Merseburg Hauptbahnhof

Merseburg Hauptbahnhof is the main station of the town of Merseburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is located on the Halle–Bebra railway (Thuringian Railway) and Deutsche Bahn assigns it to category 4. Merseburg is located in the tariff area of the Mitteldeutscher Verkehrsverbund (central Germany transport association).

Merseburg
Junction station
Entrance building
Location	Bahnhofsplatz 1, Merseburg, Saxony-Anhalt Germany
Coordinates	51°21′25″N 11°59′26″E
Owned by	Deutsche Bahn
Operated by	DB Netz DB Station&Service
Line(s)	Halle–Bebra (KBS 581) Merseburg–Querfurt railway (KBS 586) Merseburg–Schafstädt railway (KBS 588) Merseburg–Halle-Nietleben railway (KBS 588) Merseburg–Leipzig-Leutzsch railway (KBS 584)
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	4067[1]
DS100 code	LMG[2]
IBNR	8010232
Category	4[1]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	1846
Services
Preceding station   Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland   Following station Weißenfels toward Erfurt Hbf RE 16 via Naumburg (Saale) - Weimar Halle (Saale) Hbf Terminus Leuna Werke Nord toward Saalfeld (Saale) RB 25 via Naumburg (Saale) - Jena Schkopau toward Halle (Saale) Hbf Preceding station   DB Regio Südost   Following station Weißenfels toward Jena-Göschwitz RE 18 Saale-Express via Naumburg (Saale) Halle (Saale) Hbf Terminus Merseburg Bergmannsring toward Querfurt RB 78 Terminus
Location
Merseburg Location in Saxony-Anhalt Merseburg Location in Germany Merseburg Location in Europe

History

Merseburg station was opened on 20 June 1846 when Merseburg was connected to the Halle (Saale) – Weißenfels railway. This was the first section opened of the route which later ran via Weimar, Erfurt and Eisenach to Bebra.

The Merseburg–Mücheln section of the Merseburg–Querfurt railway was opened in December 1886.

The line to Schafstädt was opened on 1 November 1896. Due to declining passenger numbers, Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt (local transport service of Saxony-Anhalt), ended all services of the Merseburg–Schafstädt railway from 14 December 2014.[3] The rail service was replaced by state bus route 728 operated by Personennahverkehrsgesellschaft Merseburg-Querfurt.[4]

The section of the Merseburg–Leipzig-Leutzsch railway from Merseburg to Zöschen was opened in 1910. After being interrupted by the First World War, traffic on the line resumed in 1928 and it was finally extended to Leipzig-Leutzsch on 7 July 1931, which gave the station a direct connection to Leipzig. Due to declining passenger numbers services ended in 1998, so Merseburg lost its direct connection to Leipzig and passengers now have to change in Halle (Saale) or Großkorbetha.

Merseburg finally got a new station building in 1956, because the former had been destroyed by air raids in the Second World War. The Merseburg–Halle-Nietleben railway was opened in 1967; it was mainly used by a shuttle service to Buna-Werke.

There was also a Frankfurt–Berlin InterRegio service at two-hour intervals until 1999. It continued to further destinations such as Stralsund or Konstanz.

The station was given the suffix "Hauptbahnhof" ("main station") at the timetable changed on 15 December 2019.

Rolling stock

Bombardier Talent 2 electric multiple units have been operated on Regionalbahn line 20 by Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland since 13 December 2015. DB Regio operated the service until 12 December 2015 with class 182 locomotives and Halberstädter Mitteleinstiegswagen (Halberstädt central-entry carriages) as well as occasional double-deck carriages. The RB 78 service is operated by Burgenlandbahn (a brand of DB Regio) with class 672 diesel multiple units and the Regional-Express 30 service to Magdeburg is operated with class 146 locomotives with double-deck carriages.

Services

Line	Route	Interval	Operator
RE 16	Halle – Merseburg – Weißenfels – Naumburg – Bad Kösen – Apolda – Weimar – Erfurt	120	Abellio
RE 18	Halle – Merseburg – Weißenfels – Naumburg – Jena Paradies – Jena-Göschwitz	120	DB Regio Südost
RB 25	Halle – Merseburg – Weißenfels – Naumburg – Camburg – Jena Paradies – Orlamünde – Saalfeld	060	Abellio
RB 78	Merseburg – Frankleben – Braunsbedra – Mücheln (Geiseltal) – Querfurt	060 min (Merseburg–Mücheln) 120 mins (Mücheln–Querfurt)	DB Regio Südost

Merseburg station after its reconstruction in 2013

DB Regio train on line RB 20

Merseburg freight yard, 1971

Signal box

Merseburg station was extensively modernised between 2011 and 2013. An electronic interlocking was also installed. Since then Merseburg station has been controlled from the Leipzig control centre.[5]

Freight yard

Merseburg used to have a large freight yard south of the passenger station. This was important for the transport of lignite to the Leuna works. It is now administered as part of the station.

References

Notes

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. "Nahverkehr: Auf drei Strecken fährt künftig Bus statt Zug" (in German). 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014.
4. "Bus 728 verbindet als Landeslinie künftig Merseburg mit Bad Lauchstädt und Schafstädt" (in German). 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
5. "Fahrdienstleiter gibt aus Leipzig die "Bahn frei!"". Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (in German). 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2017.

Sources

• Britta Schulze-Thulin (2013). Leipzig, Halle und Umgebung: Wanderführer für Mitteldeutschland 4 (in German). Mitteldeutscher Verlag. ISBN 978-3-89812-979-4.
• Hans Otto Gericke (2012). Die Elektrizitätsversorgung in Sachsen-Anhalt (in German). Mitteldeutscher Verlag. ISBN 978-3-89812-861-2.
• Joachim Krause (1997). Bahnknoten Merseburg (in German). Herdam Fotoverlag. ISBN 3-9804798-4-6.

External links

• "Tracks in service" (PDF) (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 16 June 2017.