Saal Railway

Großheringen–Saalfeld railway

Overview

Other name(s)

Saale Railway

Native name

Saalbahn (i.e. Saale Railway)

Locale

Thuringia

Termini

Großheringen
Saalfeld

Line number

6304, 6305

Technical

Line length

74.83 km (46.50 mi)

Track gauge

1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge

Minimum radius

450 m (1,476 ft)

Electrification

15 kV/16.7 Hz AC catenary

Maximum incline

5.0%

Route number

560

Route map

from Erfurt

0.00

Großheringen

Saaleck junctionto Halle (Saale)

Saale bridge at Großheringen (275 m)

From Zeitz (1897–1945)

8.14

Camburg (Saale)

15.23

Dornburg (Saale)

From Crossen (Elster) (1905–1969)

19.61

Porstendorf

22.57

Jena-Zwätzen

25.50

27.10

32.21

33.4

Saale valley bridge at Jena (A 4)

36.23

Rothenstein (Saale)

39.2

Schöps siding

41.76

Kahla (Thür)

45.3

Großeutersdorf(1944–1945)

46.4

REIMAHG siding(1944–1945)

47.35

Orlamünde

to Pößneck

51.37

Zeutsch

55.22

Uhlstädt

60.42

Kirchhasel(closed 1993)

63.0

Rudolstadt (Thür)freight station

64.55

Rudolstadt (Thür)

68.74

Rudolstadt-Schwarza

To Bad Blankenburg (1884–2000)

Saale bridge at Schwarza (114 m)

From Arnstadt

From Gera

74.83

Saalfeld (Saale)

To Bamberg–München

Source: German railway atlas

The Großheringen–Saalfeld railway, also known as the Saalbahn ("Saal Railway"), is a 153 kilometre-long double-track main line in the German state of Thuringia. It connects the Thuringian Railway (German: Thüringer Bahn) at Großheringen (near Naumburg) with the Franconian Forest Railway at (Frankenwaldbahn) at Saalfeld and is part of the north-south main line, Munich–Nuremberg–Halle / Leipzig–Berlin. It is electrified at 15 kV. 16.7 Hz.

Local committees supporting the building a railway line through Saale valley date from 1850. In particular, the university town of Jena sought to connect to the emerging railway network. However, the conflicting interests of the affected Thuringian states for a long time prevented the implementation of these plans. The signing of a treaty of 8 October 1870 was signed between Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt allowed the granting of a concession on 3 April 1871 to the newly formed Saal Railway Company (Saal-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) to build and operate a railway line from Großheringen to Saalfeld via Jena and Rudolstadt. On 30 April 1874 the line was formally opened.

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