Sangerhausen–Erfurt Railway
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The Sangerhausen–Erfurt railway is a two-track, electrified railway, which is located mainly in the north of the German state of
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
; a small section is in southwestern
Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
. It represents the southern section of the
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
(–
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
) connection, the shortest regional connection between these major Thuringian and Saxony-Anhalt cities. The timetable number of 335 applies to the whole route from Erfurt to Magdeburg, including the Sangerhausen–Erfurt section.


Route

The railway starts in
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
on the southern edge of the
Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...
in Saxony-Anhalt. After having crossed the Thuringian border a few kilometres to the south, it reaches Artern on the
Unstrut The Unstrut ( or ) is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Ba ...
. The line crosses the Unstrut and follows the river through the ''Diamantene Aue'' lowlands to the ''Thüringer Pforte'' (Thuringian Gate) at
Heldrungen Heldrungen is a town and a former municipality in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town An der Schmücke. Nearby rivers are the Unstrut and the Wipper. It is known for its fortification ...
. Beyond this gorge of the Unstrut, between the ridges of
Hainleite The Hainleite is a Muschelkalk ridge of hills up to in northern Thuringia, Germany. Geography This heavily wooded landscape lies between Bleicherode in Nordhausen district, Sondershausen in Kyffhäuser district, Bad Frankenhausen, Dingel ...
to the west and
Schmücke The Schmücke, also called the Kahle Schmücke, is a hill ridge up to and only about 7 km² in area.Area measurement usinGeopfade(kmz, 10 kB) It lies within the districts of Kyffhäuserkreis and Landkreis Sömmerda, Sömmerda in the Ger ...
to the east, the line enters the
Thuringian Basin The Thuringian Basin () is a depression (geology), depression in the central and northwest part of Thuringia in Germany which is crossed by several rivers, the longest of which is the Unstrut. It stretches about from north to south and around fro ...
. It passes through agricultural lowlands via
Sömmerda Sömmerda () is a town near Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, on the Unstrut river. It is the capital of the Sömmerda (district), district of Sömmerda. History Archeological digs in the area that is now Sömmerda, formerly Leubingen, have uncove ...
to
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
.


History

The railway line was built by the Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company (''Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft''). It was opened in 1880, with the first section opened from Sangerhausen to Artern on 15 July. The second section was opened from Artern to Erfurt on 24 October 1881. The line then became the third north-south link between central Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt and the Harz region. Previously completed were the
Thuringian Railway Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon s ...
from Halle in the east and the Wolkramshausen–Erfurt railway in the west. It served above all the traffic between Magdeburg (then capital of the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...
and Erfurt (then seat of a government district and the third largest city in the Province of Saxony). It was taken over by the Prussian government in 1886. A second track was built between Erfurt and Sömmerda, but the second track was dismantled in 1946 to provide reparations. The railway was modernised and electrified at the end of the 1990s. The Sangerhausen–Artern and Sömmerda–Erfurt sections are now double-track.


Operations

In passenger transport, two services now operate on 120-minute cycles, jointly providing an hourly service. The
Regional-Express 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 a top speed of and an average speed of about as it calls at fewer stations than ''R ...
 10 (Magdeburg–Erfurt) service is operated by DB Regio with
Siemens Desiro The Siemens Desiro (, , ) is a family of Diesel multiple unit, diesel or electric multiple unit passenger trains developed by Siemens Mobility, a division of the German Siemens, Siemens AG conglomerate. The main variants are the Desiro Classic, ...
Classic (class 642) diesel multiple units and the
Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...
 59 (Sangerhausen–Erfurt) service is operated by Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland with Talent 2 electric multiple units. Freight trains are operated particularly in through traffic (as an alternative route from Halle/
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
to
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
) and to Erfurt Ost (industrial siding) and Sömmerda (to and from the
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
car engine works in Kölleda).


Others

Since December 2015, Reinsdorf station has been served only during the evening and on weekends and public holidays.


References


Notes


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sangerhausen-Erfurt railway Railway lines in Thuringia Railway lines opened in 1880 1880 establishments in Germany