...
. Operations on the line were gradually reduced until traffic ended on the last part of the line in 2001 and it finally dismantled by 2005.
The Kanonenbahn was also interrupted by the establishment of the inner German border between Schwebda (
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
) and
Geismar (Thuringia), which greatly reduced the importance of the Hessian section of the line. Passenger services were gradually reduced until they were discontinued in 1994 and a little later this part of the line was closed.
A second track was added to the Halle–Hann. Münden railway and it was electrified up to 1994 as part of German Unity Transport Project No. 6 (''Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit Nr. 6''). An
electronic interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively re ...
was established in Leinefelde station as one of the first in Thuringia, controlling the
Heilbad Heiligenstadt
Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a spa town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Eichsfeld district.
Geography
Heiligenstadt is approximately 14 km east of the tripoint where the states of Thuringia, Hesse and Lower Saxony meet. It lies ...
–
Gernrode
Gernrode () is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.[Bad Langensalza
Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany.
Geography Location
Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands along t ...]
sections.
Platforms
The platform are fully accessible by lifts.
Rail services
From the 2009/2010 timetable change on 13 December 2009 until the timetable change on 2014/2015, there were services on Friday of the ''Kyffhäuser''
Intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
service from
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
via
Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe and
Halle (Saale)
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...
to
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, which also stopped in Leinefelde. The return service from Leipzig to Frankfurt ran on Sundays. This weekly service was the only long-distance service on the line.
In the 2017 timetable, Leinefelde station is served by the following services:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leinefelde station
Railway stations in Thuringia
Railway stations in Germany opened in 1867
Buildings and structures in Eichsfeld (district)