Leipzig–Geithain railway

Leipzig Hbf–Geithain railway
Overview
Locale	Saxony, Germany
Line number	6366
Technical
Line length	44.007 km (27.345 mi)
Number of tracks	2: L.-Paunsdorf–Leipzig Werkstättenstraße
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	300 m (980 ft)
Operating speed	160 km/h (99.4 mph) (maximum)
Maximum incline	10.5%
Route number	525
Route map -0.027 Leipzig Hbf 122 m Dresden-Neustadt, to Eilenburg, to Trebnitz, to Magdeburg Hbf and to Großkorbetha 1.790 Leipzig-Volkmarsdorf 125 m Leipzig-Connewitz–Leipzig Hbf Leipzig Eilenburger Bf–Eilenburg Engelsdorf–Leipzig-Wahren 4.692 Leipzig-Paunsdorf 130 m track 5 short track to Dresden 4.900 Leipzig-Engelsdorf yard (Westberg) 5.850 Leipzig Werkstättenstraße 128 m from Leipzig-Engelsdorf Stw 1 (entrance track) from Leipzig-Engelsdorf Stw 8 (exit track) 6.150 Leipzig-Engelsdorf Stw 4 7.643 Leipzig-Mölkau 133 m 9.729 Leipzig-Holzhausen (former Bf) 140 m 12.362 Leipzig-Liebertwolkwitz 145 m Bundesautobahn 38 14.657 Großpösna 152 m 16.265 Oberholz (former Bf) 157 m 19.942 Belgershain 155 m 25.637 Otterwisch (former Bf) 160 m 28.658 Lauterbach-Steinbach 170 m from Borna (Leipzig) State route 11 32.696 Bad Lausick 169 m to Großbothen 37.374 Hopfgarten (Sachs) 193 m 39.630 Tautenhain 202 m from Neukieritzsch 44.022 Geithain 238 m to Chemnitz Hbf Source: German railway atlas

The Leipzig–Geithain railway is a main line in the Derman state of Saxony. It runs from Leipzig via Bad Lausick to Geithain. It is part of a long-distance railway from Leipzig to Chemnitz. The line is not electrified and is essentially single track. The only section of double-track is an about 900 m-long section between the Leipzig-Paunsdorf crossover and Leipzig Werkstättenstraße.

Leipzig had a railway connection since the end of the 1830s and Chemnitz was connected to the railway network at the beginning of the 1850s, but a long detour via Riesa was necessary for traffic running between the two cities. Therefore, in the 1850s, the first railway committees were formed, calling for the construction of a line from Leipzig to Chemnitz. In addition to the industrial Mulde valley, other towns such as Borna, Burgstädt, Lausigk (Bad Lausick) and Limbach would have benefited from the line. Each committee presented its own proposal for a route, which would have benefited its own location as much as possible. As the Borsdorf–Grimma section of the Borsdorf–Coswig railway was opened in 1866, a railway connection to the area south of Leipzig became more and more urgent as many companies moved their production to the new line. The Leipzig–Lausigk–Rochlitz stagecoach service had also been closed. That led to vehement demands for a Leipzig–Geithain–Chemnitz railway. However, the Saxon government showed little interest in this new rail connection, while the city of Borna built a short branch line to the Leipzig–Hof railway at its own expense. This line was opened in 1867. The Kieritzsch–Borna line was extended to Chemnitz in 1872, but also proposed direct Leipzig–Chemnitz connections from Leipzig via Lausigk and/or Grimma were not implemented. The opening of the Glauchau–Wurzen railway between 1875 and 1877 further delayed the building of a railway through the area around Lausigk.