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)
Through station
Class 642 diesel multiple unit in
Saalfeld station on its way to Leipzig
LocationKulmbacher Str. 25, Saalfeld/Saale, Thuringia
Germany
Coordinates50°39′3″N 11°22′29″E
Owned byDeutsche Bahn
Operated by
Line(s)
Platforms6
Connections
  • IC 61
  • EBx 12RE 15RE 42EBx 47
  • EB 22EB 23RB 25EB 32
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
towards Karlsruhe
IC 61
towards Leipzig
Preceding station   Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland   Following station
TerminusRE 15
Rudolstadt-Schwarza
toward Jena Saalbf
TerminusRB 25
via Naumburg (Saale) - Jena
Rudolstadt-Schwarza
Preceding station   DB Regio Bayern   Following station
Rudolstadt-Schwarza
toward Leipzig Hbf
RE 42
Kaulsdorf (Saale)
Preceding station   Erfurter Bahn   Following station
TerminusEBx 12
Elster Saale Bahn
Pößneck ob Bf
toward Leipzig Hbf
Bad Blankenburg (Thüringerw)
toward Erfurt Hbf
EBx 47
Elster Saale Bahn
Terminus
TerminusEB 22
Elster Saale Bahn
Unterwellenborn
toward Leipzig Hbf
Bad Blankenburg (Thüringerw)
toward Erfurt Hbf
EB 23
Elster Saale Bahn
Terminus
TerminusEB 32
Elster Saale Bahn
Sormitztalbahn
Breternitz
Location
Saalfeld (Saale)
Location within Thuringia
Saalfeld (Saale)
Location within Germany
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. Today it is 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 will lead to Saalfeld—along with Jena and the Bavarian station of Lichtenfels—losing their ICE stops in favour of Erfurt. There are also plans to restore the six kilometre-long Hell Valley Railway over the former inner German border, which would connect Saalfeld and Hof again.

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

Operations

The following services stop at the station (2019):

Line Route Interval (minutes) Operator
IC 61 LeipzigNaumburgSaalfeld (Saale)LichtenfelsBambergNurembergStuttgartPforzheimKarlsruhe One train pair DB Fernverkehr
EBx 12 Saalfeld – Pößneck ob Bf – Weida – GeraZeitzLeipzig 120* Erfurter Bahn
RE 15 Saalfeld (Saale)RudolstadtKahlaJena Saalbf 120 Abellio
RE 42 Leipzig – Naumburg – Jena-GöschwitzSaalfeld (Saale)KronachLichtenfels – Bamberg – Erlangen – Nuremberg 120 (Leipzig–Saalfeld)
060 (Saalfeld–Nuremberg)
DB Regio Bayern
EBx 47 Saalfeld (Saale) – Rottenbach – Stadtilm – Arnstadt Individual services Erfurter Bahn
EB 22 Saalfeld (Saale) – Pößneck ob Bf – Weida – Gera – Zeitz – Leipzig 120* Erfurter Bahn
EB 23 Saalfeld (Saale) – Rottenbach – Stadtilm – Arnstadt – Erfurt 060 Erfurter Bahn
RB 25 Saalfeld (Saale)OrlamündeJena Paradies – Naumburg – WeißenfelsMerseburgHalle 060 Abellio
EB 32 Saalfeld (Saale) – Wurzbach (Thür) – Bad Lobenstein – Blankenstein (Saale) 120 Erfurter Bahn
* The overlay of lines results in hourly services

References

  1. "Stationspreisliste 2021" [Station price list 2021] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  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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