Railway in Thuringia

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This article describes the development of the railway in the German state of Thuringia .

history

The beginnings of the railway in Thuringia

Until the beginning of the 20th century, eight Thuringian states as well as several Prussian areas and a few small Saxon exclaves were located on the area of ​​today's Free State of Thuringia . This state-based fragmentation was exacerbated by the division into torn territories, each of whose governments tried to enforce their own interests. Planning for railway lines in Thuringia was therefore extremely difficult in the 19th century.

The first railway line that ran through Thuringian territory was the Saxon-Bavarian Railway in 1842. It ran from Leipzig via Hof (Saale) to Nuremberg . In Thuringia, it gave the city of Altenburg , at that time the residence of the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg , a rail link. The city benefited from this to such an extent that rapid industrial development began.

The Prussian government was interested in a rapid rail connection between Berlin and France, which was primarily due to military reasons. It was considered to build a railway line past the major centers of power in Thuringia through the north of the country. It should lead from Halle through the Thuringian Basin via Mühlhausen towards East Hesse. However, this project was not realized because both the city of Erfurt and the Thuringian states resisted it. Therefore, in 1846, the Thuringian Railway Company was entrusted with the construction of a railway line that was to lead from Halle via Naumburg along the Thuringian chain of cities to Bebra on the Kassel – Frankfurt route. The resulting Thuringian Railway , which is still the most important in Thuringia, was opened in 1846 to Weimar , in 1847 via Erfurt and Gotha to Eisenach and finally in 1849 from Eisenach via Gerstungen to Bebra. This completed the connection between Berlin and southwest Germany.

The Thuringian Railway Company , in which the Thuringian states also participated, was the largest railway company in the country. When it was founded in Erfurt in 1844, the Kingdom of Prussia , the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar and the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha held a quarter of the share capital from the start . Later came Sachsen-Meiningen , Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt , Schwarzburg-Sondershausen , Reuss j. L. , also the city of Mühlhausen and the city and district of Langensalza . Because of the great importance of the Thuringian railway lines, the state of Prussia tried to acquire it in full, took over management and administration on January 1, 1882 and became the owner on July 1, 1886.

The network continues to grow

It was not until 1858 that tracks were laid again on Thuringian soil. This time the Werra-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft was the client for the 150-kilometer-long Werra Railway , which was to open up the southern Thuringian region and in particular the residential town of Meiningen . The railway line got its name from the Werra , in whose valley it mostly runs. The beginning of the railway line was the city of Eisenach. The first obstacle to be overcome shortly after the city was the Thuringian Forest , although it was still relatively flat in the Eisenach area. This was realized through the 544 meter long Förthaer Tunnel . The route continues via Bad Salzungen to Meiningen and then via Hildburghausen and Coburg to Lichtenfels , where it in turn meets the railway line from Munich to Berlin.

Now the second largest city in the Thuringian region, Gera , also asked for a railway connection. She got it in 1859 through the valley of the White Elster to Zeitz , where there is a connection to Leipzig and Halle. The Thuringian Railway Company was again the client here. In order to improve the railway connection of the city, a connection was made in 1865 in an easterly direction to Gößnitz to the Saxon-Bavarian Railway.

After the center, east and south of Thuringia had already been opened up by a railway line, the north of the region was now also connected to the railway. It was realized in the years 1866 to 1872, when Halle in the east was connected by northern Thuringia with Kassel in the west. The cities of Nordhausen , Leinefelde and Heiligenstadt received a rail connection through the Halle-Kassel Railway . It was connected to the Thuringian Railway in 1869 by the Erfurt – Nordhausen railway and in 1870 by the Gotha – Leinefelde railway. The southern Harz line was also opened in 1869 .

Expansion and consolidation of the network after the establishment of the empire

Gera Central Station, around 1900
Erfurt Central Station, 1903

After Germany became a state in 1871, the alignment of the railway network was proclaimed from a decentralized to a central one with Berlin as its center. For this purpose, the Werra Railway was in an unfavorable location and a new connection from Berlin to Württemberg , especially Stuttgart , was sought. For this, the central part of the Thuringian Forest had to be crossed. It made sense to include the existing Erfurt – Arnstadt line for this purpose . On the one hand, the city of Ilmenau requested a railway connection, on the other hand, a route along the Wilder Gera was more cost-effective, as a shorter tunnel was required here. The first construction work began after 1880. The most difficult project here was the three kilometer long fire control tunnel , which crossed the Thuringian Forest at its highest point near Oberhof . In 1884 the line via Arnstadt and Suhl to Meiningen was opened. The connection from Meiningen to Würzburg was already realized in 1874 with the Schweinfurt – Meiningen railway line , so that the connection from Berlin to Stuttgart was now completely expanded.

Also in the interests of centralization, a faster connection from Berlin to Munich had to be created. The Saxon-Bavarian Railway was once very laboriously routed through the Vogtland according to Saxony's ideas. In addition, Jena still had no rail connection. A concept was drawn up after the traffic from Berlin to Munich took place over three axes. On the one hand via the old route through Vogtland, on the other hand via Leipzig and Gera to Saalfeld and on the third via Halle and Jena to Saalfeld. For this purpose, on the one hand, a railway line from Gera via Weida and Pößneck to Saalfeld was built in 1871, and , on the other hand, the Saalbahn -gesellschaft built a line from Naumburg via Jena to Saalfeld. The Frankenwaldbahn began in Saalfeld , a route that crosses the Thuringian slate mountains and leads to Lichtenfels in Bavaria. In 1885 this project was completed and Berlin had a faster connection to Munich.

The last big gap in the Thuringian network was the eastern part of the "chain of cities". The largest city, Erfurt, was still not connected to the second largest city, Gera. In order to close this gap, the wooden railway from Weimar via Jena to Gera was built in 1876 .

From the point of view of the military, a fast connection from Berlin to the French border was still missing. That is why the idea of ​​the so-called “ Kanonenbahn ” was born, which was given its own route in Eichsfeld until 1880 , but which north-east of Silberhausen shared the existing Gotha-Leinefelde and the Halle-Kassel Railway. This completed the Thuringian main route network.

In the decades that followed, up to 1914, numerous branch lines were opened that also supplied smaller towns and villages with a railway connection. In 1939, the Thuringian trunk line with eleven pairs of passenger trains daily from Berlin via Erfurt to Frankfurt and five from Berlin via Erfurt to Würzburg was one of the most important routes in the German Empire.

decade Newly opened routes
in Thuringia
Closures
in Thuringia
Net length
1840s 166 km 166 km
1850s 182 km 348 km
1860s 227 km 575 km
1870s 526 km 1101 km
1880s 453 km 1554 km
1890s 396 km 1950 km
1900s 285 km 2235 km
1910s 199 km 3 km 2431 km
1920s 40 km 2471 km
1930s 15 km 2486 km
1940s 173 km 2313 km
1950s 54 km 2259 km
1960s 270 km 1989 km
1970s 89 km 1900 km
1980s 1900 km
1990s 207 km 1693 km
2000s 207 km 1486 km

Source: G. Fromm, Thuringian Railway Line Lexicon

1945: Thuringia becomes a border region

The year 1945 brought drastic changes for the railway in Thuringia. Since it bordered the American Zone of Occupation (ABZ) in the south and west , numerous railway lines were cut by this zone boundary. Therefore, on November 1, 1946, all railway lines in the border area were shut down. The only exceptions were the Eisenach – Bebra and Saalfeld – Kronach routes, which remained open to interzonal traffic ; Only freight traffic was possible on the southern Harz route . Thuringia moved from the center of the German Empire to the edge of the Soviet occupation zone or later GDR and lost its importance for long-distance traffic. In the course of the reparations payments to the Soviet Union , many locomotives and wagons were removed from Thuringian railway depots and some line tracks (mostly the second track of lines that had become meaningless) were dismantled and melted down.

On September 17, 1945, the so-called Wanfried Agreement between the USA and the Soviet Union was concluded. It included the exchange of several border villages in the Eschwege / Heiligenstadt area from the American zone to the Soviet one and vice versa. The reason for the conclusion of the agreement was the important Göttingen – Bebra railway (Hamburg – Frankfurt line), over which large parts of the ABZ's supply of troops and goods were handled. It ran in the Werra valley for about four kilometers in Thuringia and thus in the Soviet-controlled area. The Russian troops used the Americans' dependence to harass all sorts of things (e.g. delaying train journeys through day-long checks or confiscating goods). The Americans then wanted to integrate the small western Thuringian region into their zone of occupation. After negotiations with the Soviets, the Thuringian villages along the route to Hesse were integrated and, in return, some Hessian villages on the Thuringian border to Thuringia were integrated. The agreement was named after the place where it was signed: after the small East Hessian town of Wanfried near Eschwege.

The railway in Thuringia during the GDR era

During the GDR times there were few changes in the Thuringian railway network. Some branch lines that had become unprofitable were closed and some main lines were electrified. Special features were the train stations in Frauenwald and Bad Liebenstein , which retained their ticket sales and baggage handling despite the discontinued rail traffic. In Bad Liebenstein this situation did not end until 1994.

After 1990: Thuringia is again the center of Germany

Wümbachtalbrücke railway overpass on the Nuremberg – Erfurt high-speed line

With the German reunification in 1990, Thuringia moved from the "traffic-technical offside" back to the center of Germany. In the years that followed, Deutsche Bahn pursued two goals:

  • Expansion and renovation of the long-distance network, e.g. B. by electrification, widening to two tracks and renovating branch lines. The restoration of connections to the old federal states is also part of this
  • Closure of unprofitable branch lines: The consolidation of the route network took place between 1994 and 2000 and is now largely complete.

In addition, some main and secondary lines were leased to private railways such as the Erfurt Railway or the South Thuringia Railway , which have been operating them since around 2002.

The new construction of the high-speed line Nuremberg – Erfurt and Erfurt – Leipzig / Halle through Thuringia has been determined by the " Transport Project German Unity No. 8" . The latter route opened on December 13, 2015; the other route opened on December 10, 2017.

Accidents

Notable accidents are:

  • On October 29, 1919 at around 8:30 a.m. in Neudietendorf , a freight train ran across the river on the P 810 Erfurt – Bebra passenger train. 3 people died and 80 were injured.
  • December 16, 1920 - Train 5 of the Silberhausen – Hüpstedt small railway got out of control with a heavy load of potash salt and derailed on the pull-out track at Silberhausen station. 17 people died and several were injured.
  • December 24, 1935 - In Großheringen , the delayed D 44 Berlin – Basel collided with the P 825 which was crossing its road. The engine driver of the D 44 leader was busy heating the locomotive because he was assigned an auxiliary heater due to a lack of staff. He had only been in the driving service for two months and was completely overwhelmed with the heating, as the fully occupied express train required a lot of steam due to the high speed and the steep incline. As a result, the engine driver was distracted from observing the route and overlooked the “stop” signal from large herring. The accident killed 34 people and left 27 seriously injured. What made the rescue work even more difficult was that the accident happened on the Saale bridge.
  • July 19, 1972 - When two passenger trains collided as a result of an overlooked stop signal near the Haarhausen station , three passengers died and several were injured.
  • June 11, 1981 - The interzonal train D 1453 from Düsseldorf to Karl-Marx-Stadt ( Chemnitz ) reached the urban area of ​​Erfurt (district Bischleben) around 16:20. The track had warped there due to the intense heat. The fourth and fifth wagons of the express train derailed and fell down an embankment. The following five wagons derailed, the seventh hit a signal box. 14 passengers died and 93 were injured, some seriously.
  • September 28, 2003 - On the Ilmbahn near Weimar, around 1:00 p.m., two regional trains collided head- on on a single-track section near Holzdorf . One person was killed, 29 injured. The cause was a mistake by a train driver who drove off at Holzdorf station without waiting for the return train. Because the scene of the accident was in a confusing curve, the trains could not be braked in time despite the low top speed of 50 km / h. The extent of the accident would presumably have been significantly lower if the crash absorbing elements that were present in the original French version of the railcars had also been present in the German vehicles.

Route network

The following lists the routes on which rail traffic is currently taking place. The current overview of the local transport lines is available

>> List of railway lines in Thuringia

Main lines

route Expansion* KBS no. Lines
Total stations
Station
density (km)
Cycle density
(min)
Length
(km)
Northeim – Nordhausen 1 357 RB 80 (Bodenfelde–) Northeim – Nordhausen 15th 6.0 60 90
Leipzig – Altenburg – Hof E 2 530 RE 3 Erfurt – Gera – Altenburg / Greiz
S 5 Halle – Leipzig – Altenburg (–Zwickau)
S 5X Halle – Leipzig – Altenburg – Zwickau
30th 5.7 RE: 120
S: 60/120
SX: 60
170
Gera – Gößnitz –Glauchau 1 / E 1 1 540 RE 1 Göttingen – Erfurt – Glauchau
RE 3 Erfurt – Gera – Altenburg / Greiz
10 5.1 60 51
Gera-Weischlitz 1 541 RB 4 Gera – Greiz – Plauen – Weischlitz 19th 3.3 60 62
Leipzig – Probstzella 2 550
555
EBx 12 Leipzig – Gera – Saalfeld
EB 22 Leipzig – Gera – Saalfeld
29 4.8 60 140
Naumburg / Großheringen – Saalfeld E 2 560
840
ICE Hamburg – Berlin – Munich
RE 18 Halle – Jena – Saalfeld
RE 42 Jena – Saalfeld – Nuremberg
SE 15 Leipzig – Jena – Saalfeld
RB Saalfeld – Kronach – Bamberg
RB 24 Großheringen – Jena – Saalfeld
37 4.7 ICE: 60
RV: 60
173
Arnstadt – Saalfeld 1 561 EB 23 Erfurt – Saalfeld
EBx 47 Erfurt – Saalfeld
10 4.8 60 48
Weimar – Jena – Gera 1/2 565 RE 1 Göttingen – Erfurt – Glauchau
RE 3 Erfurt – Gera – Altenburg / Greiz
EB 21 Weimar – Gera
13 5.2 RE: 120
RB: 60/120
68
Erfurt – Grimmenthal – Meiningen / Schweinfurt
1
570
815
RE 7 Erfurt – Würzburg
RE 45 Erfurt – Meiningen
STB 44 Erfurt – Meiningen
EB 40 Meiningen – Schweinfurt
30th 5.4 60 162
Eisenach-Eisfeld 1 575
569
STB 41 Eisenach – Eisfeld (–Sonneberg) 22nd 4.9 60
(120)
108
Halle – Naumburg – Erfurt – Bebra E 2 580
605
ICE Dresden – Frankfurt
IC Stralsund – Düsseldorf
RE 16 Halle – Naumburg – Erfurt
RE 17 Leipzig – Naumburg – Erfurt
RB 20 Halle – Erfurt – Eisenach
RB 6 Eisenach – Gerstungen – Bebra
32 5.2 RE: 120
RB: 60
ICE: 60
IC: 120
165
Halle – Nordhausen – Eichenberg E 2 590
600
RE 9 Halle – Kassel
RE 19 Halle – Leinefelde
RB 51 Nordhausen – Heilbad Heiligenstadt
39 4.4 RE: 120
RB: 60
172
Sangerhausen – Erfurt E 1 595 RE 10 Magdeburg – Erfurt
RB 59 Sangerhausen – Erfurt
15th 4.7 RE: 120
RB: 120
70
Nordhausen – Wolkramshausen – Erfurt 1 601 RE 55 Nordhausen – Erfurt
RE 56 Nordhausen – Erfurt
19th 4.2 60 79
Gotha-Leinefelde 1 604 RE 1 Glauchau – Erfurt – Göttingen
RE 2 Erfurt – Kassel
RB 53 Gotha – Bad Langensalza
15th 4.5 60 67
Coburg-Sonneberg E 1 820 RE 49 Sonneberg – Nuremberg 13 3.2 60 41

*: Number of tracks; E stands for electrified routes

1 : Gößnitz – Glauchau electrified
²: to Plaue and between Gehlberg and Oberhof

The most dense section in Thuringia is Erfurt – Weimar.

Branch lines

In Thuringia, all branch lines are single-track and not electrified. Due to various line closures since the early 1990s, the network has lost its density.

route KBS no. operator No.
Total stations
Station
density (km)
Cycle density
(min)
Length
(km)
(Gera–) Weida – Mehltheuer 546 EB EBx 13 16 3.0 60/120 48
(Saalfeld–) Hockeroda – Blankenstein 557 EB EB 32 14th 3.7 60/120 52
(Jena–) Orlamünde – Pößneck 559 EB EB 28 10 3.5 60/120 35
Rottenbach – Katzhütte 562 OBS OBS 8th 3.1 60 25th
Sonneberg-Neuhaus 564 STB STB 42 12 2.3 60 28
(Erfurt–) Plaue – Ilmenau – Rennsteig 566 STB STB 46 15th 3.5 60 52
Ice field – Sonneberg 569 STB STB 41 11 3.0 120 33
Zella-Mehlis-Wernshausen 573 STB STB 43 12 2.5 60 30th
Weimar – Kranichfeld 579 EB EB 26 13 2.0 60 26th
Sömmerda – Buttstädt 594 EB RB 27 7th 3.9 120 22.5
(Erfurt–) Kühnhausen – Bad Langensalza 603 DB RE 2
RB 52
9 4.2 60 38
Fröttstädt – Friedrichroda 606 STB RB 48 6th 1.8 60 11

Status: December 2017

Narrow-gauge railways

Modern and traditional train operation on the Harzquerbahn

The only narrow-gauge railway that still exists today is the Harzquerbahn , which crosses the Harz to the north from Nordhausen . Various other routes have been dismantled for a long time. The Trusebahn between the Werra Valley and the Thuringian Forest had a gauge of 750 mm. It was nine kilometers long and connected the town of Trusetal with the Werra Railway near Wernshausen . 1000 mm gauge had a total of six lines in Thuringia in addition to the Harzquerbahn: The Bad Salzungen – Vacha and Dorndorf – Kaltennordheim lines were converted from 1000 mm to 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) in 1934 and 1906 in order to make operation easier.

There were two more narrow-gauge railways in the Hildburghausen district , one led from the district town to Heldburg , it was shut down in 1946 and the other led from Eisfeld to Schönbrunn . It was shut down in 1967.

There was also a narrow-gauge railway from Weimar to Großrudestedt near Sömmerda , Weimar-Buttelstedt-Großrudestedter Railway (closed in 1946) and one from Gera to Meuselwitz Gera-Meuselwitz-Wuitzer Railway , which was closed in 1971.

Special tracks

Oberweißbacher Bergbahn

There are some extraordinary railway lines in Thuringia. Probably the best known is the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn , a 1.4 kilometer long funicular with 1800 mm gauge ( broad gauge ). It runs from the Schwarzatal up to the Oberweißbach plateau. At the mountain station ( Lichtenhain an der Bergbahn) a 2.5 kilometer long electrified flat section begins, which continues to Cursdorf . The entire system is listed in the Deutsche Bahn timetable as timetable route 563.

The route from Ilmenau via the Rennsteig to Schleusingen is also operated as a museum railway . With a 6% gradient in places, the Rennsteigbahn is the steepest route in Germany that is still in operation. It is used on selected weekends by steam locomotives from the Dampfbahnfreunde Mittlerer Rennsteig . The steepest railway line in Germany was the Friedbergbahn , which was in operation until 1997 and had gradients of more than 6.6%.

Private railways

Diesel multiple unit of the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn in Suhl

Since around 1998 there have been numerous routes in Thuringia on which traffic was advertised. Regional traffic is taken over by the four private railways operating in Thuringia .

Traction vehicles

The 612 series is on many RE lines in Thuringia

A wide variety of traction vehicles are used in Thuringia . Deutsche Bahn mostly uses the series 641 ("Walfisch") and 642 (Siemens Desiro) diesel multiple units on its branch lines , while the 612 series , the "Regio-Swinger", can be found on the main axes . This has a tilt technology.

The private railways only use railcars in Thuringia. The most widespread of these are the Stadler Regio-Shuttles from Erfurter Bahn , Süd-Thüringen-Bahn and Vogtlandbahn . The Cantus public transport company relies on its route Eisenach-Bebra EMUs of type Stadler FLIRT , while at Abellio Rail Central Germany only the vehicles of the type BOMBARDIER TALENT 2 are used.

(Almost) all vehicles for Thuringia are managed in the Erfurt plant of DB Regio AG, Verkehrsbetrieb Thüringen. These are 26 units from the 612 series, 20 units from the 641 series, 85 units from the 642 series and all Thuringian local transport vehicles.

The DB steam locomotive works exist in Meiningen, specializing in the construction, repair and maintenance of traditional vehicles and museum steam locomotives in Germany. Here you can visit numerous steam locomotives from Central Europe during the annual Meiningen Steam Engine Days. The museum locomotives for the Thuringian region are located in the Arnstadt depot . You can also visit museum locomotives in Eisenach and Weimar, which are located there.

Important train stations

Neuhaus station, the highest station in Thuringia
Although it is written on it, it is not: "Hauptbahnhof" Eisenach

see also: List of passenger stations in Thuringia

The largest and most important train station in Thuringia is the Erfurt main station . From here there are connections to almost all Thuringian cities. In 2015 and 2017, the high-speed lines Erfurt-Halle / Leipzig and Nuremberg-Erfurt went into operation. Erfurt main station thus became the central hub of the ICE routes Dresden-Frankfurt (Main) and Berlin-Munich. Before that, the station was extensively rebuilt between 2002 and 2008.

In addition to Erfurt, Eisenach station plays an important role in rail traffic. It is the central point for West Thuringia. In addition to long-distance traffic, Eisenach is also the starting point of the important regional railway line Eisenach-Leipzig and the Werra Railway via Meiningen to Eisfeld. Eisenach also plays an important role in freight transport. The station is also the location of the traditional Thuringian train.

Another important train station is the Saalfeld train station . It is the center of rail traffic in southeast Thuringia. Until 2017 there was an ICE stop on the Berlin – Munich line, but is now still an IC stop on the Leipzig – Karlsruhe line. On the other hand, other railway lines from Erfurt, Jena, Gera, Kronach, Bad Lobenstein and Katzhütte meet here.

The city of Jena does not have a main train station. But it still has four larger train stations. One is the Saalbahnhof in the north of the city, which used to be the stop for long-distance trains in Jena. In recent years, however, it has lost its importance in favor of the newly built, central Jena-Paradies stop . The Jena West train station in the west of the city is on the Erfurt – Gera Holzlandbahn and is therefore also of national importance. The Jena-Göschwitz station is located in the south of Jena at the intersection of the Saalbahn and the Holzlandbahn. It was considered the city's “secret main station”, but only a few long-distance trains stop. However, this station is still important for freight traffic.

The Central Station Gera is the hub of regional rail lines in eastern Thuringia. It has an imposing glass roof from 1911. Among other things, Gera became known for being the first major German city without access to long-distance traffic. Regional railway lines lead from here to Jena, Leipzig, Altenburg, Plauen, Hof and Saalfeld.

The most important railway junction in northern Thuringia is the Nordhausen station , where the Halle – Hann. Münden , the Northeim – Nordhausen railway line and the Erfurt – Wolkramshausen (–Nordhausen ) line meet. The Harzquerbahn narrow-gauge line begins a little away at Nordhausen-Nord station. The Leinefelde train station is also very important in the northern part of Thuringia . This is where the Gotha – Leinefelde and Halle – Hann railway lines meet . Flow together . In the south of the Free State, Meiningen station , once the starting and destination point of numerous long-distance trains of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , is the most important railway junction. Railway lines lead from here to Erfurt, Eisenach, Schweinfurt, Bad Kissingen and Sonneberg.

During the time of the division of Germany , the stations of Probstzella on the Frankenwaldbahn and Gerstungen on the Thuringian Railway were important as border stations in interzonal traffic . Passport controls, locomotive changes, baggage controls and the like were carried out here. In Ellrich ( southern Harz line ) only freight trains were checked. The highest station in Thuringia is Neuhaus am Rennweg station at 830 m above sea level. NN. The lowest railway station in the country is in Großheringen (Saale valley) at a height of 123 m.

There are a total of six long-distance train stations in Thuringia: Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt Hbf, Weimar on the Thuringian Railway and Jena Paradies and Saalfeld on the Saalbahn .

Only four train stations in Thuringia have the addition “ Hauptbahnhof ”: Erfurt Hauptbahnhof, Gera Hauptbahnhof, Arnstadt Hauptbahnhof and Sonneberg Hauptbahnhof. The Eisenach train station is a curiosity, but it bears the big address “Hauptbahnhof”. Gotha station is also referred to as the main station in the TWSB's regular service . It is also worth mentioning that the Sonneberg main station (since 1999 environmental station ) was only served by a single line - as the only station in Sonneberg - from Coburg in Upper Franconia after line closures between 1997 and 2002.

According to the price list (up to 2017 station category) of Deutsche Bahn, 2020 were shown in Thuringia

A further 29 train stations are not included in these statistics because they have a different owner. Most of them are on the Harzquerbahn.

Trams

Tram in Erfurt

Today there are six tram companies in the Free State, in Erfurt (since 1883), Gera (since 1892), Gotha (since 1894), Nordhausen (since 1900) and Jena (since 1901), as well as the Thuringian Forest Railway (since 1929). The latter, an overland tram with a 1000 mm gauge, runs from Gotha to Tabarz in the Thuringian Forest.

Four other cities once had trams: Altenburg (1895 to 1920), Eisenach (1897 to 1975), Mühlhausen (1898 to 1969) and Weimar (1899 to 1937). All trams were and are electrically operated and had or have 1000 mm gauge ( meter gauge ). The Erfurt tram was operated as a horse -drawn tram until 1894 .

A means of transport similar to trams, the trolleybus , was available in four Thuringian cities in the middle of the 20th century: in Gera (1939 to 1977, see trolleybus Gera ), in Greiz (1945 to 1969, see trolleybus Greiz ), in Weimar (1948 to 1993, see Trolleybus Weimar ) and in Erfurt (1948 to 1975, see Trolleybus Erfurt ). The planned Suhl trolleybus could no longer be completed due to the fall of 1989.

literature

  • Günter Fromm: Thuringian Railway Lexicon . Rockstuhl Publishing House, Bad Langensalza 1996, ISBN 3-929000-33-4 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. DB Station & Service AG: Station price list 2020. (PDF) p. 72 , accessed on April 19, 2020 .