Köthen – Aschersleben railway line

Koethen-Aschersleben
Route number (DB) :	6420
Course book section (DB) :	334
Route length:	43.7 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Top speed:	100 km / h
Dual track :	Koethen-Aschersleben
Legend from Dessau from Magdeburg Hbf 0.0 Koethen to Leipzig Messe Süd Bundesstrasse 6 from Edderitz 7.5 Frenz 10.7 Biendorf to Gerlebogk 13.3 of experts 13.4 Baalberg 17.6 Bernburg-Friedenshall (closed since August 2019) Bernburg-Roschwitz (since March 2020) 21.2 Bernburg Central Station Saale to Calbe (Saale) 22.9 Bernburg-Waldau Bundesstrasse 6 Federal motorway 14 Federal motorway 36 28.2 Ilberstedt Berlin – Blankenheim from Schönebeck (Elbe) from Berlin 31.9 Güsten 34.8 to Blankenheim separation station 35.9 Giersleben 39.7 Schierstedt from Halle (Saale) Hbf 43.7 Aschersleben to Vienenburg Gbf Swell:

The Köthen – Aschersleben line is a double-track main line in Saxony-Anhalt . It branches off the Magdeburg – Leipzig railway line in Köthen and leads via Bernburg and Güsten to Aschersleben , where it joins the Halle – Vienenburg railway line .

The section between Köthen and Bernburg is one of the oldest railway lines in Germany .

history

The first serious plans for the construction of the line by the Duchy of Anhalt were made in 1845. At that time Köthen already had rail connections in three directions: via the Magdeburg-Leipzig railway to Magdeburg and Halle (Saale) and via the main line of the Anhalter Bahn to Dessau . The Anhalt-Cöthen-Bernburg Railway Company was founded in 1845 and shortly thereafter received approval for the construction of the Köthen – Bernburg line .

The line was opened the following year. So Koethen now owned three train stations ; in Bernburg the station building, which is still in use today, was built in 1865. The only stop on the way back then was Biendorf . When the station opened in 1865, the Bernburg- Aschersleben section was opened to traffic; previously the line had been taken over in 1863 by the Magdeburg-Halberstädter railway company. In 1879 the Prussian state took over the route. In the 1880s, Bernburg's importance as an industrial city grew. Sidings were built to the Solvay works and to a salt mine in the south of Bernburg. During this time, a depot was opened in Bernburg .

In 1889 the branch line to Könnern was opened and at the same time the train station in Baalberge , in 1890 the branch line to Calbe (Saale) . In 1898/1899 the line got a second track. In 1908 there were plans to electrify the line. The first accumulator railcars were used on the route from 1908 . The second track between Köthen and Güsten was dismantled after the Second World War . After the end of the war, many trains with rubble ran along the route to the brown coal opencast mines in the south . It was not until 1952 that the Frenz stop was built between Köthen and Bernburg .

In 1962, the Aschersleben – Güsten section received the second track again. In 1964 the branch line from Biendorf to Gerlebogk was shut down and dismantled. In 1967 the Baalberge station was rebuilt. With him, today's siding of the rock salt mine was built . At the same time, the single-track section between Köthen and Bernburg became double-tracked again. Also in 1976 the new railway depot Güsten (Bw Güsten) was built and gradually took over the function of the Bw Bernburg, which was closed in 1991. In the early 1990s, the branch line to Edderitz was dismantled. In 1992 the Deutsche Reichsbahn planned the electrification of the line and some connecting lines. In 1995 the former workshop in Bernburg burned down, and the Güsten depot was also closed in the same year. More work followed from around 2000: an electronic signal box was built in Güsten . In 2010 and 2011, the Bernburg station was modernized as part of the economic stimulus programs of the Federal Republic of Germany.

service

After the Elbe-Saale-Bahn won the tender for the Altmark-Börde-Anhalt network, since 2004 diesel multiple units of the 642 series (Siemens Desiro Classic) have been running hourly on the route exclusively as regional trains. Previously, it was served by push-pull trains made up of class 218 diesel locomotives and n-cars , and in the 2004 timetable year by class 628 railcars , sometimes as a regional express . Prior to this, diesel locomotives of the 132 and 110 series were mainly used until the 1990s . The passenger trains run through Köthen on the also non-electrified route to Dessau . As a rule, individual railcar units operate, the trains are only reinforced during rush hour. In the Güsten – Aschersleben section, there are also trains on the Magdeburg – Aschersleben regional train line, and the Magdeburg – Erfurt regional express line between Güsten and Schierstedt . The line near Bernburg is also used by regional trains on the Bernburg – Calbe (Saale) –Ost route (every two hours). All these services were also carried out by the Elbe-Saale-Bahn, the regional express mostly in double traction. Since 2005, the HEX of Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt has been running the route between Baalberge and Bernburg every two hours with LINT 27 diesel multiple units , which run to Halle (Saale). On December 9, 2018, Abellio Rail Central Germany took over all services.

Since the timetable change in 2009, trains have only stopped at Frenz every two hours. The line is heavily used for freight traffic, in particular the sidings at Schwenk Zement, Solvay GmbH and K + S in Bernburg ensure regular freight traffic. This is why locomotives from DB Cargo , such as the 232 series and Gravita machines, but also from private freight transport providers, often operate here . In recent years, CLR-228, various HVLE locomotives, the AVG-V90 and a STRABAG-Nohab have been observed in front of cement clinker trains.

Due to problems with the vehicles of series 612 at the tilt technology had on the KBS 330 of the schedule to be adjusted because of this wrong in 2010, Monday to Friday, a regional express and a HEX train on this route. Both trains ran via the Köthen freight bypass and also stopped in Güsten and Bernburg.

Since December 2012, only every second train has run directly to Aschersleben during the day. The remaining trains already end in Güsten, so you have to change to the regional trains from Magdeburg in the direction of Aschersleben.

Route description

After leaving the train station in Köthen , you pass under a bridge. The Köthen freight station is left on the left. We continue on the southern outskirts of Köthen and then through a fertile plain to the Frenz stop. After a few kilometers, Biendorf comes into view with the still clearly visible loading road and a decaying goods shed. The Biendorf station has been reduced to a stopping point. The next stop is Baalberge, after having crossed the Fuhne and the route from the south being hit by experts. In Baalberge there is a connection to the K + S potash works in Bernburg and a relatively large freight yard. You reach the Friedenshall stop. The salt mine, which was also connected earlier, no longer exists. Now you can reach Bernburg with a large number of level crossings, most of which are still of the type used in the Berlin Signal and Safety Technology Works . The route from Könnern ends in Bernburg station and the one to Calbe (Saale) begins. This is also where the Solvay siding in Bernburg is located with several shunting tracks. Shortly after exiting the train station, you will pass the Solvay premises on the right. The bridge over the Saale follows . Shortly afterwards, the line gets a third track for the line to Calbe (Saale), which runs parallel for a few kilometers and then turns sharply to the northeast. The Bernburg-Waldau stop is located on this track and is only served by trains on the route to Calbe (Saale). After the branch to Calbe (Saale), the route reaches the flyover of the A 14 . The breakpoint is at an old mine on the eastern outskirts of Ilberstedt . Here the A 36 runs almost parallel to the route. Shortly before Güsten, the route of the interrupted and largely dismantled railway line Berlin – Blankenheim and then the line from Schönebeck (Elbe) joins the line. Güsten station has been reduced to three platforms. To the west of Güsten, the route runs through the Wipper valley and shortly before the Giersleben stop , the Kanonenbahn leaves the route again. The terrain is now significantly more hilly and only a little later the stop in Schierstedt is reached. You are now approaching Aschersleben , which can be reached from the east. Shortly before the end of the line at Aschersleben station, the line meets the line from Halle (Saale) .

Web links

Commons : Köthen – Aschersleben railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information on the history of rail traffic in Anhalt ( memento from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
• The history of the Bernburger Bahn (Anhalt-Cöthen-Bernburger-Eisenbahn) ( Memento from March 25, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
• Information on the railway history of Bernburg
• Website with many photos of the route described ( Memento from March 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
• Tradition on the Köthen – Aschersleben railway line in the holdings of the Magdeburg Reich Railway Directorate in the Saxony-Anhalt State Archives, Dessau department

Individual evidence

1. ^ Stefan Hennigfeld: Bernburg-Roschwitz stop in operation. In: zughalt.de . March 24, 2020, accessed March 24, 2020 . 
2. ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
3. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany 2007/2008 . 6th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9 .