Wolfenbüttel–Helmstedt railway

Wolfenbüttel–Helmstedt

from Brunswick 12.3 Wolfenbüttel to Bad Harzburg Oker 14.5 Linden industrial estate 16.2 to Schacht Asse II Brunswick-Schöningen railway 21.6 Dettum 29.5 Schöppenstedt 37.5 Watenstedt Jerxheim–Börßum railway 41.2 22.3 Jerxheim to Nienhagen to Oschersleben 16.5 Söllingen (Braunschweig) from Brunswick and Oschersleben 10.9 Schöningen to Eilsleben 5.5 Neu Büddenstedt from Brunswick from Weferlingen -0.3 Helmstedt to Magdeburg

The Wolfenbüttel–Helmstedt railway is a 51 km-long railway line in the south-east of the German state of Lower Saxony. It was opened in 1843 and 1858 in two stages. It opened up the area south of the Elm hills and was therefore also called the South Elm Railway (German: Südelmbahn). The main intermediate stations were Schöningen and Schöppenstedt, which were connected to Helmstedt and via Wolfenbüttel to Brunswick. The 33 km section between Schöppenstedt and Helmstedt was closed on 8 December 2007, leaving only the western section in operation. The section from Wolfenbüttel to Jerxheim was opened in 1843 and was one of the oldest railways in Germany and part of the main line between Berlin and western Germany until the opening of the Berlin–Lehrte railway in 1871.

In 1838 Wolfenbüttel was connected by rail to Brunswick with the opening of the Brunswick–Bad Harzburg line. On 10 July 1843 a line was opened by the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway from Wolfenbüttel to the Magdeburg–Halberstadt line at Oschersleben via Schöppenstedt, Jerxheim and Gunsleben. Until the opening of Berlin–Lehrte railway in 1871 this was part of the shortest connection between Hanover and Berlin.

A branch line built was opened on 20 July 1858 from Jerxheim to Helmstedt via Schöningen. This new line involved less construction and crossed easier terrain than the direct Brunswick–Helmstedt line opened in 1872, which forms part of the present Brunswick–Magdeburg line. Other lines were built connecting to the Wolfenbüttel–Helmstedt line, particularly at Jerxheim. On 1 May 1868 a link was opened between Jerxheim and Börßum, connecting to the Brunswick Southern Railway to Kreiensen (the western section of this line is now the Warne Valley Railway from Börßum to Salzgitter-Bad). On 15 September 1872 the Eilsleben–Völpke–Schöningen line opened. These lines were particularly important for long-distance freight trains and also were used by occasional express passenger trains. Later branch lines were added to Dedeleben and Nienhagen and the Brunswick-Schöningen line. The sections from Wolfenbüttel to Jerxheim and between Schöningen and Helmstedt, however, had only medium importance and were not used by express trains in 1914 or 1939.

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