Saalfeld (Saale) station

Saalfeld station (called Saalfeld (Saale) or Saalfeld (S) by Deutsche Bahn) is the station in the city of Saalfeld in the southeast of the German state of Thuringia. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station.

Saalfeld (Saale)
Deutsche Bahn
Through station
Class 642 diesel multiple unit in
Saalfeld station on its way to Leipzig
General information
LocationKulmbacher Str. 25, Saalfeld/Saale, Thuringia
Germany
Coordinates50°39′3″N 11°22′29″E
Owned byDeutsche Bahn
Operated by
Line(s)
Platforms6
Other information
Station code5450[1]
DS100 codeUS[2]
IBNR8010309
Category3[1]
Websitewww.bahnhof.de
History
Opened20 December 1871 (1871-12-20)
Electrified1939-1946[3]
28 May 1995 (1995-05-28)
Services
Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station
Kronach IC 61 Jena-Göschwitz
Preceding station Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland Following station
Terminus RE 15 Rudolstadt-Schwarza
towards Jena Saale
RB 25 Rudolstadt-Schwarza
Preceding station Erfurter Bahn Following station
Terminus RE 12 Pößneck ob Bf
towards Leipzig Hbf
RB 22 Unterwellenborn
towards Leipzig Hbf
RB 23 Bad Blankenburg (Thüringerw)
towards Erfurt Hbf
Breternitz RB 32 Terminus
Preceding station DB Regio Bayern Following station
Terminus RE 14 Kaulsdorf (Saale)
Rudolstadt-Schwarza
towards Leipzig Hbf
RE 42
Location
Saalfeld (Saale) is located in Thuringia
Saalfeld (Saale)
Saalfeld (Saale)
Location within Thuringia
Saalfeld (Saale) is located in Germany
Saalfeld (Saale)
Saalfeld (Saale)
Location within Germany
Saalfeld (Saale) is located in Europe
Saalfeld (Saale)
Saalfeld (Saale)
Location within Europe

History

Bus station in front of the entrance building
Station building

The railway reached Saalfeld on 20 December 1871 with the opening of the Gera–Saalfeld line from the northeast. The station was also built at that time. It was from the outset planned as a railway junction and was built on land that was then undeveloped to the east of Saalfeld, opposite the old town, with a large area set aside for operations. In 1874 the Saal Railway was opened from Naumburg via Jena to Saalfeld, giving the city a further rail connection to the northeast. The Franconian Forest Railway was opened via the Rennsteig to Lichtenfels in 1885. This was the second line from Berlin to Munich after the Saxon-Bavarian Railway and was, in fact, a faster route. After it was finished the importance of Saalfeld station grew sharply. It was the last major station before a climb of almost 400 metres through the Franconian Forest.

Other lines were opened to Saalfeld: the Arnstadt–Saalfeld line from Erfurt in 1895, the Schwarza Valley Railway from Katzhütte and the Köditzberg–Königsee line from Königsee in 1900, the line from Hof 1907 and the Sonneberg–Probstzella railway from Sonnenberg in 1913. During the Second World War, the strategically important station was destroyed in air strikes. The division of Germany reduced its importance, since traffic between East Germany and Bavaria was reduced. However, Interzone trains crossed at Saalfeld, as the Franconian Forest Railway, along with the more easterly line via Hof, were the only rail links between East Germany and Bavaria. The second track was dismantled in 1946 between Saaleck junction near Naumburg and Probstzella as reparations to the Soviet Union.

After German reunification, the importance of the station was restored. In 1994/95 the Saal Railway and Franconian Forest Railway were electrified and the second track were restored. For 17 years from 2000, it was the only direct ICE route between Berlin and Munich, while the importance of the second line via Hof has declined. In the following years, the station was upgraded to support modern long-distance traffic and received, among other things, three new and fully accessible platforms. The entrance building was renovated and extended.

The completion of the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed line in 2017 lead to Saalfeld—along with Jena and the Bavarian station of Lichtenfels—losing their ICE stops to Erfurt.

The marshalling yard to the east of the passenger station is closed.

Operations

The following services stop at the station (2023):

Line Route Interval (minutes) Operator
IC 61 LeipzigNaumburgSaalfeld (Saale)LichtenfelsBambergNurembergStuttgartPforzheimKarlsruhe One train pair DB Fernverkehr
RE 12 Saalfeld – Pößneck ob Bf – Weida – GeraZeitzLeipzig 120* Erfurter Bahn
RE 14 Nuremberg Erlangen Bamberg Lichtenfels Kronach Probstzella Saalfeld 120 DB Regio Bayern
RE 15 Saalfeld (Saale)Rudolstadt – Kahla – Jena Saalbf 120 Abellio
RE 42 Leipzig – Naumburg – Jena-GöschwitzSaalfeld (Saale)KronachLichtenfels – Bamberg – Erlangen – Nuremberg 120 (Leipzig–Saalfeld)
060 (Saalfeld–Nuremberg)
DB Regio Bayern
RB 22 Saalfeld (Saale) – Pößneck ob Bf – Weida – Gera – Zeitz – Leipzig 120* Erfurter Bahn
RB 23 Saalfeld (Saale) – Rottenbach – Stadtilm – Arnstadt – Erfurt 060 Erfurter Bahn
RB 25 Saalfeld (Saale) – Orlamünde – Jena Paradies – Naumburg – WeißenfelsMerseburgHalle 060 Abellio
RB 32 Saalfeld (Saale) – Wurzbach (Thür) – Bad Lobenstein – Blankenstein (Saale) 120 Erfurter Bahn
* The overlay of lines results in hourly services

References

  1. "Stationspreisliste 2023" [Station price list 2023] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  3. Since 1946 catenaries and overhead line masts were dismantled as Soviet war reparations.
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