Brunswick–Magdeburg railway
Magdeburg station
Overview
Native name	Bahnstrecke Braunschweig–Magdeburg
Line number	1900Brunswick–Helmstedt 6400Helmstedt–Eilsleben 6110Eilsleben–Magdeburg
Locale	Lower Saxony andSaxony-Anhalt, Germany
Service
Route number	310
Technical
Line length	83.0 km (51.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 HzAC Overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph) (Brunswick-Helmstedt, maximum) 160 km/h (99 mph) (Helmstedt-Magdeburg, maximum)
Route map Legend from Hanoverand Hildesheim from Salzgitterand Bad Harzburg 3.4 Brunswick Hbf from and to Gifhorn 5.7 Schmiedekamp junction to Brunswick marshalling yard 7.0 Grüner Jäger 7.6 Buchhorst junction from Brunswick marshalling yard 9.5 Weddel 9.7 Weddel junction to Wolfsburg 13.8 Schandelah 14.8 A 39 16.4 to Oebisfelde 18.5 Bornum b. Königslutter 23.0 Königslutter 27.2 Lelm (Krs. Helmstedt) 31.4 Frellstedt 33.7 Wolsdorf from Oebisfelde from Wolfenbüttel 38.8 17.7 Helmstedt 14.9 Lower Saxony–Saxony-Anhalt state border from Völpke 13.8 Harbke crossover from Beendorf 8.8 Marienborn 156 m 5.2 Wefensleben from Schöningen 0.0 171.7 Eilsleben (b Magdeburg) 144 m to Haldensleben to Blumenberg 167.8 Ovelgünne 162.7 Dreileben-Drackenstedt 160.0 Ochtmersleben 156.3 Wellen (b Magdeburg) 151.1 Niederndodeleben 92 m Schrote viaduct/A 14 144.8 Magdeburg-Sudenburg to Halberstadtand Halle (Saale) 141.8 Magdeburg Hbf 139.6 Magdeburg-Neustadt from Stendal to Berlin Source: German railway atlas[1]

TheBrunswick–Magdeburg railway is an 83-kilometre-long (52 mi)German main line railway. It is with theBerlin–Lehrte railway and theHanover–Berlin high-speed line one of the most important east-west lines betweenHanover andBerlin. Important intermediate stations areKönigslutter,Helmstedt andEilsleben.

It is now used mainly for east-west freight traffic, as well asIntercity andRegionalbahn trains.

Brunswick (German:Braunschweig) andMagdeburg had already been connected with a railway line viaWolfenbüttel,Jerxheim andOschersleben in 1843. This line took a southerly route, taking advantage of easy terrain. In Wolfenbüttel it connected with theBrunswick–Bad Harzburg line and in Oschersleben it connected with theMagdeburg–Halberstadt line. This connected the lines of theDuchy of Brunswick State Railway andMagdeburg-Halberstädt Railway Company (German:Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, MHE).

This was followed in 1844 by theHanover–Brunswick railway and in 1846 by theMagdeburg–Potsdam line. In 1845 theOld Brunswick station was opened as a terminus.

As traffic increased, the MHE sought from the early 1860s to build a direct Berlin-Hanover line. This was initially rejected by the governments of theKingdom of Hanover andDuchy of Brunswick. After Hanover lost thewar of 1866, and were annexed byPrussia, the MHE set about building its Berlin-Lehrte line viaStendal. This route bypassed the cities of Magdeburg and Brunswick and threatened the importance of the line of theBerlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway Company (German:Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburger Eisenbahngesellschaft, BPME), especially since it connected in the west only to the network of its rival, the MHE.

The BPME considered several options for a dedicated connection between its main line and the formerDuchy of Brunswick State Railway network, which had been privatised and was now theBrunswick Railway Company (Braunschweigische Eisenbahngesellschaft). While it was clear that its eastern end would be in Magdeburg, in the west several variants were discussed. Brunswick was an important destination and connected well to the west, but had an unfavourable terminal station. It was decided to build a line from Magdeburg toEilsleben, where it would branch toHelmstedt andSchöningen. From Helmstedt theBrunswick Railway Company would continue the line to Brunswick, while in Schöningen there had been since 1868 aconnection to Jerxheim, which hada link toBörßum and theBrunswick Southern Railway toKreiensen. It there connected withGöttingen andKassel via theHanoverian Southern Railway and viaAltenbeken to theRuhr district via theAltenbeken–Kreiensen railway. This gave the new line the same connections to the west as the MHE’s main line.

Between Eilsleben and Brunswick the line crosses theLappwald ridge and theElm hills. The line is winding and passes over embankments and through cuttings. The line was opened on 15 September 1872.

While the Berlin–Lehrte line, opened a year earlier, remained the fastest line for passenger between Hanover and Berlin, the line via Helmstedt also carried passenger traffic between the two cities and traffic from Hanover toHalle andLeipzig. In addition, substantial freight traffic was carried on both branches. In 1937 five express trains ran each day each way on the line.

Since the line passed through relatively undemanding terrain and has no large structures, it was only impassable for a few days during and afterWorld War II. The allies decided to use this line exclusively for the military transport of the Western powers in Berlin. The Berlin–Lehrte line remained usable, but was used less.

In 1960, the currentBrunswick Hauptbahnhof opened, which removed the need for trains between Magdeburg and Hanover to reverse.

Rail transport between Helmstedt and Eilsleben was reopened under theTransit Agreement of 1972. In the 1980s, there were negotiations betweenWest Germany andEast Germany over an expansion of the transit routes. East Germany preferred the Lehrte line, to keep transit traffic out of Potsdam and Magdeburg. In the West, however, there were discussions of improved connections with Brunswick.

After the fall ofthe wall it was quickly decided to build a high-speed line between Hanover and Berlin. However, it was also clear that the construction would take several years. The initial experience with speed lines also showed that a separation of freight and high speed passenger traffic made sense. Under theGerman Unity Transport Projects, it was decided to restore as quickly as possible the existing routes and to electrify lines that were intended primarily for freight later. The core of this plan was the Helmstedt–Magdeburg line. In 1993 it was upgraded for operations at 160 km/h and electrified. In the east it connected with theBiederitz–Dessau line, which in turn connected atGüterglück with a now closed section of the formerCanon railway, leading to Berlin. Thedirect line to Berlin via Brandenburg (Havel) and Potsdam was electrified in 1995.

In 1991 the first diesel-poweredIntercity train ran from Hanover via Brunswick and Magdeburg to Berlin. Two years later the firstIntercity-Express (ICE) ran on the line. The major change came in 1998 when theHanover–Berlin high-speed line opened. Since then, the hourly ICE trains between Frankfurt and Berlin run on the line only on the 5 km section between Brunswick and the junction with theWeddel loop.

Intercity passenger trains on the line Leipzig-Magdeburg-Hanover-Cologne/Oldenburg serve the line approximately hourly, provided by the IC 55Dresden –Leipzig –Magdeburg –Hannover –Dortmund –Cologne and the IC 56 Leipzig – Magdeburg – Hannover –Bremen –Oldenburg, each running every two hours. In addition, there is aRegionalbahn services (the RB 40) that runs every hour on weekdays between Helmstedt and Magdeburg.

The line is heavily used for freight. It is part of an electrified corridor connecting theCzech Republic and the industrial regions ofSaxony andSaxony-Anhalt with the German andDutch seaports on theNorth Sea.

• Brunhouse, Jay (July 27, 1986)."The Paranoia Express".Los Angeles Times. Retrieved2 April 2013.
• Hörstel, Jürgen (1998).Hannover–Berlin. Geschichte und Bau einer Schnellbahnverbindung (Hanover-Berlin. History and construction of a high speed line (in German). Stuttgart: transpress.ISBN 3-613-71088-9.
• Fricke, Hans-Joachim; Ritzau, Hans-Joachim (1992).Die innerdeutsche Grenze und der Schienenverkehr (The inner-German border and the railway) (in German). Vol. 3. Pürgen: Verlag Zeit und Eisenbahn.ISBN 3-921304-45-8.

• Media related toBraunschweig–Magdeburg railway line at Wikimedia Commons
• Across an Imagined Border (on the "Main Line of the Cold War") Riding with the engineer (engine driver) on a Magdeburg - Hannover run in 2002.
• Scheduling the complex "Main Line of the Cold War" A letter from Dr. Wolfgang Bauer of the Deutsche Bundesbahn.
• Cold War incident in Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof.

• Railway lines in Lower Saxony
• Railway lines in Saxony-Anhalt
• Railway lines in Magdeburg
• Transport in Braunschweig
• Buildings and structures in Magdeburg
• Buildings and structures in Helmstedt (district)
• Buildings and structures in Wolfenbüttel (district)
• Railway lines opened in 1872
• 1872 establishments in Germany

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• Germany articles missing geocoordinate data
• All articles needing coordinates
• Articles missing coordinates without coordinates on Wikidata