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The North–South railway (German: ''Nord-Süd-Strecke'') is an amalgamation of several railway lines in Germany that came to significant importance in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and are therefore commonly regarded as a single entity. During the
division of Germany Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics * Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military * Division (military), a formation typically consisti ...
, it was the most important and the most densely used long-distance line of the
Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...
. Since 1991, after the opening of the
Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway The Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway was the first of several high-speed railway lines for InterCityExpress traffic that were built in Germany. While technically starting in the village of Rethen and ending at Würzburg Hauptbahnhof, it i ...
, the line mainly sees local passenger trains, freight trains and night services, as the long-distance services almost exclusively use the new line.


History

The single lines on the route were quite notable, however the long-distance traffic
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
Fulda
Frankfurt 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 it ...
/
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...
was negligible. Most trains between Hanover and Frankfurt were routed via
Kassel Central Station Kassel Hauptbahnhof is a Deutsche Bahn railway station in the city of Kassel, in the German state of Hesse. Situated in the central borough of Mitte, it is the city's second important railway station after the opening of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe in 1 ...
and the Main-Weser Railway, and many trains to
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
ran via
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 ...
/ Halle and the Saal Railway line.


Post-1945

The situation changed drastically after World War II – Germany was divided in half, and, owing to the
Wanfried Agreement The Wanfried Agreement (German: ''Wanfrieder Abkommen'') concerned a transfer of territory between the U.S. and Soviet occupation zones after World War II in Hesse, Germany, which took place after the determination of the main inner German bord ...
, all of the lines forming the North-South line were situated inside
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. As the connection via Leipzig and Halle was no longer available, the lines had to carry most of the traffic, which had shifted from Germany's previous East-West orientation. Providing a convenient bypass around the GDR, the lines also took international trains like the
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
expresses. The
Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...
favoured the faster connection via Hanover, Fulda and Würzburg over the Main-Weser Railway which had the disadvantage of the
terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...
in Kassel, among others. With the Main-Weser Railway taking most of the freight traffic, the passenger traffic on the North–South railway increased steadily in the 1950s and 1960s. The line saw massive investments, among them the 1963
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
. The maximum speed was increased wherever possible, with several stretches of line permitting speeds of 160 km/h and 200 km/h on some short stretches between
Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. It is one o ...
and Hanau. However, other places like Eichenberg or
Bebra Bebra () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Bebra lies some south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ''Fuldakni ...
became severe bottlenecks, only permitting speeds of 100 km/h or even lower. It was foreseeable since the 1960s that the existing railway line would be too overloaded and too slow for the traffic demand expected in West Germany. The situation worsened when the ''
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 was introduced in 1972 and 1979, and the old line was amended by the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line, whose Fulda-Würzburg part opened in 1988, the Hanover-Fulda part following in 1991.


Since 1991

The ''
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
'' trains from and to Hanover use the high-speed line north of Fulda. Trains going to Frankfurt use the Frankfurt branch of the old line. The section Bebra-Fulda sees ICE services from Dresden to Frankfurt. Between Göttingen and Hanover, the former InterRegio services now run as ''
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 ...
'' trains, calling at
Alfeld Alfeld is a town in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Located on the Leine river, it is the second biggest city in the district of Hildesheim in southern Lower Saxony and part of the Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsbur ...
,
Kreiensen Kreiensen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Einbeck. Geography Kreiensen is situated on the river Leine, approx. north of Northeim, and so ...
and
Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document ...
. Other than that, the Nord-Süd-Strecke sees almost exclusively ''
RegionalExpress In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
'' and '' RegionalBahn'' trains as well as a high number of freight trains. Some night trains operated by '' DB NachtZug'' use the line at night to prolong travel times to prevent a too early arrival at their destination.


Route

The North–South Line is made up of several historically developed railway lines:


Hannover–Göttingen–Friedland

The section from Göttingen is part of the
Hanoverian Southern Railway The Hanoverian Southern Railway (German: ''Hannöversche Südbahn'') is a historical term but it is still a common name for the line between Hanover and Kassel. It is a German main line railway in Lower Saxony and is one of the oldest lines in G ...
that was opened in 1854 (Hanover–Kassel–
Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...
–Frankfurt am Main). Important stations are Alfeld (Leine) and Northeim. In 1867, a branch line via Friedland was built to Arenshausen to connect the Halle-Kassel Railway with Göttingen and the Southern Railway (''Südbahn''). This part of the line mostly runs in the
Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver, ...
river valley.


Friedland–Bebra

In 1876, after
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
had annexed the
Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...
and
Kurhessen The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its pri ...
, the Prussian railways built a connection between the Hanoverian Southern Railway and the
Frankfurt–Bebra railway The Frankfurt–Bebra railway runs from Bebra to Frankfurt am Main via Fulda, Gelnhausen, Hanau and Offenbach am Main in south central Germany. The southern section between Fulda and Frankfurt is known as the Kinzig Valley railway (german: Kin ...
via
Bad Sooden-Allendorf Bad Sooden-Allendorf is a spa town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The spa town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf lies in the Werra valley near the Hoher Meißner, right on the boundary with Thuringia, almost at Germany's ...
and
Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh '' Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river W ...
. Near Eichenberg and
Cornberg Cornberg is a municipality in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany. It is the district's smallest municipality. Geography Location The community lies between the towns of Bad Hersfeld to the south and Eschwege to the ...
, four tunnels had to be built.


Bebra–Fulda–Frankfurt am Main

The line was opened in 1868 as the
Frankfurt–Bebra railway The Frankfurt–Bebra railway runs from Bebra to Frankfurt am Main via Fulda, Gelnhausen, Hanau and Offenbach am Main in south central Germany. The southern section between Fulda and Frankfurt is known as the Kinzig Valley railway (german: Kin ...
. The section from Hanau and Fulda is now known as the Kinzig Valley Railway and the section between Fulda and Bebra is known as the
Bebra–Fulda railway The Bebra–Fulda railway is a continuously double track and electrified main line. Its construction commenced as part of the Bebra–Hanau Railway or Kurhessen State Railway (german: Kurhessischen Staatsbahn). After the Prussian annexation of th ...
. Between
Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southe ...
and Fulda, it leaves the valley of the Fulda. Originally, the line connected Flieden to
Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
using a
zig zag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
, then went down again to
Schlüchtern Schlüchtern is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hessen, Germany. It is located on the river Kinzig, approximately 30 km southwest of Fulda. Schlüchtern has a population close to 16,000. Location Schlüchtern is located in the '' Be ...
. This section has been cut off since 1914 by the Distelrasen Tunnel. From Schlüchtern, the line follows the Kinzig river, ultimately leading to Frankfurt via Gelnhausen and Hanau. Between Hanau and Frankfurt there are two lines, the north bank line and the south bank line.


Flieden–Gemünden

The Flieden–Gemünden railway, built in 1872, is a very curvy line that is rich in tunnels. It leads through the valleys of the rivers Fliede, Kinzig and
Sinn In the philosophy of language, the distinction between sense and reference was an idea of the German philosopher and mathematician Gottlob Frege in 1892 (in his paper "On Sense and Reference"; German: "Über Sinn und Bedeutung"), reflecting the ...
, following the Sinn until it meets the
Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
near Gemünden.


Gemünden–Würzburg

Traffic on the North–South Line uses the
Main-Spessart Railway Main-Spessart is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northwest of Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Lower Franconia and derives its name from the river Main and the wooded hills of the Spessart. Geography The district is bounded by (from the nort ...
, which mostly runs in the valley of the river
Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
between Gemünden and Würzburg.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North-South railway Railway lines in Lower Saxony Railway lines in Hesse Railway lines in Bavaria