Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway

Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway
Route number:	504
Line number:	5919
Line length:	123 km
Voltage:	15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC
Maximum incline:	1.25[1][2]  %
Minimum radius:	Standard: 6300[2]
Maximum speed:	300[1][2]
Route map
Legend km High-speed line from Nuremberg From Bebra 191.7 Erfurt Hbf To Nordhausen, To Sangerhausen To Erfurt 205.1 Ollendorf crossover 211.0 Berlstedt crossover Scherkonde valley bridge (572 m, u.c.) Großbrembach operations station Peppermint Railway Gänsebach valley bridge (1,012 m, u.c.) 225.9 Teutleben crossover Thuringia / Saxony-Anhalt border Finne tunnel (6,886 m, u.c.) 237.0 Bbf Saubachtal Saubach valley bridge (248 m, finished) Bibra tunnel (6,414 m, u.c.) 246.1 Nebra crossover Unstrut valley bridge (2,668 m, u.c.) Osterberg tunnel (2,072 m, u.c.) Jüdendorf operations station Stöbnitz valley bridge (297 m, u.c.) Merseburg–Querfurt Railway Wünsch crossover Merseburg–Schafstädt Railway A 38 270.0 Bbf Dörstewitz Merseburg–Halle-Nietleben Railway 272.3 Widerlager West Saale-Elster valley bridge (6,465 m, u.c.) Saale 274.4 Planena Branch (2,112 m, u.c.) Weiße Elster 2.112 Widerlager Nord Saale-Elster valley bridge From Erfurt Weiße Elster 278.8 Widerlager Ost Saale-Elster valley bridge Halle (Saale) Hbf To Magdeburg, To Berlin 285.5 Gröbers Saxony-Anhalt / Saxony border A 9 To Leipzig 293.3 Leipzig/Halle Airport From Dessau 305.7 Leipzig Messe Leipzig freight bypass from Leipzig-Wahren 307.1 Leipzig-Mockau Leipzig freight bypass, to Eilenburg–Cottbus From Halle, from Großkorbetha From Dresden 311.9 Leipzig Hbf

The Erfurt–Leipzig/ Halle high-speed rail line is a 123 km-long German high-speed railway, currently under construction, between Erfurt and Leipzig/Halle. It is listed in the Germany's federal transport plan as German Unity rail project no 8.1 and is a section of the high-speed route is part of the Line 1 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).^[3] It connects in the north to the Anhalt Railway to Berlin and in the south to the Nuremberg-Erfurt high-speed rail line. After completion of the entire line the travel time between Munich and Berlin will be reduced to three hours and 45 minutes.

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

The total cost is expected to amount to more than € 2.6 billion.^[4] The Saale-Elster viaduct will be the longest bridge in Germany with an overall length of approximately 8,700 metres. The project is being managed by DB ProjektBau, a subsidiary Deutsche Bahn. It is expected to be completed in approximately 2015/2016 (status as of April 2007).

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

Contents 1 Planning 2 Route 2.1 Engineering 2.2 Engineering structures 2.3 Equipment 3 Progress 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External links

Planning

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

Route

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

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

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

Engineering

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

Engineering structures

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

Equipment

The line is to be equipped with ETCS train control system. The line is being built on slab track. Three new electrical substations will be built near Bachsted, Saubach and Dörstewitz.

Progress

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

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

In December 2006 the Federal Government and Deutsche Bahn gave the completion date as 2015.^[5]

On 3 March 2010, both the Bibra and Finne Tunnels (6,466m and 6, 970m respectively) achieved breakthroughs. The entire line was still expected to open in 2015, as previously reported. The new journey times are put at Erfurt - Leipzig 39mins (currently 70 mins) and Berlin - Munich "around" 4 hours (currently aprox. 6 hours).^[6] However, even this would only just give average speeds comparable to British upgraded lines (which have a top speed of approximately 200km/h): - the fastest Edinburgh-London journey is 4 hours in length over the 632km journey, whereas the Munich-Berlin journey on the new and upgraded lines will be less than 620km. The Edinburgh-London journey is a non-stop one, whereas the Berlin-Munich one probably assumes stops in Halle, Erfurt and Nuremberg, given that Deutsche Bahn trains tend to stop frequently and these cities have no high-speed bypass route.

See also

• High-speed rail in Germany

Notes

External links

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

Berlin–Palermo railway axis Berlin–Halle · Halle/Leipzig–Erfurt · Erfurt–Nuremberg · Nuremberg–Munich · Munich–Rosenheim · Rosenheim–Kufstein · Kufstein–Wörgl · Wörgl–Innsbruck · Innsbruck bypass · Innsbruck–Franzensfeste (Brenner Base Tunnel) · Franzensfeste–Verona · Milan/Verona–Bologna · Bologna–Florence · Florence–Rome · Rome–Naples · Naples–Salerno · Salerno–Reggio Calabria(it) · Strait of Messina Bridge · Messina–Palermo(de) ·

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