Halle (Saale) railway hub

The project

The upgrade of the Halle hub will provide efficient rail infrastructure which will make the entire region accessible by the trains of the future. The Halle hub extends for about nine kilometres within the town. The new Erfurt – Halle/Leipzig line (VDE [German Unity Transport Project] 8. 2) will enter the hub from the south and the upgraded Halle/Leipzig – Berlin line (VDE 8. 3) from the north. The whole project is intended to further enhance the strategic importance of the hub and of Halle's principal station to the state of Saxony-Anhalt as a transitional point between long-distance and regional traffic.

The objective is to cut journey times by increasing the speed of arriving, departing and non-stop trains. The upgrade will make the Halle hub even more important. Halle will be served by the Munich – Berlin high-speed line by 2017.

The platforms at Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof are being rebuilt to accommodate the upgraded track layout, the standard rail lengths ordered and the prospective use. The upgraded track layout is the reason for platform reconstruction. 
The future-oriented infrastructure and the simplification of the track layout will ultimately contribute to cutting the maintenance outlay for the structural and technical installations. The project will also comply with the latest European standards, the TSI standards, which are legally-binding technical regulations, issued by the European Commission. They apply to rail traffic across Europe, in order to secure interoperability, i.e. a consistently-operated railway system. They cover platforms, energy, train control and train safety, amongst other things.

Facts and figures

• Section length: 9 km
• Track: 50 km
• Points: ca. 200 Stück
• Flyover: Line 6350, km 1,807: approximate length 86 m
• Reconstruction/upgrading of civil engineering works: 9
• Track 318 retaining wall: 72 m
• Retaining wall at the Birkhahnweg railway bridge: 172 m
• ESTW: 6 new installations
• Sectioning points: 1 new installation
• Substations: 2 new installations
• Remote control systems: 2 Stück
• Platforms: Modification due to track layout redesign
• Design speed: 80/100 bis 160 km/h
• Commissioning of northern
  connection to train formation facility: 2015
• Commissioning of southern
  and eastern connections to train formation facility: 2018
• Commissioning of VDE 8 through connection: 2017

Bridges in the Halle (Saale) railway hub

The planned alterations to the track layout within the Halle hub entail changes to existing and new civil engineering works. These measures are necessary in order to upgrade Halle to the efficiency level of the incoming, upgraded and new lines, maintaining and enhancing the high transport and strategic importance of Halle (Saale) station and its constituent parts.

Facts and figures

• Birkhahnweg railway bridge: approx. 60 m
• Birkhahnweg subway: approx. 35 m
• Kanenaer Weg railway bridge: approx. 10 m
• Delitzscher Straße railway bridge: approx. 25 m
• B6 railway bridge: approx. 30 m
• Overpass: approx. 86 m
• B100 overcrossing: approx. 35 m

More Information: DB Netz AG