Oschersleben–Jerxheim railway

Jerxheim–Oschersleben
Route number:	761
Line number:	1942
Line length:	24.3
Gauge:	1435
Legend from Magdeburg 0 Oschersleben to Halberstadt Oschersleben-Schöningen Railway 9 Neuwegersleben 14 Gunsleben Saxony-Anhalt–Lower Saxony state border from Helmstedt from Nienhagen 24 Jerxheim to Wolfenbüttel and Börßum

The Oschersleben–Jerxheim Railway was a 24 km-long main line railway in the border area of the current German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. It was opened in 1843 and was one of the oldest railways in Germany and part of the main line between Berlin and western Germany until the opening of the Berlin–Lehrte railway in 1871. It was disrupted by the inner German border with the division of Germany after World War II. The remaining operations between Gunsleben and Oschersleben ended in 1992.

History

On 10 July 1843 the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway opened the line as part of the first connection between Brunswick and Magdeburg and so, after completion of connecting lines in 1847, between the Ruhr and Berlin via Hanover. To the east the line joined the Magdeburg–Halberstadt line at Oschersleben. To the west it connected with the Wolfenbüttel–Helmstedt line at Jerxheim. In 1868, the Jerxheim–Börßum line was opened, connecting to the Brunswick Southern Railway to Kreiensen (the western section of this line is now the Warne Valley Railway from Börßum to Salzgitter-Bad) and onwards to Göttingen, Kassel and Frankfurt am Main.

After the opening of the Berlin–Lehrte railway in 1871 and the direct Brunswick–Magdeburg line (via Helmstedt) in 1872, it was mainly used for freight.

Following the division of Germany into occupation zones the line between Jerxheim and Gunsleben was interrupted and the last scheduled train ran on it on 30 June 1945. Operation between Gunsleben and Oschersleben in East Germany continued with four to six regional trains operating each day in each direction. On 30 May 1992, this section was closed "for technical reasons", and in 1993 services were replaced by buses. The line is no longer maintained.

References

• Endisch, Dirk (2005) (in German). Die Nebenbahn Oschersleben–Gunsleben (The Oschersleben–Gunsleben branch). Dirk Endisch. ISBN 978-3936893274. 
• Fricke; Ritzau, Hans-Joachim (1992) (in German). Die innerdeutsche Grenze und der Schienenverkehr (The inner-German border and the railway). Pürgen: Ritzau KG. pp. 49ff. ISBN 3-921304-45-8. 
• Fiegenbaum, Wolfgang; Wolfgang Klee (1997) (in German). Abschied von der Schiene—Stillgelegte Bahnstrecken im Personenzugverkehr Deutschlands 1991–1995 (Farewell to the railway—Disused railway lines in German passenger transport in 1991–1995). Stuttgart: transpress. pp. 146ff. ISBN 3-613-71057-9.