Magdeburg–Thale railway

The Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company (German: Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft, MHE) opened the Magdeburg–Halberstadt line on 15 July 1843. The extension from Halberstadt to Thale was opened in 1862.

Its original terminus in Magdeburg was at the Elbbahnhof (Elbe station) on the Schleinufer, which had been built by the Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway Company (Magdeburg-Leipziger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft). The Magdeburg Centralbahnhof (central station, called the Hauptbahnhof since 1895) was not built until the 1870s.

The Magdeburg–Oschersleben section also served long-distance traffic until the division of Germany. A pair of express trains (Durchgangszug) on the Frankfurt–Kreiensen–Berlin route and an Aachen–Berlin service ran on the section in 1929/30. In the same period a pair of long-distance trains used Fernschnellzug on the Basel–Berlin used the line.

In 1967, the Langenweddingen rail disaster occurred on the line, the worst in the history of East Germany. The accident involved a bi-level train hitting a tanker truck at a level crossing, resulting in an explosion that killed 94 people, many of them children on their way to a summer camp in the Harz mountains.

In the 1970s, four pairs of trains per day ran on the Magdeburg–Halberstadt section to or from Berlin, with some coaches to or from Thale. On 29 October 1988, the last scheduled steam-hauled train operated by East Germany railways ran between Thale and Halberstadt.[2]

In 1992, trains operated every two hours between Halberstadt, Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder) with trains stopping at all stations between Magdeburg and Thale; some additional services operated in busy periods. In 1995 long-distance services between Magdeburg and Halberstadt were stopped completely and were replaced by Regional-Express services, operating hourly.

A collision between the Harz-Elbe Express and a freight train on the line on 29 January 2011 killed 10 people and injured 23.[3][4]

The halts of Hordorf, Krottorf and Groß Quenstedt have not been served since the timetable change on 9 December 2012.

The track is not electrified, except for the short section between Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof and Magdeburg-Buckau. It has duplicated sections from Hadmersleben to shortly before Oschersleben and between Krottorf and Groß Quenstedt. The section between Halberstadt and Wegeleben is also duplicated, as part of the upgrading of the Halle–Halberstadt railway for tilting train operations. The rest of the line is single track.

Services on the line have been operated since 11 December 2005 for an initial twelve years by Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt as part of the Nordharznetz (north Harz network). LINT 41 and LINT 27 sets have been used. The services run under the name of HEX (Harz-Elbe-Express) hourly in each direction, including on the weekend. Trains cross in Blumenberg, Halberstadt and Quedlinburg. The express train operates as a double set on the Magdeburg−Halberstadt section. While one portion continues to Thale, the second portion continues either to Blankenburg or Vienenburg. The intervening stations between Magdeburg and Oschersleben are served during the peak hour and every two hours during the non-peak with a travel time of about 40 minutes. The express trains to Halberstadt stop only in Oschersleben and Nienhagen (b. Halberstadt), with a travel time of about 43 to 48 minutes.

On weekends, the Harz-Berlin-Express (HBX) provides a direct connection between the Harz and Berlin. During the weekend (Fridays to Sundays), the train from Thale leave in the late afternoon and is coupled in Halberstadt with a train portion that comes from Vienenburg. The journeys from Berlin Ostbahnhof to the Harz start on Saturdays and Sundays in the morning and on Sundays in the evening.

The Magdeburg–Halberstadt section is being raised to a consistent for a speed of 120 km/h. The time for trains running from Magdeburg to Halberstadt would be reduced to only 40 minutes. The Halberstadt–Wegeleben section is already upgraded for use by tilt trains and for operation at the higher speeds. 100 km/h can already be achieved on the line to Quedlinburg. The line between Magdeburg and Langenweddingen would be upgraded to be used by a service of the S-Bahn Mittelelbe (Central Elbe S-Bahn) and a new halt would be built at Gewerbegebiet Osterweddingen. In return, it is planned to drop the stop in Blumenberg.[6][7]

The upgrade started in 2015. Construction section 2.1 Oschersleben–Halberstadt was put into operation in 2016 and construction section 2.2 Blumenberg–Oschersleben was planned to be completed on 27 March 2017.[8] The new bridge over the B 246 to the east of the Oschersleben (Bode) station has been usable since March 2017 and the road under it to be opened in November 2017. The opening of construction section 1 Magdeburg–Blumenberg was scheduled for 2018.[9] Overall, the Magdeburg–Halberstadt upgrade is estimated to cost €55 million.[10]

• 
  Magdeburg Hbf
• 
  Krottorf halt (1996)
• 
  Thale Hbf (under repair, 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bahnstrecke Magdeburg–Thale.

• "Magdeburg–Hadmersleben section" (in German). staehlernestrassen.de. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
• "Hadmersleben–Halberstadt section" (in German). staehlernestrassen.de. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
• "Thale–Halberstadt section" (in German). staehlernestrassen.de. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
• "Informationen Thale–Halberstadt" (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2017.
• "Line timetable for 1944" (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2017.