Weddel loop

Weddel loop
Overview
Locale	Lower Saxony
Termini	Brunswick Wolfsburg
Line number	1956
Technical
Line length	24.8 km (15.4 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed	160 km/h (99.4 mph) (maximum)
Route number	301/349
Route map  Operating points and lines  from Hanover and Hildesheim from Salzgitter and Bad Harzburg 3.4 Brunswick Hbf from and to Gifhorn 5.7 Schmiedekamp junction to Brunswick marshalling yard 7.0 Grüner Jäger 7.6 Buchhorst junction from Brunswick marshalling yard 9.5 Weddel 9.7/3.7 Weddel junctionBrunswick-Magdeburg line 9.6 Bundesautobahn 2 12.1 Lehre depot 12.9 Schunter 249 m 13.5 Bundesstraße 248 Former route of Brunswick State Railway, closed 1942 former Brunswick-Gliesmarode line 1942–1998 14.7 Groß Brunsrode 19.9 Ehmen 22.0 Sülfeld junctiontowards Fallersleben-Brunswick line Line 6399 (track 3  to Oebisfelde) and to the Hanover–Berlin high-speed line From the Hanover–Berlin high-speed line 24.2/17.4 Fallerslebenend of line 1956 Continuation as line 6399, three tracks to Oebisfelde 12.6 Wolfsburg Hbf to Berlin

The Weddel loop is a 21.1 km long German railway between Fallersleben (part of Wolfsburg) and Weddel (in the municipality of Cremlingen near Brunswick). It is single-track and electrified and forms part of route number 301 (Brunswick–Wolfsburg–Stendal). It connects the Hanover–Berlin high-speed line with the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed line for Intercity-Express trains running between Frankfurt and Berlin.

The route branches off the Brunswick–Magdeburg line (No. 1900, KBS 310) east of Weddel station 6.6 km east of Brunswick Hauptbahnhof (near the line's 10 km chainage point) and runs as a single track to Lehre station. This station has no passenger facilities, but has two tracks, which provide the only possibility for trains to overtake or cross on the route. It continues as a single track to Sülfeld junction where it again forms two tracks. One of them crosses a bridge over the high-speed line (at its 187.5 km mark) and then connects with the northern track of the high-speed line (running towards Hanover). The other track runs directly onto the southern track (running towards Wolfsburg and Berlin).

The Weddel loop has been prepared for the installation of a second track. Provision has also been made for a raising of speed limits to 200 km/h. Between the 22.4 and 24.2 km marks the line is equipped with the German automatic train protection system, Linienzugbeeinflussung.

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