Locale Saxony, Germany Line length 61.32 km (38.10 mi) | Line number 6385 Minimum radius 300 m (980 ft) | |
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Number of tracks 2: Neukieritzsch–Borna
Geithain–Narsdorf
Wittgensdorf ob Bf–Küchwald Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
The Neukieritzsch–Chemnitz railway is a line in the German state of Saxony. It branches in Neukieritzsch from the Leipzig–Hof railway and runs via Borna and Geithain to Chemnitz Main station. It is part of a long-distance connection between Leipzig and Chemnitz. The route is electrified between Neukieritzsch and Geithain.
Contents
History
As early as 1860 a railway committee had been established to promote a direct link between Leipzig and Chemnitz. Initial plans called for an alignment from Kieritzsch (now Neukieritzsch) on the Saxon-Bavarian Railway (German: Sächsisch-Bayerischen Eisenbahn) to Mittweida on the Riesa–Chemnitz line. Above all, the city of Borna vehemently demanded a rail connection. As these plans were rejected by the Saxon government, the town of Borna proposed the construction of the Kieritzsch–Borna route at its own expense in 1864. This was authorised, although the management of operations was reserved for the state. In October 1865, construction began and was completed on 14 January 1867, having been delayed by the War of 1866.
The Saxon government favoured further construction towards Chemnitz to be carried out with private finance, but there was no candidate who was willing to provide the necessary funds for the expensive construction of the proposed line. Ultimately, the Saxon parliament decided to build the line at the expense of the state. There was still a long controversy surrounding the planned route. For a long time the favourite was a direct connection from Leipzig to Geithain. Ultimately, it was decided for reasons of cost to take the route from Borna via Geithain and Burgstädt to Chemnitz. Branch lines would also be built to Limbach, Penig and Rochlitz.
In the spring of 1869, work began on the track. The creation of several large viaducts was necessary in Göhren, Burgstädt and Chemnitz. On 8 April 1872, operations started on the new line. It was opened together with the branch lines to Limbach, Penig and Rochlitz. The Kieritzsch–Borna city railway passed into state ownership on 1 October 1870, so that there was now a continuous state railway between Leipzig and Chemnitz.
Operations
In 1945, the second track was completely dismantled for war reparations to the Soviet Union, but the sections between Neukieritzsch and Borna and between Wittgensdorf and Chemnitz-Küchwald were later rebuilt. On 15 January 1962, Deutsche Reichsbahn inaugurated electric traction between Neukieritzsch and Borna.
With the renovation and upgrading of the Chemnitz–Leipzig line (including the Leipzig–Geithain line via Bad Lausick) the second track was re-established between Geithain and Narsdorf on 11 December 2005. Services at Cossen station were abandoned at the same time.
The route from Borna to Geithain was electrified in the summer of 2010, allowing to integrate Geithain station from December 2013 as S-Bahn line S4 to the then newly established network of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland, running through the Leipzig City Tunnel. A new electronic interlocking was built in Frohburg. €8 million were invested overall. On 15 December 2013, line S4 of the new S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland network used the section of line between Neukieritzsch and Geithain, since 13 December 2015 it served by S3. The Geithain-Chemnitz section is serviced by Transdev Regio Ost with locomotive-hauled carriages under the brand Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn since the timetable change in December 2015. The City-Bahn Chemnitz operates the Burgstädt–Chemnitz section using diesel multiple units; since December 2015 this service operates as line C13 under the Chemnitz Model (using Vossloh Citylink electro-diesel tram-trains).