Section of the Saxony-Franconia Main Line closed

Passengers on Deutsche Bahn's Saxony-Franconia main line between Altenburg in Thuringia and Werdau in Saxony must be prepared for considerable restrictions. The section will be completely closed to train traffic for construction work between August 8, 10 p.m. and October 26, 4 a.m., the railroad announced. There will be replacement bus services. The Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale is being modernized in sections.

Multiple rail connections affected

Between August and October, there will be extensive timetable changes, train cancellations and replacement services between Altenburg-Schmölln/Gößnitz-Werdau/Glauchau-Zwickau, according to Deutsche Bahn. The affected lines are the S 5/S 5X (Halle-Leipzig/Halle Airport-Leipzig-Altenburg-Zwickau), RE 1 (Göttingen-Gotha-Erfurt-Weimar-Jena-Gera-Glauchau) and the City-Bahn Chemnitz with the RB 37 line (Glauchau-Meerane-Gößnitz). The RE 3 line (Erfurt-Weimar-Jena-Gera-Altenburg) was affected in this section until September 18. The closure was followed by construction work to renew the Crimmitschau-Gößnitz track.

Around 330 million euros will be invested in the infrastructure of the Gößnitz railroad junction in the Altenburger Land district and the adjacent sections towards Altenburg and Werdau by the second half of 2026. According to Deutsche Bahn, this involves new tracks and platforms, bridges and culverts, overhead lines as well as signaling and safety technology. The aim is to increase train speeds and thus shorten travel times for passengers.

Renovation in several sections

According to Deutsche Bahn, the Saxony-Franconia Main Line stretches over around 288 kilometers and connects the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt with the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg with the Dresden-Hof and Leipzig-Werdau sections. According to Deutsche Bahn, the lines are being completely renewed.

According to DB, the overall project will involve rebuilding around 850 kilometers of track, modernizing 52 stations and stops and installing 32 electronic signal boxes. Once the Magistrale has been upgraded, trains will be able to travel at speeds of 160 instead of 120. According to the information provided, the completion of the Dresden-Hof line will reduce the journey time by a total of 50 minutes.