Weimar–Gera railway

Weimar–Jena–Gera
Overview
Locale	Thuringia, Germany
Line number	6307
Technical
Line length	68.0 km (42.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route number	565
Route map  Operating points and lines  Thuringian Railway from Erfurt Ilm Valley Railway from Kranichfeld 0.0 Weimar Thuringian Railway to Naumburg (Saale) Viaduct over the Ilm 4.1 Oberweimar 7.6 Mellingen (Thür) 14.3 Großschwabhausen 18.1 Block Schlettwein 22.6 Jena West Saal Railway from Großheringen 27.5 Jena-Göschwitz to Saalfeld Saale bridge, Jena-Lobeda (121 m) 30.8 Neue Schenke 37.2 Stadtroda 42.9 Papiermühle (b. Stadtroda) 48.3 Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz 51.0 Block Oberndorf 55.6 Kraftsdorf 61.1 Töppeln 62.0 Überleitstelle Töppeln 64.3 Gera-Thieschitz Leipzig–Saalfeld line from Leipzig 68.0 Gera Hbf to Saalfeld

The Weimar–Gera railway or Holzland Railway (Holzlandbahn) is a line in the German state of Thuringia, connecting the city of Weimar via Jena, Stadtroda and Hermsdorf to Gera. It was built by the Weimar-Gera Railway Company (German: Weimar-Geraer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), which was founded in June 1872, and the line was officially accepted into operation in June 1876.

It is now part of the Mid-German Connection and is listed by Deutsche Bahn in its timetable as the Holzlandbahn ("Woodland Railway") because its eastern section runs through the Thuringian Holzland (not to be confused with the Thuringian Forest).

The line starts at Weimar station in northern Weimar, which it leaves to the east. It branches off the Thuringian railway at a grade-separated junction and runs to the south and then curves to the southeast, crossing the valley of the Ilm on a large viaduct and then runs on the eastern slope of the Ilm valley to Mellingen. It then goes through the Lehnstedt land to Großschwabhausen, where the line reaches a height of about 325 metres on the Ilm-Saale Plateau (Ilm-Saale-Platte). From Großschwabhausen it runs through the Schwabhäuser land and the Jena Mühl valley down to Jena, where it runs on the western slopes of the Saale valley past the city centre to Jena West station. Further south, it crosses the Saal Railway and continues to Jena-Göschwitz station on separate tracks parallel with the Saal Railway.

After Göschwitz the line crosses the Saale and runs through the valley of the Roda to Stadtroda and then through the Zeitzgrund woodland to Hermsdorf in the Holzland. From Hermsdorf the line runs east of the valley of the Erlbach to Kraftsdorf and Töppeln to Gera, where it ends at the former Prussian station (preußischen Bahnhof), now the Hauptbahnhof.

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Wikipedia