Dresden – Werdau railway line

	from Děčín hl.n.
-0.048	Dresden Central Station	117 m
	to Dresden-Neustadt
1.100	Abzw Dresden Altstadt
	from Dresden old town Elbe river
1.500	Dresden old town	120 m
2.922	Dresden-Plauen (from 1926)	135 m
3.700	Dresden-Plauen (until 1926)	139 m
0	Felsenkeller tunnel, demolished in 1895 (56 m)
3.820	Bk rock cellar
4.600	Federal motorway 17
5.528	to Tharandt (freight train track)
5.670	Freital East	155 m
5.717	to Possendorf
6.844	Freital-Potschappel	162 m
	Narrow gauge railway to Nossen and
	Niederhermsdorfer coal branch line
8.736	Freital-Deuben	176 m
10.092	Freital-Hainsberg Hp	187 m
	Narrow-gauge railway to the health resort Kipsdorf
11,550	Freital-Hainsberg West	190 m
	from Abzw Freital Ost
13,705	Tharandt	208 m
15.920	Bk Broad reason
17.937	Noble crown	281 m
18.200	Edle Krone tunnel (122 m)
	Maximum slope 26 ‰ (1: 37.5)
21.520	Bk sea pond
25,369	Klingenberg-Colmnitz	436 m
	Narrow-gauge railways to Frauenstein and Oberdittmannsdorf
27.450	Colmnitz viaduct (148 m) and the Klingenberg-C. – Oberdittmannsdorf route
30.845	Niederbobritzsch	407 m
31.250	Niederbobritzsch Viaduct (175 m)
	Üst Niederbobritzsch
35.884	Muldenhütten	395 m
36.490	Viaduct Muldenhütten (196 m)
38.510	Kunstgraben tunnel, removed (36 m)
	from neck bridge
	from (Moldava–) Holzhau
40.005	Freiberg (Sachs)	413 m
	to Nossen
42.430	Bk Hospitalwald	430 m
42.810	Nossen – Moldava
45.380	Small business	415 m
45.500	Bk small company
48.720	Frankenstein Viaduct (349 m)
49.815	Frankenstein (Sachs)	396 m
52.240	Bk cold field
54.380	Bk Memmendorf
57.149	Oederan	407 m
59.100	Bk Breitenau
61.560	Bk Hetzdorf
	(Re-routing 1992)
61.897	Hetzbachtal Bridge (344 m)
62,300	Viaduct Hetzdorf (326 m) ( Flöhatalbahn )
62,805	Bridge Flöhatal (344 m) (Flöhatalbahn)

63,600 64,566	Kilometer jump −966 m
64,600	Falkenau (Sachs) South (formerly Bf)	310 m
	from Reitzenhain
	from Annaberg-Buchholz unt Bf
67.365	Flea	278 m
67.625	EÜ Bundesstrasse 180
68,079	Zschopau (65 m)
70.037	Freight track to Chemnitz Hbf (start of route 6261)
70.130	Abzwiesa Stw 1	290 m
70.170	EÜ Bundesstrasse 173
	from Roßwein
71.280	Niederwiesa	291 m
73.180	At the substation
73.620	Bk Ebersdorf	306 m
75,405	Bk Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf Stw A
76.021 0.000	Change of route (start of route 6257)

0.400	Bk Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf Hp
0.491	Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf Hp	325 m
76.520	Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf	320 m
0.627	EÜ Bundesstrasse 169
76.648	EÜ Bundesstrasse 169
77.320	First Raw "Wilhelm Pieck" and the Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf railway power station
1,865	Bk Chemnitz North	310 m
2,200	Chemnitz main station external station
	Connecting curves to Küchwald and to Abzw Chemnitz-Furth
2.800	First Raw " Wilhelm Pieck "

3,098 78,600	Change of route (end of route 6257)
	from Riesa
	from Neukieritzsch
79.717	Chemnitz central station	302 m
	Connecting track to the Chemnitz tram
79.960	Freight track from Abzw Niederwiesa Stw 1 (end of line 6261)
	to Adorf (Vogtl)
81.775	Chemnitz Süd Hp (wedge station)	312 m
82.030	Bk Chemnitz South
82,360	Becker Bridge (275 m), Bundesstrasse 95 , Chemnitz
82.975	Chemnitz center	307 m
83,480	Chemnitz-Kappel (08.01.2000 to 30.10.2011 Bk)	310 m
83.940	EÜ Bundesstrasse 169/173
85.593	Chemnitz-Schönau	320 m
85.900	Bk Schönau
	Federal motorway 72
87.987	Chemnitz-Siegmar	326 m
91.240	Grüna (Sachs) Hp	350 m
	from Limbach (Sachs) and from Küchwald
	to Neuoelsnitz
94.317	Desert fire	378 m
95.907	Bk Oberlungwitz
98.230	Hohenstein-Ernstthal	345 m
98.654	Tram Hohenstein-Ernstthal-Oelsnitz
99.700	Hüttengrund Viaduct (150 m)
101.220	Bk Hermsdorf
	from Stollberg (Sachs)
104.914	St. Egidien	283 m
107.762	Bk Lobsdorf
109.500	Bk Niederlungwitz
	from (Wurzen–) Großbothen
112.140	Glauchau (Sachs)	244 m
114.310	Bk Gesau
115.992	Glauchau-Schönbörnchen	258 m
	to Goessnitz
	Narrow-gauge railway from Ortmannsdorf
120.542	Moselle	257 m
	Industrial line to Zwickau
122.794	Oberrothenbach	265 m
123.80	Bk Niederhohndorf	266 m
125.828	Zwickau-Pölbitz	270 m
	Moselle industrial railway
	from Schwarzenberg (Erzgeb)
128.379	Zwickau (Sachs) Hbf (Keilbahnhof)
130.950	Raw "7. October"
	to Falkenstein (Vogtl)
131,600	Bk Maxhütte
132.775	Light fir (Sachs)	320 m
134.502	Bk Steinpleis
134.928	Steinpleis	310 m
135.626	Steinpleis viaduct
135.720	Werdau arch triangle Zwickauer Spitze ( Abzw )
	to Leipzig Bayer Bf
136.256	Werdau arch triangle Neumarker Spitze (Abzw)
	to Hof Hbf

Abzw Freital Ost - Tharandt
(freight train track)

Route number (DB) :

6259

Course book section (DB) :

510

Route length:

8.250 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Route class :

D4

Power system :

15 kV 16.7 Hz ~

Top speed:

120 km / h

Legend

	from Dresden
5.558	to Werdau (start of the route)
5.680	Freital Ost (Abzw)	155 m
6,170 6,182	Kilometer jump −12 m
6.844	Freital- Potschappel	162 m

	Narrow-gauge railway to Nossen , Niederhermsdorfer coal branch railway

	Connecting track to Freital-Hainsberg
	Connecting track from Freital-Potschappel
10.092	Freital-Hainsberg	187 m
	Weißeritztalbahn to Kipsdorf
	from Dresden
13,705	Tharandt	208 m
13,820	(End of route)
	to Werdau

The Dresden – Werdau railway is an electrified, double-track main line in Saxony . It runs from Dresden via Freiberg , Chemnitz and Zwickau to Werdau , where it joins the Leipzig – Hof railway line in the Werdau triangle.

The line was opened in several sections, the first section Dresden – Tharandt in 1855, the Chemnitz – Zwickau section followed in 1858, the line from Tharandt to Freiberg was extended in 1862 before the section from Chemnitz to Flöha went into operation as part of the connection to Annaberg in 1866 . The entire route was only passable in 1869, when the missing intermediate section Freiberg – Flöha was opened. From then on the railway line developed into an important connection. It has retained this importance to this day as an important section of the so-called Saxony-Franconia Magistrale from Dresden to Nuremberg .

In the first half of the 20th century, individual sections were expanded to four-track, especially in the Dresden and Chemnitz railway nodes. This served to separate passenger and freight traffic. In the second half of the 20th century, the second track, which had been dismantled after the Second World War, was rebuilt, as well as a third track between Freital Ost and Tharandt. In contrast to the original concept, nowadays all the remaining tracks are used equally by passenger and freight traffic.

history

Planning and construction

Albertsbahn ticket around 1855

Freiberg train station (1900)

Today's main line Dresden – Werdau has its origin in a number of originally independent sections. The first section was the branch line opened on September 6, 1845, from the Leipzig – Hof railway line ( Saxon-Bavarian Railway ) from today's Werdau triangle to Zwickau .

The starting point for the planning for a long-distance line from Dresden in the direction of Bavaria was a request from the mine owners in Plauenschen Grund near Dresden to be allowed to build a branch line to the hard coal works. The request was granted, so on May 4, 1853 the Albertsbahn AG was founded to build a railway from Dresden to Tharandt with the corresponding branch tracks to the mines. Opened on June 28, 1855, the new main line was named Alberts-Bahn after the Saxon Prince Albert .

On November 15, 1858, the Chemnitz – Zwickau section went into operation as part of the Niedererzgebirgische Staatsbahn Riesa – Chemnitz – Zwickau.

However, the planned extension from Tharandt to Freiberg proved to be problematic. Initially, the steep gradients between Tharandt and Freiberg were considered insurmountable, but ultimately a route with a maximum gradient of 1:40 was planned along the Seerenbach valley to Klingenberg . The following valleys of Colmnitzbach , Bobritzsch and Freiberger Mulde were to be crossed over several large bridges . At that time there was already experience with steep sections ( inclined plane , Geislinger Steige ), so that the construction of this route began in 1859. The route was opened on August 11, 1862.

There were long controversies about the missing section Freiberg – Chemnitz. A connection via Hainichen has long been favored . Ultimately, the decision was made for the shorter but more expensive option via Oederan , which in turn required a steep ramp section and the construction of several large bridges. The route of the Chemnitz-Annaberger Bahn , inaugurated in 1866, was also used between Flöha and Chemnitz ; only a second track had to be laid there. On April 1, 1869, the Freiberg – Chemnitz section was opened, so that for the first time there was a connection between the eastern and western state railways in Saxony . According to another source, the gap between Freiberg and Flöha was closed on March 1, 1869, so that the entire line between Dresden and Chemnitz could already be put into operation at that time.

In the period that followed, the now completed Dresden – Werdau main line developed into an important link in rail traffic between Silesia and southern Germany .

Further expansion around the turn of the century

Reconstruction of the Chemnitz railway system

West end of Chemnitz main station around 1910 after the six-track expansion, to the right of the platform hall the platform tracks 15/16 for the trains to Adorf and Stollberg, in front the lowered tracks to the Chemnitz Süd station . The section is now only three tracks.

In the 1880s, the Chemnitz railway junction was no longer able to cope with the increased transport services - especially in freight transport. Despite major expansions in various places (expansion of the Altchemnitz station and new construction of the Kappel freight yard), the construction of a marshalling yard had become inevitable. From various projects, the one that planned the construction south of the existing workshop station was finally selected . At the same time, the Dresden – Werdau railway line was relocated north of the workshop station. Construction began in 1896 and the marshalling yard was opened in 1902.

At the turn of the century, road traffic in the Chemnitz city area increased more and more. As the train traffic also increased, the numerous level crossings became more and more a problem, at Dresdner Platz even a railway employee with a warning flag and bell had to run in front of the train. Therefore, from January 1903, the route on the Chemnitz – Altchemnitz section was lowered and raised above road level between Altchemnitz and Chemnitz Kohlenbf. In addition, the line was expanded to four tracks on these sections. At the end of 1909, the redesign, which was carried out without interrupting operations, was completed. Since the Chemnitz – Adorf line to Einsiedel was also expanded to double tracks, there were now six tracks side by side on the Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof – Chemnitz Süd section.

After the end of the First World War , traffic continued to increase. Therefore, the four-track expansion of the Niederwiesa – Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf section, begun in 1915, was continued and finally completed in 1924. Since the Hilbersdorf marshalling yard was nowhere near enough, possible solutions were sought. The projects for a further railway line south or north of the existing main line Dresden – Werdau were not pursued further. Instead of the complicated southern bypass that was favored last, with three tunnels each about 1 km long, the existing marshalling yard was converted. Despite the renovation, which was completed in 1930, the Chemnitz main station remained a bottleneck that could not be removed.

Elevation and expansion of the railway line between Dresden and Tharandt

Level crossing over the Altplauen street in Dresden-Plauen around 1910. The Dresden-Plauen stop has been on a bridge at the same location since 1926.

The then four-track section Potschappel – Tharandt near the Pastritzmühle shortly before the Tharandt train station (before 1926). After 1945, the section was only rebuilt with three tracks.

Around 1900 the situation on the Dresden – Tharandt section was similar to that in Chemnitz; the increasing road and rail traffic caused more and more problems with the numerous level crossings. Therefore, from 1901 to 1905, the railway line was also raised here to remove the level crossings. According to other sources, the new freight facilities in Hainsberg station went into operation in 1903 , the first elevated track in the Potschappel – Hainsberg section was put into operation in October 1908, and the redesign was completed in 1911.

The basis for the expansion was a design from 1897, which provided for a redesign of the Deuben and Hainsberg stations and a four-track expansion of the Potschappel – Hainsberg section. On a continuous four-track Dresden – Tharandt line, suburban traffic every 20 to 15 minutes, including long-distance trains in between, was considered possible. Passenger and freight traffic should each have two tracks. Due to the structure of the settlement, the left pair of tracks was intended for passenger traffic, the right for freight traffic.

Due to the First World War, the missing 3 km long section between Dresden-Plauen and Potschappel, today's Freital Ost junction, could not go beyond preliminary work. The inner-city elevation in the Dresden urban area took place in 1923–1926, with the section between the Dresden-Altstadt exit and the Weißeritzbrücke at the level of the (old) Dresden-Plauen train station being limited to each of which was adjusted in height. In this train, the (old) Dresden-Plauen station was closed and replaced by a new building at its current location.

Expansion of the Zwickau railway systems

In Zwickau, too, the railway systems were no longer able to cope with traffic around 1910, as traffic had increased dramatically since the 1880s, but the traffic systems were hardly expanded. The largest freight yard in Saxony at the time was therefore to be fundamentally rebuilt, and at the same time the tracks were to be raised, similar to those in Chemnitz and Dresden, so that road traffic would no longer be hindered. Due to the First World War, the land was purchased for the time being, and the actual construction work only began after the end of the war. However, these progressed extremely slowly, so the elevation of the tracks between Zwickau Pölbitz and the main train station was not carried out until between 1921 and 1925. 11 level crossings were completely replaced. For the most part, the renovation work, during which the main station received a new reception building, was not completed until the end of the 1930s. Further construction work in the Second World War was started, but was no longer completed due to a lack of personnel and building materials.

After the Second World War

While larger sections of the line survived the Second World War largely unscathed, numerous railway systems, especially in the Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau areas, were severely damaged or completely destroyed. In contrast to other railway lines, however, no major bridges were blown up by the Wehrmacht. In 1946, however, the Dresden – Freital-Potschappel and Chemnitz Hbf – Werdau sections were dismantled down to one track, and numerous station tracks were also dismantled. Since this greatly reduced the permeability of the important railway line, some sections of the route in Dresden and Chemnitz were given a second track by the early 1950s. On most of the line, double-track was only restored in the 1960s and 1970s, until around the mid-1970s the line was completely double-tracked again. Nevertheless, the route did not regain the same importance as it did before the Second World War, as the demarcation after 1945 meant that traffic was more north-south.

electrification

After the re-electrification of the central German network, the re-electrification of the so-called Saxon Triangle and thus also the Dresden – Werdau line was one of the most important investment projects of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. In addition to significant cost savings in rail operations, the expectation was also a significant reduction in travel times, as the additional use of pushing and tensioning locomotives on the steep ramps Tharandt-Klingenberg-Colmnitz and Flöha-Oederan should be able to be abandoned with the electric traction.

Construction work on the electrical contact line began in the early 1960s. The construction of the facilities between Freiberg and Werdau proved to be relatively unproblematic. However, the electrification between Dresden and Freiberg caused greater difficulties, where considerable profile restrictions, especially at Edle Krone, hindered the construction of the contact line systems. The most important construction project in this section was the widening of the Edle Krone tunnel, as a possible lowering of the tracks proved to be impossible due to the bridges located directly on the tunnel. Many contact line masts had to be designed as special constructions with cantilevers over both tracks. The electrical operation from Werdau was opened in sections between 1963 and 1966:

opening	section	km
0October 1, 1963	(Altenburg–) Werdau – Zwickau	44.7
May 30, 1965	Zwickau – Karl-Marx-Stadt Hilbersdorf	52.3
September 26, 1965	Karl-Marx-Stadt Hilbersdorf – Freiberg	36.2
September 25, 1966	Freiberg – Dresden main station	42.6

The possible reductions in travel times were already fully effective in the winter timetable 1966/67. Steam-driven express trains needed a total of 55 minutes for the 40 kilometers between Karl-Marx-Stadt Hbf and Freiberg. After electrification, travel time there was reduced to just 35 minutes. Even more significant reductions in travel times resulted from the elimination of the operating stops to stop and move the sliding locomotives in Flöha and Oederan on freight trains. The 1300 ton Dg 7301 now needed 61 minutes for the same distance instead of 122 minutes before electrification.

Realignment between Oederan and Flöha

Hetzdorf Viaduct in the early 1990s

In the mid-1980s, the viaduct over the Flöhatal near Hetzdorf (" Hetzdorfer Viadukt ") from the opening year had reached the end of its life. In the end, a crossing was only possible at a maximum speed of 20 km / h, which severely restricted the line capacity. The Deutsche Reichsbahn finally designed a straightened route bypassing the old viaduct. The new construction route received two prestressed concrete bridges with a length of 343.65 m each, spanning the Hetzbachtal at a height of 36.50 m and the Flöhatal at a height of 34.50 m. From 1987 the construction company VEB Autobahnbaukombinat built the bridges using the incremental launching method - for the first time on a railway bridge in the GDR. The new line was completed and put into operation on May 12, 1992, with the Dresden – Chemnitz connection shortened by about one kilometer.

The new section is 2033.9 m long and thus 966.1 m shorter than the previous section. It is inclined lengthways with up to 16.8 per thousand.

August flood 2002

Among other things, near the Felsenkeller brewery in Plauenschen Grund , the railway line from the Weißeritz was opened on 12./13. August 2002 flooded and badly damaged.

The approximately 25 km long Dresden – Klingenberg-Colmnitz section was severely damaged by the August floods in 2002 on August 12, mainly by Wilde Weißeritz and Weißeritz , and the route was completely destroyed over more than 15 km. The route section had previously been extensively renovated, and the acceptance test should be on August 13, 2002.

Rail replacement traffic was set up between Dresden and Klingenberg-Colmnitz, and long-distance traffic was even only served on the Dresden-Chemnitz section as rail replacement traffic. Since autumn 2003, the Tharandt station has been approached again from Freiberg, the entire route went back into operation on December 14, 2003. The future flood protection was also taken into account during the construction work, for example the bridge abutments were built at right angles to the direction of flow.

Further expansion of the route from 2010

From mid-May 2010 to mid-December 2011, the seven-kilometer section between Hohenstein-Ernstthal and St. Egidien was expanded. Around 38 million euros were used from the Federal Economic Stimulus Package I and from Deutsche Bahn AG's own funds.

From the beginning of 2010 to December 2013, the 490 m long “Dresdner Platz” flyover over the Dresden – Werdau and Chemnitz – Adorf railway lines, which run parallel here, was replaced by a new construction costing around 25 million euros. During the demolition and new construction work, both road and rail traffic were maintained.

Incidents

On September 19, 1895, a military train and a passenger train collided near Oederan . 10 people died and 6 were also injured.

A former mining gallery collapsed on December 20, 1929 directly in front of the western portal of the Edle Krone tunnel . The Werdau – Dresden track could not be used for a few weeks, and rail traffic was only possible on a single track on the Dresden – Werdau track.

On December 12, 1943, between the Klingenberg-Colmnitz and Edle Krone stations, a downhill military train with a defective brake system derailed near the bridge over the Seerenbach . Three wagons of the train remained on the tracks, the other 47 fell with the locomotive down the embankment in the direction of the Wilder Weißeritz . Two of the three cars had rolled another 500 meters to the vicinity of the Edle Krone tunnel. According to another source, it was a freight train. The cause of the brake failure was therefore a forgotten air shut-off valve during the previous locomotive change. A drive rod broke on the locomotive, which led to its derailment. According to this source, only the baggage car at the end of the train, in which there were accompanying personnel, remained in the tracks. Six people died in the accident. The scene of the accident was on Dorfhainer Flur in the curved track with which the railway line passes from the Seerenbach valley to the Wilden Weißeritz.

outlook

Deutsche Bahn AG is planning to rebuild the three railway overpasses in Dresden-Plauen over Würzburger Strasse, Bienertstrasse and Altplauen and to rebuild the Dresden-Plauen stop in a different location. In addition, the two tracks are to be relocated over a length of around 1.5 kilometers. The new stop should be barrier-free, have a lift, have platforms with a usable length of 140 meters and will be equipped with a weather protection house. In the area of the stopping point, the route will be moved around 10 meters to the west, and around five meters in the remaining section of the route. Both road and rail traffic are to be essentially maintained during the construction project.

Initially, the measure was planned for 2016 to 2018, but concrete implementation dates had not yet been determined as of September 2016. In January 2017, the planning contract was awarded for 251,000 euros. The planning approval decision was issued on September 15, 2017. As of September 2017, the plan is now to start the main construction work in autumn 2018 and to complete the modernization work by the end of 2020.

Deutsche Bahn AG also intends to fundamentally modernize the “Chemnitzer Bahnbogen”, an approximately 2.8 kilometer long section of the Dresden – Werdau railway in the city of Chemnitz, between 2019 and 2022. The intended measures include the construction of the new Chemnitz Süd and Chemnitz Mitte traffic stations , with the existing Chemnitz Mitte station being dismantled and the new one being relocated to Stollberger Strasse, as well as tracks, overhead lines, retaining walls and five railway overpasses. In addition to the Chemnitz Valley Viaduct, this includes the bridges in Augustusburger Strasse, Bernsdorfer Strasse, Reichenhainer Strasse and Stollberger Strasse, and the railway overpass in Reichsstrasse is being dismantled and filled. The federal government and Deutsche Bahn AG have budgeted a total of around 95 million euros for the measures. The new construction and renovation measures are to take place with single-track management during ongoing operations. The plan approval procedure was initiated in September 2015. If this can be completed by 2018, construction can start in 2019. The planning approval decision was issued on June 1, 2018. The demolition of the listed Chemnitz Valley Viaduct was not approved, in contrast to the demolition of the equally protected bridges over Augustusburger Strasse and Reichenhainer Strasse, as well as other demolitions in the “Chemnitz Railway Arch”.

At the end of April 2020, the first planning services for remaining measures between Dresden Hbf and Freital Ost were tendered. In the course of a route expansion over a length of about three and a half kilometers, u. a. Various systems were renewed, a new stopping point at the Nossener Bridge was built and the control and safety technology was rebuilt. The section is to be equipped with ETCS Level 2 . Two 740-meter overtaking tracks for freight trains are planned in Dresden's old town. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2029.

Route description

course

Apron of Dresden Central Station

The line leaves Dresden Central Station in a westerly direction, reaches the Gleisdreieck (junction to Dresden-Neustadt ) and turns south, under the Nossener Bridge and past the museum in the former Dresden-Altstadt depot . From the Dresden-Plauen stop , it follows the narrow valley of the Weißeritz , also called Plauenscher Grund , to Freital , and is crossed by the federal motorway 17 . The standard gauge Windbergbahn branched off between Dresden-Plauen and Freital-Potschappel . Shortly before the Freital-Potschappel train station , a third track (route 6259) begins on the right, which follows the double-track "main route" 6258 to Tharandt train station with almost the same kilometrage. In conjunction with the Potschappel-Hainsberger connecting line , this third track in the Freital-Potschappel and Freital-Hainsberg stations ensures the integration of numerous connecting lines and, in turn, also has electrified crossing tracks in both stations.

In Freital-Hainsberg , where the narrow-gauge Weißeritz Valley Railway begins, the route reaches the confluence of the two Weißeritz source rivers, just south of the route: the Red and the Wild Weißeritz . Shortly after Tharandt train station is the narrowest arc of the line at 214 m. This is where a section of steep section with a gradient of 1:40, sometimes even 1:39, begins, which is rare for a main railway . This is necessary to enable the transition to the Erzgebirge foreland. The route runs up to about one kilometer after the Edle Krone stop in the Wild Weißeritz valley . To the west of the route, on the right in the kilometer direction, is the Tharandt forest . After the Edle Krone stop, the route leads through a 122 meter long tunnel , shortly afterwards it swings from the Wild Weißeritz valley into the Seerenbach valley and passes the Seerenteich on its northern side. To the Klingenberg-Colmnitz train station , at 435 m above sea level. Located above sea level, a total of 228 meters in altitude are overcome over 11.6 kilometers. This station is the highest operating point on the line and was formerly the starting point for the narrow-gauge railways to Frauenstein and Oberdittmannsdorf .

Now begins a section with a series of viaducts . The first viaduct spans the Colmnitzbach near Colmnitz, the Colmnitz location and the former narrow-gauge railway to Oberdittmannsdorf . At Niederbobritzsch , the eponymous Bobritzsch is spanned at a height of 26 meters . Behind the Muldenhütten train station there is the 196 meter long and 42.8 meter high crossing of the Freiberg Mulde . At the 40.0 kilometer, the line reaches the station in the district town of Freiberg . It is a formerly important junction, but today it is only the end point of the Dresden S-Bahn line S 3 and the starting point of the branch line to Holzhau . This section, which was put back into operation, formed together with the so-called Zellwaldbahn , which was reopened on November 5, 2005, the Nossen – Moldava v Krušných horách railway , which branches off west of Freiberg to the north in the direction of Nossen . At this junction, the federal highway 173 coming from the northeast from the Freiberg city center is crossed for the first time .

Frankenstein Viaduct, built in 1868

New Hetzdorf viaduct

Approximately 1.5 km east of the station Frankenstein , the place Wegefarth , the railway line via an imposing railway viaduct of the 19th century, and long via the 348.5 meters and 39 meters high Frankensteiner viaduct , with the Valley of the Striegis is bridged . Shortly before Oederan , the federal highway 173 coming from the northeast is crossed again. Before at Floeha the Flöhatalbahn from Marienberg and Olbernhau opens this and will flow Floeha crossed. Up to 900 meters away, the old route runs south in an arch, which until 1992 led over the old Hetzdorf viaduct . The new line skips this arch and instead runs over two prestressed concrete bridges built in the early 1990s. After the confluence of the branch line mentioned and that of Annaberg-Buchholz , the line reaches the town of Flöha and then crosses the Zschopau on a steel arch bridge . The penultimate stop in front of Chemnitz main station is Niederwiesa for regional trains , the start and end point of the branch line to and from Hainichen. The Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf Station was once an important railway depot location and one of the largest marshalling yards in Saxony, it is canceled today. Chemnitz main station is reached together with the Riesa and Neukieritzsch routes coming from the north .

Beckerbrücke viaduct in Chemnitz (2016)

Behind the main station, the railway line runs in a wide arc south of the city center, as a direct route through the center was not possible during construction. After the line to Aue and Stollberg / Erzgeb. branched off, it now leads consistently through the Chemnitz suburbs to the west and gradually leaves the wide basin of the Chemnitz river . Before Chemnitz-Siegmar , the federal highway 72 is crossed. The area west of Chemnitz was one of the GDR era for county Hohenstein-Ernstthal , the most densely populated district in the country. As a result, the density of train stations and stops in this region is exceptionally high. After Hohenstein-Ernstthal and the crossing under the federal highway 180 , the Franconian-Saxony-Magistrale reaches the station of St. Egidien , where another line from Stollberg joins. Glauchau however, is branching point of no more traffic in normal operation Muldentalbahn , the Glauchau Schönbörnchen subsequent station of the Mid-Germany Railway belonging route Gößnitz . The route now turns south and follows the course of the Zwickauer Mulde . The Mosel , located west of the railway line, is the location of the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau (and previously belonged to the Sachsenring plant ), and the four-lane federal highway 93 and federal highway 175 running through the tunnel at this point is also crossed here . After a total of 128 kilometers, the wedge-shaped central station of Zwickau is finally reached. It goes past the disused Zwickau marshalling yard about eight kilometers west to the Werdau Bogendreieck junction ( ⊙ ), which ensures the connection of trains coming from Zwickau both to Leipzig via Werdau and to Nuremberg in the direction of Reichenbach . The mileage that began in Dresden ends here at km 135.96. 50.7093 12.3771

Operating points

Dresden Albertbahnhof ⊙51.0486 13.7152

The starting point of the route was originally the Dresden Albertbahnhof of the Albertsbahn AG. After the nationalization, the line was integrated into the Dresden Bohemian Railway Station (today's central station). Since the spring of 1869, all passenger trains have been running from the Bohemian Railway Station. From then on, the Albertbahnhof served as a so-called coal station only for goods traffic; around 1900, for example, around 500,000 tons of hard coal were handled here annually. Gradually, however, the station lost its importance, although in the 1960s, through the construction and operation of the Nossener Brücke thermal power station, the handling volume was temporarily stabilized. After 1990, freight traffic collapsed completely; the only major transport service was the construction of the World Trade Center . All station facilities have meanwhile been demolished.

Dresden Central Station around 1900

Dresden Hbf ⊙51.0403 13.7313

Since every railway company built its own station in Dresden in the beginning, there was no central transfer point for a long time. After all, passenger trains to Werdau began in the Bohemian Railway Station in 1869 , which was increasingly becoming the busiest station in the city. When the railway facilities were completely overloaded at the beginning of the 1890s, it was decided to fundamentally redesign them. In addition to the creation of the Dresden-Friedrichstadt marshalling yard , the construction of a central station was also one of the central points. The new station, which opened in 1898, was built on the site of the Bohemian Railway Station. The trains from the direction of Werdau ended from then on on the low-lying butt tracks. The plans made both before and after World War II for a new building elsewhere were not implemented.

Dresden-Plauen ⊙51.0296 13.7032

The Plauen stop near Dresden was opened together with the Albertbahn and was on the left of the train . In 1897 the later so-called “old station” in Plauen was opened, which was now almost level with the railway right . A few months later, the building on the left of the railway was demolished when the connection to the Felsenkeller brewery was built there. Instead, a waiting hall was built, which was moved to the Boderitz-Cunnersdorf stop of the Windbergbahn in 1923 and still exists today (2016). In 1903, after the village of Plauen was incorporated into Dresden, the name of this stop was changed to Dresden-Plauen . Since the stopping point was rather unfavorable for the population in Dresden-Plauen, which has now grown to 12,000 people, a stop about 800 meters further northeast was opened in January 1926 and the “old station” was closed. This stop, opened in 1926, is to be renovated by mid-2018. The reception building opened in 1897 (the "old station") was renovated in the late 1990s and today (2016) houses a glass workshop.

Abzw Freital-Ost ⊙51.016001 13.67415

At the former Blockstelle branch Freital-east of Dresden-Werdau railway which starts Windbergbahn . From 1912, the line branched off to the right parallel to the freight train track to Tharandt from the main line and then crossed under it in the so-called Höllenmaul . Another track connection to Freital Ost station was only used for freight traffic. In 1946, the Deutsche Reichsbahn dismantled both sidings as reparations for the Soviet Union . All train journeys now took place on track 1, which was originally built as a separate connecting track to Freital-Potschappel station. The hell mouth was filled in 1984 and completely demolished the roadway support on the Dresden-Werdau railway in the year of 2003. Since 2003, there has been no turnout at the Freital-Ost junction.

Freital-Potschappel ⊙51.0133 13.6615

Of the six Freital train stations, Freital-Potschappel train station was the most important. Since 1856 the Niederhermsdorfer coal branch line branched off here to two hard coal shafts. When the Potschappel – Wilsdruff narrow-gauge railway was opened in 1886 , its route was also used. Extensive freight and reloading facilities were built in Potschappel, which were expanded again with the elevation and the four-track expansion after 1900.

In 1913 a narrow-gauge connecting track was built, which was used for freight traffic and vehicle exchange with the Weißeritztalbahn . The narrow-gauge railway in the direction of Wilsdruff was shut down in 1972, since then only the coach repairs of the Weißeritztalbahn in Freital-Potschappel have been carried out.

Freital-Deuben ⊙50.9993 13.6465

The breakpoint already had three different names during its operation, in detail these were:

until January 11, 1918: Deuben stop
until September 30, 1921: Deuben stop (Bez Dresden)
since October 1, 1921: Freital-Deuben stop

The breakpoint was opened in 1855, it lies on the border between the two districts of Freital, Deuben and Döhlen . Due to the cast steel works in Döhlen , which was also founded in 1855 and which employed up to 5000 people, the station was of great importance in rush hour traffic until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Today the S 3 of the S-Bahn Dresden and the RB Dresden – Zwickau stop at the stop. RegionalExpress trains also stopped at times, most recently the Franken-Sachsen-Express every two hours, in Freital-Deuben.

Freital-Hainsberg ⊙50,989 13,637

Freital-Hainsberg train station

Freital-Hainsberg train station (until 1965: Hainsberg (Sachs)) has been the starting point of the narrow-gauge Weißeritztalbahn since November 1, 1882 . The gauge changing station got its current appearance during a renovation between 1903 and 1912. In addition to the locomotive deployment station and the former freight transport facilities, there are several sidings here. The station was opened on June 28, 1855 and elevated to a station on October 1, 1874. The station has already had four different names in its history, in detail these were:

until January 12, 1918: Hainsberg
until December 12, 1933: Hainsberg (Sa)
until September 29, 1965: Hainsberg (Sachs)
since September 29, 1965: Freital-Hainsberg

The trains of the S-Bahn line S 3 and the regional train line RB30 Dresden – Zwickau stop in Freital-Hainsberg .

Freital-Hainsberg West ⊙50.981 13.6227

Freital-Hainsberg West stop

The Freital-Hainsberg West stop was opened on September 25, 1977. It has a central platform between the two tracks on route 6258.

Tharandt station reception building (2013)

Tharandt ⊙50.983 13.5929

The Tharandt station, east of the city of Tharandt, was of great operational importance until electrification in the 1960s. In order to cope with the steep incline as far as Klingenberg-Colmnitz, most of the trains were given an additional push or leader locomotive. This procedure was practiced on freight trains until the 1990s.

The locomotive station for the sliding locomotives became superfluous after electrification and was disbanded in September 1966; at last it was assigned to the Dresden-Altstadt Bahnbetriebswerk . Before that, it belonged to the Dresden-Friedrichstadt depot for decades . Until it was demolished in the 1990s, it served as a depot for the Dresden Transport Museum .

Today, individual trains on the S3 line of the Dresden S-Bahn end in Tharandt , the last time the Franken-Sachsen-Express stopped here.

Former reception building of the Edle Krone train station (2011)

Noble crown ⊙50.95 13.5835

Today's Edle Krone stop was opened as the Höckendorf stop on August 11, 1862 , and renamed Edle Krone in 1871 . The station in the valley of the Wild Weißeritz on the southeast edge of the Tharandt forest was dedicated to the train station on May 1, 1905 and downgraded to a stop on July 31, 1999.

Klingenberg-Colmnitz ⊙50.9258 13.5007

Klingenberg-Colmnitz was the "mountain station" of the Tharandter Steige. From 1898 to 1972 the narrow-gauge railways to Frauenstein and Oberdittmannsdorf began in the station .

Niederbobritzsch stop (2017)

Niederbobritzsch ⊙50.9013 13.4406

The Niederbobritzsch stop was opened on August 11, 1862 and consecrated as a train station in 1905. Later the station was only a stopping point. The station's reception building is still there. Since December 9, 2007 the station has been a stop of the Dresden S-Bahn .

Muldenhütten stop (2016)

Muldenhütten ⊙50.9052 13.3888

The Muldenhütten stop was opened as a stop on December 8, 1861. The station has been a train station since 1905. In 2002 the station was downgraded to a stopping point. Since December 9, 2007 the station has been a stop of the Dresden S-Bahn . In the immediate vicinity is the Muldenhütten industrial area , the oldest still operating ironworks location in Germany. The station building that still existed in 2004 has since been demolished.

Freiberg (Sachs) train station

Freiberg (Sachs) ⊙50.9081 13.3444

Freiberg train station was opened on August 11, 1862, initially as the end point of the line from Dresden, which was continued in 1869 to Chemnitz. With the construction of the Nossen – Moldau line (1873/1885) and the branch line to Halsbrücke, as well as the branches to Langenau and Großhartmannsdorf (1890) from the line to Moldau outside Freiberg , Freiberg became one of the most important railway junctions in Saxony.

Kleinschirma stop (2016)

Small business ⊙50.9027 13.2817

The Kleinschirma stop was inaugurated on March 1, 1869. It is located in the southwest of the town near the federal highway 173 .

Frankenstein station (2016)

Frankenstein (Sachs) ⊙50.9024 13.2281

The station had four different names while it was in operation, in detail these were:

until April 30, 1903: Frankenstein
until June 30, 1911: Frankenstein in Saxony
until December 21, 1933: Frankenstein (Sa)
since December 22, 1933: Frankenstein (Sachs)

Although the station is on the corridor of Oberschöna , the station was named after the community of Frankenstein , about 750 meters away . In addition to Oberschöna, about a kilometer away, the train station also served the village of Wegefarth, about two kilometers away . At first, Frankenstein was only a stop, it was only on May 1, 1905 that the station was elevated to a train station. Initially located in an open field - initially only the Oberschöna – Frankenstein road crossed the route - several businesses settled in the immediate vicinity of the train station. Several railway houses were also built near the station.

In addition to a reception building that complies with the Saxon type building principles, a goods shed was built. A loading street and a side loading ramp were also available for freight traffic, and a siding branched off within the station. The track systems have now been removed except for the two main tracks and a switch connection. Instead of the level crossing, access to the second outer platform is now via the level crossing.

Oederan station

Oederan ⊙50.8572 13.1761

The Oederan station was opened on March 1, 1869. Between 1905 and 1930 he was called "Öderan".

Falkenau (Sachs) Süd stop

Falkenau (Sachs) South ⊙50.8492 13109

The Falkenau (Sachs) Süd stop was opened on March 1, 1869 as the Falkenau station. It had the following names:

until 1911: Falkenau
until 1933: Falkenau (Sa)
until 1966: Falkenau (Sachs)

As the current name suggests, the breakpoint is located in the south of the district that is now part of Flöha. The Falkenau (Sachs) Hp stop, opened in 1928, is on the Reitzenhain – Flöha railway line and is located on the northeastern edge of Falkenau.

Entrance building of the Flöha train station, 2008

Flöha ⊙50.8541 13.0758

Initially, the Flöha station was just a through station on the Chemnitz – Annaberg railway line, which opened in 1866 . During the construction of the Freiberg – Flöha section, a new section was created northeast of the existing station. The station building has been in a wedge position since then . With the construction of the Reitzenhain – Flöha railway line, which opened in 1875, the Chemnitz-Komotau railway company station was built further northeast of it . This also built a boiler house . Together with the boiler house of the state railway, a locomotive deployment center was later developed, which was an independent railway depot from 1946 to 1950 . In addition to short-term services on the routes departing from Flöha, the tasks of the locomotives stationed here also included pushing the ramp towards Freiberg.

In the 1930s, during a major train station renovation, today's representative reception building was built on a side.

Although the station facilities have since been severely dismantled, there are still six platform tracks. The outer platform tracks 1 and 6 are not electrified and are only used regularly by the Erzgebirgsbahn trains to and from Olbernbau and Annaberg-Buchholz or Cranzahl.

Niederwiesa train station

Niederwiesa ⊙50.8626 13.0232

Niederwiesa train station was opened on May 14, 1866. Since 1869 it was the end point of the Roßwein – Niederwiesa railway line . Since 1998, trains have only run as far as Hainichen on this route . Since the modernization of this route, it has been part of the Chemnitz model and is served by the Chemnitz City Railway .

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf stop with City-Bahn (2016)

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf Hp ⊙50.8618 12.9534

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf was first opened as a stop on August 15, 1893. After a short time the station became a stop. This was upgraded to a station with the construction of the marshalling yard. At the same time, the station was relocated to its current location between Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf and Ebersdorf . Today the station is only a stopping point.

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf ⊙50.8612 12.9521

The urgently needed marshalling yard to relieve the main station from freight traffic was built between 1896 and 1902 on the site of the first Hilbersdorf station. In addition to the marshalling yard, which was designed as a sloping yard, extensive locomotive treatment systems were built, which later became the Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf depot .

Since the capacity of the station was no longer sufficient in the 1920s, it was modernized in the late 1920s. A modern rope shunting system was installed. Thus Hilbersdorf was after Dresden-Friedrichstadt the second largest marshalling yard in the Reichsbahndirektion Dresden .

After the fall of 1989/90, freight traffic almost completely collapsed. Therefore, large parts of the station were initially given up and the station closed completely in 1996. The Saxon Railway Museum is now housed in the former railway depot.

Chemnitz central station ⊙50.8411 12.9314

Today's Chemnitz main station was built in 1852 as the end point of the Riesa – Chemnitz line. With the opening of the Chemnitz – Zwickau (1858), Chemnitz – Annaberg (1866), Borna – Chemnitz and Chemnitz – Adorf (1875) routes , it became one of the most important Saxon railway nodes. In addition to its validity in passenger traffic, the station was also important for goods traffic for a long time, until the end of the 1870s the station was the only one in all of Chemnitz with goods traffic. Since the 1990s, the importance has decreased sharply due to the general decline in traffic, loss of long-distance traffic and some line closures. Freight traffic no longer takes place. The large railway depot Chemnitz Hbf, which was later merged with the railway depot Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf, still existed as the Chemnitz depot as of 2006. In the eastern track apron there is a track connection to the Chemnitz tram network , which was built as part of the successive implementation of the Chemnitz model and enables the C15 trains coming from Niederwiesa to transition into the tram network. These trains serve platforms 3 and 4 in the main station. Platforms 11 and 12 serve the continuous track of the Dresden – Werdau railway line.

Hall of the main station Karl-Marx-Stadt from 1976
Reception building and forecourt of Chemnitz main station (2015)

Chemnitz Süd railway station

Chemnitz South ⊙50.8233 12926

The later Chemnitz Süd station was created in 1875 when the Chemnitz-Aue-Adorfer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft set up its own station for its Chemnitz – Adorf line , as the line should not lead to the main station. The company was nationalized just a year later and the trains were then tied to the main train station. With the Zwönitz – Chemnitz line, another railway line was added in 1895. Today's station was built in the 1900s when the route was raised / lowered. For the first time, the trains on the Dresden – Werdau route also stopped; previously there was no platform on this route.

In the past, Chemnitz Süd was particularly important in freight traffic; at times the large freight station section was outsourced as a separate operating point. On May 30, 1965, the electrified section between Karl-Marx-Stadt Hilbersdorf and Zwickau of the Dresden – Werdau railway, which also affected tracks 1 and 2 of the south station, was opened. As part of the Chemnitz Model , the Chemnitz Süd – Altchemnitz section of the Zwönitz – Chemnitz railway to Stollberg was relocated to the tram tracks in 2002 (level 0). In preparation for the relocation of the Chemnitz – Reichenhain section of the Chemnitz – Adorf railway to Aue on a new tram route from 2019 (level 2), access to tracks 3 and 4 was blocked in September 2018, as these are now without passenger traffic. Since then, only the northern part of Chemnitz Süd station (tracks 1 and 2) of the Dresden – Werdau railway line has been in operation.

Chemnitz center ⊙50.8265 12.9124

The Chemnitz Mitte stop was opened on January 9, 1860. The station already had five different names during its operating time, in detail these were:

until April 30, 1904: Nicolaivorstadt Chemnitz
until April 30, 1905: Chemnitz Nicolaibf
until May 9, 1953: Chemnitz Nicolaivorstadt
until May 29, 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt Mitte
since May 30, 1990: Chemnitz Mitte

The reception building, built in 1906, is out of service today.

Chemnitz Central Station (2016)
Platform towards Werdau (2013)

Karl-Marx-Stadt-Kappel container station, 1982

Chemnitz-Kappel ⊙50.8234 12.9025

The station already had five different names during its operation, in detail these were:

until July 31, 1882: Chemnitz coal mine
until April 30, 1904: Kappel i Saxony
until June 30, 1911: Chemnitz-Kappel (Güterbf)
until May 9, 1953: Chemnitz-Kappel
until May 29, 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt-Kappel
since May 30, 1990: Chemnitz-Kappel

The station, exclusively used for goods traffic, was opened in 1880 as the Chemnitz coal station. This gave the numerous industrial companies in the west of the city their own freight yard . Initially, an expansion of the Nicolaivorstadt stop was planned, since the required building land in Kappel was much cheaper, so the station was built there.

At the end of the 1960s, Chemnitz-Kappel was rebuilt for container handling. The container loading facility went into operation in December 1968 as a separate operating facility. In 1999 the station was finally closed. After that, all the tracks were dismantled, the area lies fallow just like at Hilbersdorf station.

Chemnitz-Schönau stop

Chemnitz-Schönau ⊙50.8181 12.8764

The breakpoint already had four different names during its operating time, in detail these were:

until October 31, 1950: Wanderer-Werke
to May 9, 1953: Chemnitz Wanderer-Werke
until May 29, 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt-Schönau
since May 30, 1990: Chemnitz-Schönau

The stop was opened in 1940 primarily for rush hour traffic to the numerous industrial companies along this section of the route. The facilities now consist of two side platforms that are connected by a pedestrian bridge.

Chemnitz-Siegmar train station

Chemnitz-Siegmar ⊙50.8158 12.8473

The station already had four different names during its operation, in detail these were:

at the opening: Siegmar
until October 31, 1950: Siegmar-Schönau
until May 9, 1953: Chemnitz-Siegmar
until May 29, 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt-Siegmar
since May 30, 1990: Chemnitz-Siegmar

Although the station was opened in 1858, it only gained importance in the course of ongoing industrialization at the end of the 19th century, when numerous companies built larger factories in the area around the station.

Stop at Grüna (Sachs) (2016)

Grüna (Sachs) ⊙50.8113 12.7985

The Grüna (Sachs) stop was opened on November 15, 1858. Grüna had from 1897 to 2004 with Grüna (Sachs) ob Bf , a second station that near railroad tracks Limbach-Wüstenbrand and Küchwald-Obergrüna was. The stop on the Dresden-Werdau railway line had the following name:

until 1910: Grüna
until 1911: Grüna (Saxony) Hp
until 1933: Grüna (Sa) Hp
since 1933: Grüna (Sachs) Hp

Wüstenbrand station

Desert fire ⊙50.8054 12.7565

The Wüstenbrand station has existed since the line was opened in 1858. Initially, only the Lugau – Wüstenbrand coal railway of the Chemnitz-Würschnitzer railway company was involved here (which was later extended to Höhlteich), and in 1897 the Limbach – Wüstenbrand line was added. The latter partly served together with the opening of the Chemnitz – Obergrüna railway line after 1903 as a diversion route for the Chemnitz – Wüstenbrand section.

The branching railway lines are closed today, but desert fire has a certain function as an opportunity to overtake. There are also two freight tracks that are currently not in use.

The now demolished station building of Hohenstein-Ernstthal with the station forecourt, 2003

Hohenstein-Ernstthal ⊙50.7984 12.7062

From 1913 to 1960, the Hohenstein-Ernstthal – Oelsnitz regional tram had its starting point on the forecourt of the Hohenstein-Ernstthal station .

In the 2000s, the station area was significantly rebuilt. The station building, which was partly from the early days, was torn down and replaced by a bus station. Today there are only three tracks left in the station, a central platform is between the two continuous main tracks.

St. Egidien ⊙50.7893 12.6224

The St. Egidien train station was opened on November 15, 1858. Since 1879 the station has also been the terminus of the Stollberg – St. Egidien , on which the Chemnitz City Railway's diesel multiple units have been running since the modernization .

St. Egidien station, front view (2016)
St. Egidien station railway side (2016)
Transit RE to Dresden at St. Egidien station (2016)
St. Egidien station with an incoming train station to Zwickau (2016)
St. Egidien station with RB to Zwickau (2016)

Glauchau (Sachs) station, reception building

Glauchau (Sachs) ⊙50.8288 12.5493

Glauchau station remained a through station until 1875 . With the opening of the Glauchau – Wurzen (Muldentalbahn) railway , Glauchau also received a locomotive station, which was the forerunner of the Glauchau depot, which was independent until the end of 1993. In 2002 the rail traffic on the Muldentalbahn was stopped.

Glauchau-Schönbörnchen stop (2016)

Glauchau-Schönbörnchen ⊙50.8218 12.5017

The Glauchau-Schönbörnchen stop (until 1931: Schönbörnchen ) has existed since November 1, 1885. Before that, there was only a branching point for the railway line to Gößnitz . At the latest with the conversion to ESTW technology , the operating point , which was temporarily run as a train station , was converted into a stop with a branch point.

Moselle railway station

Moselle ⊙50.7837 12.4815

The Moselle stop has existed since the line opened in 1858 and was elevated to a station on January 1, 1875. With the opening of the narrow-gauge Mosel – Ortmannsdorf railway in 1885, the Mosel became a local railway junction. Before that, a private railway company had already failed to build a railway through the Mülsengrund during the Gründerkrachs . In 1893, the Zwickau – Crossen – Mosel railway , which was only used for goods traffic, was added, and from then on the Moselle was particularly important for goods traffic. The narrow-gauge railway was shut down and dismantled in 1951, and the industrial railway also lost its importance in the 1990s. In addition to rush-hour traffic to the nearby Zwickau vehicle plant , the busy connecting railway to this plant in Mosel begins.

Oberrothenbach ⊙50.7639 12.4758

The Oberrothenbach stop was opened on May 1, 1886, and on business the station belonged to the Mosel train station. There were only two side platforms, a passenger tunnel and a wooden waiting hall built in 1895. The latter has not been used since the late 1970s and was demolished in 1982.

Zwickau-Pölbitz ⊙50.7373 12.4796

The Pölbitz halt was opened on April 1, 1895. In that year Pölbitz was incorporated into Zwickau. The breakpoint was initially called Zwickau Haltpunkt and from 1911 was named Zwickau (Sa) Hp . In 1924 it was renamed Zwickau-Pölbitz . Due to industrialization, the Pölbitz district had grown significantly, from then on the stop was primarily used for rush hour traffic. With the raising of the railway tracks in Zwickau, a massive station building was built in Pölbitz from 1923 to 1925. The building has been empty since the breakpoint was no longer manned.

Oberrothenbach stop
Zwickau-Pölbitz stop

The reception building of the Zwickau main station opened in 1936

Zwickau (Sachs) central station ⊙50.7145 12.4746

The first Zwickau train station was opened in 1845 when the short branch line from the Werdau triangle was opened. In the 1860s, the station became an important railway junction when the routes from Chemnitz and Schwarzenberg were opened to traffic.

The Zwickau – Falkenstein railway line, which opened in 1875 , also begins at the main station, even though the Zwickau-Lengenfeld-Falkensteiner Railway Company initially built its station about 800 m southeast of today's main station. A new line was completed just two years later, and the now nationalized line no longer flows into the main station from the east, but from the west.

RAW "7. October “ ⊙50.7066 12.4413

The non-public breakpoint RAW “7. October “ only served the railroad workers of the marshalling yard and the repair shop and was not listed in the timetable. After no more trains had stopped at the stop since 1997/98, the facilities were dismantled in 2006.

Light fir (Sachs) ⊙50.699191 12.419308

The station Lichtentanne (Sachs) was opened on April 1, 1885th In the course of time it had the following names:

until 1907: light fir
until 1911: light fir in Saxony
until 1933: Lichtentanne (Sa)
since 1933: Lichtentanne (Sachs)

The former station building is no longer in use and is located on the edge of today's stop.

Lichtentanne station, track entry from Zwickau (2016)
Lichtentanne station from above (2016)
Railcar of the S-Bahn Central Germany in Lichtentanne station (2016)
Lichtentanne station, old reception building (2016)

Steinpleis stop (2016)

Steinpleis ⊙50.708974 12.394152

The Steinpleis stop was opened on November 1, 1911. It is located south of the village and is the last traffic station before Werdau Bogendreieck.

Abzw Werdau curved triangle ⊙50.71162375 12.37893105

With the completion of the railway line from Leipzig to Werdau ( Leipzig – Hof railway line ) on September 6, 1845, the 8.10 km long branch to Zwickau was also put into operation. With the further commissioning of the route in the direction of Reichenbach on May 31, 1846, the later curved triangle went into operation as a simple junction. Construction of the main route from Chemnitz towards Zwickau began on November 15, 1855; it was opened on November 15, 1858. On January 1, 1856, the double-track Zwickau – Neumark connecting arch at the former Werdau junction had already gone into operation, which was now known as the Werdau triangle.

The Werdau arched triangle has a national significance that extends beyond Saxony due to its connection between the Dresden – Werdau and Leipzig – Hof railway lines. It is part of the Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale .

Civil engineering

Felsenkeller tunnel

The Felskeller tunnel was near the first Dresden-Plauen train station. The 56 meter long tunnel with very little overburden was used until 1894/95, after which it was removed.

Tunnel noble crown ⊙50.9479 13.5824

Eastern portal of the Edle Krone tunnel (2014)

After the other two tunnels have been slit, the 122-meter-long Edle Krone tunnel is the last remaining tunnel on the route. When it was electrified in the 1960s, it too was initially to be replaced by an incision. Ultimately, the tunnel profile was expanded in order to create the corresponding clearance profile for installing the contact line systems. The western tunnel portal lies on the district of Dorfhain , the majority of the tunnel including the eastern portal on that of Tharandt .

Hetzdorf Viaduct

With the 328 meter long Hetzdorf viaduct between Oederan and Flöha, the railway crossed the Flöha valley from 1868 to 1992 . Since then, the river has been crossed over a new bridge, the old viaduct still serves as a hiking trail.

Beckerbrücke viaduct

The 275 meter long Beckerbrücke viaduct, also known colloquially as the Chemnitz Valley Viaduct, crosses the river of the same name in the city of Chemnitz .

Viaduct Hüttengrund

The 120 meter long Hüttengrund Viaduct is located on the western outskirts of Hohenstein-Ernstthal.

Transport offer

When the timetable changed on September 30, 1973, “condensed suburban traffic” was added on the Dresden – Tharandt section. Since May 1992 these services are officially marketed as the Dresden S-Bahn . The line to Tharandt was initially designated as S5, since May 1995 as S3. Since December 2007, this line has been extended to Freiberg during rush hour on working days.

As part of the so-called Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale , the Dresden – Werdau railway line was also served by InterRegio, InterCity and ICE trains every two or four hours from the early 1990s to December 2006, and since December 2006 with the Franken-Sachsen-Express Dresden – Hof – Nuremberg only in local transport quality. These Regional Express trains ran every hour or every two hours, depending on the timetable year. In December 2014, this offer was given up in favor of an hourly, electrically operated Regional-Express Dresden – Hof. This regional express was provided by DB Regio Südost until mid-June 2016 under the marketing name central Saxony-Vogtland-Express .

In addition, numerous regional trains run and operate on this route , in particular between Dresden and Zwickau and between Chemnitz and Flöha (and from there on towards Pockau-Lengefeld and towards Annaberg-Buchholz ).

The number of passengers on the route between Dresden and Freital rose by five percent between 2011 and 2012.

Since December 15, 2013, the Werdau Bogendreieck – Zwickau (Sachs) Hbf section has been served by the S5 and S5X lines of the Central German S-Bahn .

The RE services Dresden – Chemnitz – Zwickau – Hof (RE3) and the regional train service Dresden – Chemnitz – Zwickau (RB 30) operating on this route have been under the marketing name of the Transdev Group since the small timetable change in June 2016 Central German regional railway provided. Electric railcars of the type Alstom Coradia Continental are used . RE3 and RB30 each run hourly on their entire route, in the weekday rush hour (HVZ) the RB30 also runs every half hour between Chemnitz and Zwickau. By superimposing the services of the Dresden S-Bahn in the Dresden – Freiberg section, there is also a half-hourly service between Dresden and Freiberg in the peak hours with service to all stops on the way, between Dresden and Tharandt every half hour throughout the day and four times an hour in the peak hours.

In addition, the hourly line C13 of the Chemnitz model also runs on the short section Niederwiesa – Chemnitz . These services are provided by City-Bahn Chemnitz with Vossloh Citylink urban rail cars, run on this route in diesel mode and are transferred to the Chemnitz tram network at Chemnitz main station .

Since the Regional Express trains have been scheduled to need 61 minutes from Chemnitz to Dresden since December 2017 due to construction work, the operating ban on long-distance buses , which is supposed to protect publicly ordered local transport, was no longer applicable on this route. Long-distance buses also take around an hour on the motorway.

literature

Friedrich Constantin von Beust : The railway line from Dresden via Freiberg and Chemnitz to Zwickau , Verlag Engelhardt, Freiberg 1852 ( digitized version )

Peter Beyer: The creation of the railway connection between Saxony-Bavaria with the large bridges in Göltzsch- and Elstertal 1836-1851 . in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 47 (2001) 3, pp. 139–155

Rainer Heinrich: The electrification of the "Saxon Triangle" . In: Railway courier . No. 337, Volume 4, 2000, ISSN 0170-5288 , pp. 42-46.

Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Dresden's Railway: 1894 - 1994 , Alba, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 .

Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , Alba, Düsseldorf 1996, ISBN 3-87094-231-2 .

Wilhelm Krausch: Projection of a direct railway connection between Dresden, Freiberg and Chemnitz ... together with branch lines to the coal works to the left and right of the Weißeritzthales and to the Elbe near Prießnitz . Leipzig 1849 ( digitized ).

Erich Preuß, Reiner Preuß: Saxon State Railways. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 , pp. 73-78

Web links

Commons : Dresden – Werdau railway line - collection of images, videos and audio files

Representation of the route on the OpenRailwayMap
Timetable Dresden – Chemnitz – Reichenbach (Vogtl) –Plauen (Vogtl) 1944

Individual evidence

↑ Route data on www.sachsenschiene.de

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Siegfried Knüpfer : Saxony – Franconia Magistrale fit for tilting technology . In: Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau , Heft 1/2, 1999, pp. 48–54.

↑ Kurt Qays, Matthias stallion: Dresden Railway - 1894-1994 , Alba, Dusseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 , p 144

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 93

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 32

↑ Erich Preuß , Reiner Preuß : Saxon State Railways . 1st edition. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 , p. 140 .

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , p. 45 ff.

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , p. 89 f.

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz Railway Knot - Rail Network of an Industrial Region , p. 53

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , p. 54 ff.

↑ Kurt Qays, Matthias stallion: Dresden Railway - 1894-1994 , Alba, Dusseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 , p 148

↑ ^a ^b Erich Preuß , Reiner Preuß : Saxon State Railways . 1st edition. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 , p. 78 .

^ Norbert Peschke : Railway stations in and around Zwickau - Zwickau traffic junction: Volume 1 , Photo & Verlag Jacobi, Fraureuth 2010, ISBN 978-3-937228-40-2 , p. 22 ff.

^ Friedrich Spranger: A mountain railway is electrified in: Der Modelleisenbahner 9/1966, transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrwesen Berlin, pp. 258–261

^ Frank Siegesmund: Neubautrasse near Hetzdorf in: Modelleisenbahner No. 89, transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrwesen Berlin; P. 5.

↑ ^a ^b Deutsche Reichsbahn (Hrsg.): New section of Hetzdorf on the Sachsenmagistrale Görlitz-Plauen (Vogtl.) . Dresden, approx. 1992, p. 37.

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 98

^ ^A ^b Henning Bösherz: Greetings from Tharandt in: ModellEisenBahner P. 34–37, Issue No. 2 February 2004, ISSN 0026-7422

↑ Henning Bösherz: Greetings from Tharandt in: ModellEisenBahner pp. 24–28, issue no. February 11, 2004, ISSN 0026-7422

↑ Deutsche Bahn AG (ed.): DB puts renewed route sections in West Saxony into operation . Press release from December 12, 2011.

↑ 35 million euros flow into the railway line . In: Freie Presse , May 13, 2010.

↑ Replacement new building at Dresdner Platz: construction project officially ended. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn AG, January 28, 2014, formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 24, 2014 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2

^ Martin Weltner: Railway disasters. Serious train accidents and their causes. Munich 2008. ISBN 978-3-7654-7096-7 , p. 14.

^ Claus Schlegel: Railway accidents in Saxony . From the beginning until 1945. 1st edition. Ritzau KG - Zeit und Eisenbahn Verlag, Pürgen 2002, ISBN 978-3-935101-00-4 , p. 149 .

↑ Memory of misfortune. Sächsische Zeitung , December 14, 2013, accessed on September 24, 2017 .

^ Train accident in the Seerenbachtal near Tharandt December 1943. Accessed on September 24, 2017 .

^ Claus Schlegel: Railway accidents in Saxony . From the beginning until 1945. 1st edition. Ritzau KG - Zeit und Eisenbahn Verlag, Pürgen 2002, ISBN 978-3-935101-00-4 , p. 174 .

↑ Jens Herbach: Operational disruptions due to accidents. In: Sachsenschiene.net. March 29, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2017 .

^ ^A ^b Renewal of three railway bridges and the Dresden-Plauen traffic station. Deutsche Bahn AG, accessed on September 24, 2017 .

↑ Deutsche Bahn presents building projects in Dresden-Plauen :. From 2016 to 2018: Renewal of three railway bridges and new construction of the Dresden-Plauen traffic station. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn AG, April 28, 2014, archived from the original on October 6, 2014 ; accessed on September 4, 2017 .

^ Renewal of three railway bridges and the Dresden-Plauen transport station. Deutsche Bahn AG, accessed on September 4, 2016 .

↑ Germany-Dresden: Planning services for bridges. Document 2017 / S 018-030230. In: Supplement to the Electronic Official Journal of the European Union . January 26, 2017, accessed on January 26, 2017 (German).

↑ Plan approval decision according to § 18 AEG for the extension of the Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Nuremberg - Leipzig / Dresden section Dresden-Altstadt (a) - Freital -Est (a) section km 1.914 - km 3.442 Dresden - Werdau (6258). (PDF) In: eba.bund.de. Federal Railway Office, September 15, 2017, accessed on September 17, 2017 .

↑ Modernization of the railway systems in the heart of Chemnitz - Chemnitzer Bahnbogen. Deutsche Bahn AG, accessed on September 4, 2016 .

↑ Plan approval decision according to § 18 AEG for the extension of the Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Nuremberg - Leipzig / Dresden line. Construction phase Chemnitz Hbf (a) - Chemnitz-Kappel (a). km 80.5 - km 83.3 Dresden main station - junction Werdau Bogendreieck (6258). km 0.850 route Chemnitz Hbf - Aue (6645). Federal Railway Office, Dresden branch, June 1, 2018, accessed on June 4, 2018 .

↑ Johannes Rödel: The plan approval decision of the Federal Railway Authority is finally published! Viaduct e. V., June 3, 2018, accessed June 4, 2018 .

↑ Germany-Frankfurt am Main: Services of architecture and engineering offices as well as planning-related services. Document 2020 / S 083-197605. In: Tenders Electronic Daily . April 28, 2020, accessed on May 2, 2020 (German).

↑ Evelyn Habel: Operational tasks large-scale project (complex project) ABS Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Nuremberg - Leipzig / Dresden, section Dresden Hbf - Freital Ost. (PDF) In: DB Netz. DB Netz, July 31, 2019, pp. 8, 11, 87 , accessed on May 2, 2020 (file 20190731_BAst_Sachsenmagistrale_DH-DFBS.pdf in ZIP archive).

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 88

↑ Why is it called Dresden-Werdau? In: Free Press . March 4, 2013, p. 11 .

↑ : Kurt Qays, Matthias stallion 1894-1994 - Dresden railway , Alba, Dusseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 ff, p 94th

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Dresdens Eisenbahn - 1894-1994 , Alba, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 , p. 12

↑ ^a ^b dresden.de: Signs for the Weißeritzgrünzug ( memento from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 4.8 MiB), there Info Point 8, accessed from the web archive on September 4, 2016.

↑ Kurt Qays, Matthias stallion: Dresden Railway - 1894-1994 , Alba, Dusseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 , p 145

↑ Annechristin Kleppisch, Linda Barthel: Annoying barriers at the Plauen stop are disappearing . In: Saxon newspaper . May 15, 2014, ZDB -ID 2448502-0 , p. 17 .

^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 94f.

↑ Kurt Qays, Matthias stallion: Dresden Railway - 1894-1994 , Alba, Dusseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 , page 147

^ Manfred Weisbrod, Ingo Neidhardt: Sachsen-Report 5 - Track plans and route history , Hermann Merker Verlag, Fürstenfeldbruck 1997, ISBN 3-89610-014-9 , p. 68

↑ Manfred Weisbrod, Ingo Neidhardt: Saxony Report 5 - Track plans and route history , Hermann Merker Verlag, Fürstenfeldbruck 1997, ISBN 3-89610-014-9 , p. 47 f.

^ Klaus-Jürgen Kühne: Bahnbetriebswerke der GDR - 1949-1993 , transpress-Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-71401-4 , p. 16

↑ The Niederbobritzsch stop at www.sachsenschiene.net

↑ The Muldenhütten stop at www.sachsenschiene.net

↑ Manfred Weisbrod, Ingo Neidhardt: Sachsen-Report 5 - Track plans and route history , Hermann Merker Verlag, Fürstenfeldbruck 1997, ISBN 3-89610-014-9 , p. 39 ff.

↑ Frankenstein (Sachs) - www.sachsenschiene.net (accessed April 1, 2013)

↑ ^a ^b Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 104

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , p. 117

^ Egon Kretschmar: Die Bahnbetriebswerke in Chemnitz / Karl-Marx-Stadt , Bildverlag Thomas Böttger, Witzschdorf 2003, ISBN 3-9808250-8-6 , p. 47 ff.

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 93

↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , p. 45 ff.

^ Steffen Kluttig: Rail connections between Chemnitz and Leipzig - The Kieritzsch – Chemnitz and Leipzig – Geithain railway lines , Bildverlag Böttger, Witzschdorf 2006, ISBN 3-937496-17-3 , pp. 74 ff.

↑ ^a ^b Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Chemnitz railway node - rail network of an industrial region , p. 87

↑ Tracks in service facilities - as of October 1, 2012 (PDF document; 164 kB)

↑ Manfred Weisbrod, Ingo Neidhardt: Sachsen-Report 5 - Track plans and route history , Hermann Merker Verlag, Fürstenfeldbruck 1997, ISBN 3-89610-014-9 , p. 59

↑ Norbert Peschke: Railway stations in and around Zwickau - Zwickau traffic junction: Volume 1 , Photo & Verlag Jacobi, Fraureuth 2010, ISBN 978-3-937228-40-2 , p. 119 f.

↑ Norbert Peschke: Railway stations in and around Zwickau - Zwickau traffic junction: Volume 1 , Photo & Verlag Jacobi, Fraureuth 2010, ISBN 978-3-937228-40-2 , p. 121 ff.

↑ S-Bahn News: Special newsletter for the anniversary , publisher DB Regio Südost , October 2013, p. 4

^ S-Bahn News: Special newsletter for the anniversary , publisher DB Regio Südost , October 2013, p. 9

^ Off for RE trains Nuremberg – Dresden, always changing in Hof through electrification . In: Eisenbahn Magazin 10/2014, p. 20.

↑ Jana Mundus: More and more commuters take the train . In: Saxon newspaper . April 19, 2014, ZDB -ID 2448502-0 , p. 19 .

↑ Andreas Klinger: Why long-distance buses go to Dresden - but not to Leipzig. In: Free Press. February 3, 2018, accessed April 13, 2018 .

[1] Route data on www.sachsenschiene.de

[etr-1999-48-2] Siegfried Knüpfer : Saxony – Franconia Magistrale fit for tilting technology . In: Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau , Heft 1/2, 1999, pp. 48–54.

[3] Kurt Qays, Matthias stallion: Dresden Railway - 1894-1994 , Alba, Dusseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-87094-350-5 , p 144