Magdeburg–Thale Railway

The Magdeburg–Thale railway is a predominantly single-track, non-electrified main line railway that connects Thale, in the northern Harz, with Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt. Its eastern section between Magdeburg and Halberstadt was opened in 1843 and it is one of the oldest railways in Germany.

History

The Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company (german: Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft, MHE) opened the Magdeburg–Halberstadt line on 15 July 1843. The extension from Halberstadt to Thale was opened in 1862.

Its original terminus in Magdeburg was at the ''Elbbahnhof'' (Elbe station) on the Schleinufer, which had been built by the Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway Company (''Magdeburg-Leipziger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft''). The Magdeburg ''Centralbahnhof'' (central station, called the Hauptbahnhof since 1895) was not built until the 1870s.

The Magdeburg–Oschersleben section also served long-distance traffic until the division of Germany. A pair of express trains ( Durchgangszug) on the Frankfurt–Kreiensen–Berlin route and an Aachen–Berlin service ran on the section in 1929/30. In the same period a pair of long-distance trains used Fernschnellzug on the Basel–Berlin used the line.

In 1967, the Langenweddingen rail disaster occurred on the line, the worst in the history of East Germany. The accident involved a bi-level train hitting a tanker truck at a level crossing, resulting in an explosion that killed 94 people, many of them children on their way to a summer camp in the Harz mountains.

In the 1970s, four pairs of trains per day ran on the Magdeburg–Halberstadt section to or from Berlin, with some coaches to or from Thale. On 29 October 1988, the last scheduled steam-hauled train operated by East Germany railways ran between Thale and Halberstadt.

In 1992, trains operated every two hours between Halberstadt, Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder) with trains stopping at all stations between Magdeburg and Thale; some additional services operated in busy periods. In 1995 long-distance services between Magdeburg and Halberstadt were stopped completely and were replaced by Regional-Express services, operating hourly.

A collision between the ''Harz-Elbe Express'' and a freight train on the line on 29 January 2011 killed 10 people and injured 23.

The halts of Hordorf, Krottorf and Groß Quenstedt have not been served since the timetable change on 9 December 2012.

Route

The track is not electrified, except for the short section between Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof and Magdeburg-Buckau to shortly before Oschersleben and between Krottorf and Groß Quenstedt. The section between Halberstadt and Wegeleben is also duplicated, as part of the upgrading of the Halle–Halberstadt railway for tilting train operations. The rest of the line is single track.

Stations

Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof

Magdeburg's main railway station was opened in 1873.

Oschersleben

Oschersleben station is the most important station on the line to Halberstadt. It was built together with the construction of the line to Brunswick. The southern side of the V-shaped station (German: Keilbahnhof) serves trains to Halberstadt and the northern side formerly served trains to Jerxheim and Brunswick and the trains of the Oschersleben–Schöningen railway. The station building is located between the tracks and originally contained the customs and passport control facilities for travelling between the Duchy of Brunswick and the Kingdom of Prussia. After the division of Germany after 1945, the route to Jerxheim was closed and in consequence the northern side of the station lost most of its purpose. Until 1991, a few daily passenger trains shuttled from there to the border town of Gunsleben. In recent years a few trains from Magdeburg terminated on the north side of the station. Meanwhile, the tracks and the large reception hall on the north side are virtually unused.

Halberstadt

Halberstadt station is a major transfer point to the northern Harz rail network. There are interchanges to Halle, Magdeburg, Hanover, Thale, Hildesheim, Goslar and Blankenburg. Halberstadt station is also connected to the local tram and bus networks. The railway tracks in Halberstadt station were modernized in recent years.

Wegeleben

Wegeleben station used to have a lobby and a restaurant. After the change passenger numbers decreased and these facilities were closed. Further modifications were made, and in 2007 the station was modernized. It now has two platforms, a bypass track and new signalling systems.

Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg station was built in 1863 as a through station. In 2004 the Frose–Quedlinburg line closed. In 2006 the extension of the metre gauge Selke Valley Railway was opened from Gernrode

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