Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway

Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway
Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle railway in red. Other high-speed lines in black or orange.
Overview
Native name	Neubaustrecke Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle
Line number	5919
Operation
Opened	9 December 2015
Technical
Line length	123 km (76 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	Standard: 6,300 m (20,700 ft)[1][2]
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead catenary
Operating speed	300 km/h (190 mph)[1][2]
Maximum incline	1.25%
Route number	504
Route map Legend km High-speed line from Nuremberg From Bebra 191.7 Erfurt Hbf To Nordhausen, To Sangerhausen To Halle (via Weimar) Scherkonde valley bridge (572 m) 217,3 Großbrembach operations station Laucha-Kölleda Railway Gänsebach valley bridge (1,012 m) Thuringia / Saxony-Anhalt border Finne tunnel (6,886 m) 237.0 Saubachtal operations station Saubach valley bridge (248 m, finished) Bibra tunnel (6,414 m) Unstrut valley bridge (2,668 m) Naumburg–Reinsdorf Railway Osterberg tunnel (2,072 m) 252,7 Jüdendorf operations station Stöbnitz valley bridge (297 m) Merseburg–Querfurt Railway Merseburg–Schafstädt Railway A 38 270.0 Dörstewitz operations station Merseburg–Halle-Nietleben Railway 272.3 Widerlager West Saale-Elster valley bridge (6,465 m) Saale 274.4 PlanenaJunction (2,112 m) Weiße Elster 2.112 Widerlager Nord Saale-Elster valley bridge From Erfurt Weiße Elster 278.8 Widerlager Ost Saale-Elster valley bridge Halle (Saale) Hbf To Magdeburg, To Berlin 285.5 Gröbers To Leipzig 287,0 Gröbers Ost Saxony-Anhalt / Saxony border A 9 293.3 Leipzig/Halle Airport From Dessau 305.7 Leipzig Messe Leipzig freight bypass from Leipzig-Wahren 307.1 Leipzig-Mockau Leipzig freight bypass, to Eilenburg–Cottbus From Halle, from Großkorbetha From Dresden 311.9 Leipzig Hbf Source: German railway atlas[3]

The Erfurt–Leipzig/ Halle high-speed rail line is a 123 km-long German high-speed railway, between Erfurt and Leipzig/Halle. It is listed in the Germany's federal transport plan as German Unity rail project no 8.1 and is a section of the high-speed route Munich–Berlin, a part of the Line 1 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).^[4] It connects in the north to the Anhalt Railway to Berlin and in the south to the Nuremberg-Erfurt high-speed rail line. After completion of the entire line the travel time between Munich and Berlin will be reduced to three hours and 45 minutes.

The high-speed line is used by a mixture of freight trains and ICEs. Travel time on the line for the 120 km between Erfurt and Leipzig for ICEs is 39 minutes (compared to about 65 min before) and between Erfurt and Halle it is half an hour (about 75 min before).

The total cost is expected to amount to more than € 2.6 billion.^[5] The Saale-Elster viaduct is the longest bridge in Germany with an overall length of approximately 8,700 metres. The project is being managed by DB ProjektBau, a subsidiary Deutsche Bahn. The line was inaugurated on 9 December 2015.^[6]

The connection to Leipzig/Halle Airport allows fast freight trains to connect to DHL’s air freight network.

Planning

Planning of the line began in 1991. Five main options with numerous sub-options were examined and in June 1994 the Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development selected the current route. Detailed planning approval was obtained for all twelve planning statement sections between 1994 and 1996 under an accelerated planning law adopted for new transport routes in the new German States (the former East Germany). Construction commenced in October 1996 at Leipzig and finished in December 2015.

Route

Planena junction of the Saale-Elster viaduct, at 8.6 km the longest railway bridge on a long-distance line in Europe

The new line runs north of the existing Erfurt-Weissenfels-Leipzig route in the Thuringian Basin past Buttstädt, crosses the Finn hills between Rastenberg and Bad Bibra and crosses the Unstrut near Karsdorf. The 6.5 km-long Saale-Elster viaduct crosses some meadows in the Saale and the Weiße Elster valleys between Schkopau and Halle that are part of a protected area under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. In the center of this bridge, a grade-separated junction connects to another 2.1 km viaduct to connect the new line to Halle via the existing Weißenfels–Halle line. Halle station is 11.8 kilometers from the junction with the new line.

The line continues to Leipzig by linking with the existing Halle-Leipzig line at Gröbers, where freight trains for Leipzig will leave the new line. Passenger trains will stop at the Leipzig/Halle Airport station. The line here runs for 13 km (290 to 303 km marks) on the southern side of the A 14. The foundation stone for the line between Gröbers and Leipzig was laid on 3 October 1996 and it was opened on 30 June 2003.

At Leipzig Wiederitzsch the new line joins the Berlin-Leipzig line running southward eight km north of Leipzig station.

Engineering

The engineering of the new line is based on a maximum grade of 1.25% designed for a maximum speed of 300 km/h. It is intended to replace lost ecological habitats and landscapes by reclaiming 16 square kilometres of land used for the dumping of excess earth.

Engineering structures

15.4 km of the line form part of three planned tunnels, which are each composed of two single-track tubes, with centres approximately 25 m apart. Emergency passages will connect the main tubes at a maximum spacing of 1000 m. 13.4 km of the line form part of six proposed viaducts.

Equipment

The line is equipped with ETCS train control system. The line has been built on slab track. Three new electrical substations were built near Bachsted, Saubach and Dörstewitz.

Construction

Slab track in Halle/Leipzig Airport station

The 23 km line, costing euro 370 million, from Leipzig to Gröbers has been finished and in service since June 2003, including new stations at Leipzig Messe (exhibition ground) and Leipzig/Halle Airport. In December 2006, the Saubach viaduct, begun in 2004, was completed as the first large engineering structure of the line.

Construction began in October 2005 on the reconstruction of the southern entry to Halle (cost: € 92.5 million); this work was expected to be completed in 2008. In 2005, tenders were called for the Saale-Elster viaduct and the contract was let in 2006. In January 2007, tenders were called for the Unstrut viaduct. In December 2006, a contract was let for the Finne tunnels, with a planned commencement of work in 2007 and completion in late 2011.

In December 2006 the Federal Government and Deutsche Bahn gave the completion date as 2015.^[7]

On 3 March 2010, both the Bibra and Finne Tunnels (6,466m and 6, 970m respectively) achieved breakthroughs. The entire line was opened on 9 December 2015. The new journey times are put at Erfurt - Leipzig 39 mins (previously 70 mins) and Berlin - Munich will be "around" 4 hours (previously approx. 6 hours), including the travel time reduction from the currently under construction Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway.^[8]

See also

• High-speed rail in Germany

Notes

1. PB DE: Abschnitt Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle
2. Marcus Schenkel: Verkehrsprojekte Deutsche Einheit Nr. 8.2, Eisenbahn-Neubaustrecke Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle:Saale-Elster-Talbrücke. In:ZEVrail, Glasers Annalen. 131, Nr. 8, 2007, pp. 312–328
3. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
4. "TEN-T priority axes and projects 2005" (PDF). Trans-European Transport Network. European Commission. 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-15. (14.4 MB)
5. Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs: Federal framework transport investment plan for the period to 2010, April 2007 (German)
6. "Erfurt – Leipzig opening will cut journey times". Railway Gazette International. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
7. Bundestag: Unterstützerkreis für ICE-Strecke Nürnberg–Leipzig gegründet, eurailpress.de of 20 December 2006 (German)
8. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/high-speed-tunnels-broken-through.html

External links

• Line map on the Deutsche Bahn site (PDF, 3,1 MB) (German)
• Information on the Deutsche Bahn site (German)
• PB DE: Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle section (pdf) (German)
• KuK: Viaducts on the new line (German)