Hildesheim loop

Hildesheim loop
Line number:	1774
Line length:	3.7
Track gauge:	1435
Maximum speed:	130
Legend Hannover–Würzburg HSLfrom Göttingen 29.5 0.0 Sorsum junctionto Hanover B1 3.5 45.4 Himmelsthür junctionfrom Nordstemmen Lehrte–Nordstemmen line

The Hildesheim loop (German: Hildesheimer Schleife), also known as the Sorsum curve or the Hildesheim curve, is a 3.7 km long German passenger railways. It is single-track and electrified throughout. The line was opened in 1991.

Route

An ICE train running south off the loop on to the HSL

The southern end of the line branches off the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed line at Sorsum junction, 29.5 km south of Hanover. The loop leaves running northeast from the HSL, which is running to the northwest. At Himmelsthür junction, 4.7 km west of Hildesheim, it connects with the double-track line from Hanover and Nordstemmen to Hildesheim, which runs east–west, at the 45.4 km mark. There is a down grade towards Hildesheim.

The line connects the high-speed line with Hildesheim station, conveying Intercity-Express trains running between Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. ICE trains run from Hildesheim to Brunswick and the Weddel loop to Wolfsburg and Berlin via the Hanover–Berlin high-speed line. During the day, trains run hourly both ways on the loop.

References

• Track data from Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2007/2008 edition ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2007. ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9. 

An ICE running south on the single track loop line

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Coordinates: 52°09′23″N 9°52′05″E / 52.15639°N 9.86806°E / 52.15639; 9.86806