Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle High-speed Railway
The Erfurt–Leipzig/ Halle high-speed rail line is a 123 km-long German high-speed railway, currently under construction, between Erfurt and Leipzig/Halle. It is listed in the Germany's federal transport plan as German Unity rail project no 8.1 and is a section of the high-speed route is part of the Line 1 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). It connects in the north to the Anhalt Railway to Berlin and in the south to the Nuremberg-Erfurt high-speed rail line. After completion of the entire line the travel time between Munich and Berlin will be reduced to three hours and 45 minutes.
The high-speed line is to be used by a mixture of freight trains and ICEs. Travel time on the line for the 120 km between Erfurt and Leipzig for ICEs is expected to be 39 minutes (compared to about 65 min at present) and between Erfurt and Halle it will be half an hour (about 75 min at present).
The total cost is expected to amount to more than € 2.6 billion. The Saale-Elster viaduct will be the longest bridge in Germany with an overall length of approximately 8,700 metres. The project is being managed by DB ProjektBau, a subsidiary Deutsche Bahn. It is expected to be completed in approximately 2015/2016 (status as of April 2007).
The connection to Leipzig/Halle Airport will allow fast freight trains to connect to DHL’s air freight network.
Read more about Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle High-speed Railway: Planning, Route, Progress
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