The Leipzig Hauptbahnhof–Leipzig-Connewitz railway is a double track electrified main line in the German state of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. It used to be a short link line from

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (Leipzig main station, ) is the central railway terminus in Leipzig, Germany, in the district Mitte. At , it is Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train ...

(Central Station) to Connewitz station, where it connects with the main line from Leipzig to Hof. The line was closed for good between Leipzig Hbf and Leipzig-Stötteritz in November 2012.

History

As a successful private company the

Leipzig–Dresden Railway Company The Leipzig–Dresden Railway Company (german: Leipzig-Dresdner Eisenbahn-Compagnie or LDE) was a private railway company in the Kingdom of Saxony, now a part of Germany. Amongst other things, it operated the route between Leipzig and Dresden, ope ...

(german: Leipzig-Dresdner Eisenbahn-Compagnie) was mainly interested in developing its network rather than linking with other railways. After its nationalisation on 1 July 1876, connection of its lines with the existing national railway network became a priority. As a result, the link from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof to the

Royal Saxon State Railways The Royal Saxon State Railways (german: Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen) were the state-owned railways operating in the Kingdom of Saxony from 1869 to 1918. From 1918 until their merger into the Deutsche Reichsbahn the title 'Royal' was d ...

line at Connewitz was opened on 20 August 1878. In the early 1960s the line was one of the first lines electrified in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

as part of the ''Saxon triangle'' project. On 15 January 1962 the first electric trains ran on the line. With the establishment of the Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn in 1968-1970, new stations were opened at Sellerhausen, Anger-Crottendorf and Messegelände (now:

Völkerschlachtdenkmal The Monument to the Battle of the Nations (german: Völkerschlachtdenkmal, sometimes shortened to ''Völki'' or ''Schlachti'') is a monument in Leipzig, Germany, to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. Paid for mo ...

). In addition, Marienbrunn was reopened. With the opening of the

Leipzig City Tunnel The City Tunnel is a twin-bore railway tunnel for the city-centre S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland, S-Bahn in Leipzig. It links Leipzig Hauptbahnhof with the central Leipzig Markt station, Markt station, Leipzig Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz railway station, Wi ...

in December 2013, the line was closed between Leipzig Hbf and Stötteritz. The main reason for this is the avoidance of the costs of the otherwise necessary reconstruction of dilapidated bridges in Stötteritz and Sellerhausen. Due to necessary construction works before opening the tunnel and to connect it to the existing railway network the line has already been closed for good between Leipzig Hbf and Leipzig-Stötteritz on November 24, 2012. Since then the line was also out of service between Leipzig-Stötteritz and Leipzig-Connewitz, but was reopened in this part together with the City Tunnel in December 2013. All passenger traffic on the line between Gaschwitz, Leipzig-Connewitz and Leipzig Hauptbahnhof travels via the City Tunnel. Therefore, the former station at Leipzig-Marienbrunn was not reopened, the section between Tabakmühle junction and Leipzig-Connewitz remains for freight traffic only.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leipzig Hbf-Leipzig-Connewitz railway Railway lines in Saxony Transport in Leipzig Railway lines opened in 1878 Railway lines closed in 2012