Saalfeld (Saale) station

Saalfeld station (called Saalfeld (Saale) or Saalfeld (S) by Deutsche Bahn) is the station in the city of Saalfeld in the southeast of the German state of Thuringia. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station.

Saalfeld (Saale)
Through station
Class 642 diesel multiple unit in Saalfeld station on its way to Leipzig
General information
Location	Kulmbacher Str. 25, Saalfeld/Saale, Thuringia Germany
Coordinates	50°39′3″N 11°22′29″E
Owned by	Deutsche Bahn
Operated by	DB Netz DB Station&Service
Line(s)	Naumburg–Saalfeld Saalfeld–Bamberg Leipzig–Gera–Saalfeld Arnstadt–Saalfeld Saalfeld–Blankenstein
Platforms	6
Other information
Station code	5450
DS100 code	US
IBNR	8010309
Category	3
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	20 December 1871 (1871-12-20)
Electrified	1939-1946 28 May 1995 (1995-05-28)
Services Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station Jena-Göschwitz towards Rostock Hbf IC 17 Lichtenfels towards Wien Hbf Kronach towards Karlsruhe Hbf IC 61 Jena-Göschwitz towards Leipzig Hbf Preceding station Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland Following station Terminus RE 15 Rudolstadt-Schwarza towards Jena Saale RB 25 Rudolstadt-Schwarza towards Halle (Saale) Hbf Preceding station Erfurter Bahn Following station Terminus RE 12 Pößneck ob Bf towards Leipzig Hbf RB 22 Unterwellenborn towards Leipzig Hbf RB 23 Bad Blankenburg (Thüringerw) towards Erfurt Hbf Breternitz towards Blankenstein (Saale) RB 32 Terminus Preceding station DB Regio Bayern Following station Terminus RE 14 Kaulsdorf (Saale) towards Nürnberg Hbf Rudolstadt-Schwarza towards Leipzig Hbf RE 42
Location
Saalfeld (Saale) Location within Thuringia Saalfeld (Saale) Location within Germany Saalfeld (Saale) Location within Europe

History

Bus station in front of the entrance building

Station building

The railway reached Saalfeld on 20 December 1871 with the opening of the Gera–Saalfeld line from the northeast. The station was also built at that time. It was from the outset planned as a railway junction and was built on land that was then undeveloped to the east of Saalfeld, opposite the old town, with a large area set aside for operations. In 1874 the Saal Railway was opened from Naumburg via Jena to Saalfeld, giving the city a further rail connection to the northeast. The Franconian Forest Railway was opened via the Rennsteig to Lichtenfels in 1885. This was the second line from Berlin to Munich after the Saxon-Bavarian Railway and was, in fact, a faster route. After it was finished the importance of Saalfeld station grew sharply. It was the last major station before a climb of almost 400 metres through the Franconian Forest.

Other lines were opened to Saalfeld: the Arnstadt–Saalfeld line from Erfurt in 1895, the Schwarza Valley Railway from Katzhütte and the Köditzberg–Königsee line from Königsee in 1900, the line from Hof 1907 and the Sonneberg–Probstzella railway from Sonnenberg in 1913. During the Second World War, the strategically important station was destroyed in air strikes. The division of Germany reduced its importance, since traffic between East Germany and Bavaria was reduced. However, Interzone trains crossed at Saalfeld, as the Franconian Forest Railway, along with the more easterly line via Hof, were the only rail links between East Germany and Bavaria. The second track was dismantled in 1946 between Saaleck junction near Naumburg and Probstzella as reparations to the Soviet Union.

After German reunification, the importance of the station was restored. In 1994/95 the Saal Railway and Franconian Forest Railway were electrified and the second track were restored. For 17 years from 2000, it was the only direct ICE route between Berlin and Munich, while the importance of the second line via Hof has declined. In the following years, the station was upgraded to support modern long-distance traffic and received, among other things, three new and fully accessible platforms. The entrance building was renovated and extended.

The completion of the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed line in 2017 lead to Saalfeld—along with Jena and the Bavarian station of Lichtenfels—losing their ICE stops to Erfurt.

The marshalling yard to the east of the passenger station is closed.

Operations

The following services stop at the station (2023):

Line	Route	Interval (minutes)	Operator
IC 61	Leipzig – Naumburg – Saalfeld (Saale) – Lichtenfels – Bamberg – Nuremberg – Stuttgart – Pforzheim – Karlsruhe	120	DB Fernverkehr
RE 12	Saalfeld – Pößneck ob Bf – Weida – Gera – Zeitz – Leipzig	120*	Erfurter Bahn
RE 14	Nuremberg – Erlangen – Bamberg – Lichtenfels – Kronach – Probstzella – Saalfeld	120	DB Regio Bayern
RE 15	Saalfeld (Saale) – Rudolstadt – Kahla – Jena Saalbf	120	Abellio
RE 42	Leipzig – Naumburg – Jena-Göschwitz – Saalfeld (Saale) – Kronach – Lichtenfels – Bamberg – Erlangen – Nuremberg	120 (Leipzig–Saalfeld) 060 (Saalfeld–Nuremberg)	DB Regio Bayern
RB 22	Saalfeld (Saale) – Pößneck ob Bf – Weida – Gera – Zeitz – Leipzig	120*	Erfurter Bahn
RB 23	Saalfeld (Saale) – Rottenbach – Stadtilm – Arnstadt – Erfurt	060	Erfurter Bahn
RB 25	Saalfeld (Saale) – Orlamünde – Jena Paradies – Naumburg – Weißenfels – Merseburg – Halle	060	Abellio
RB 32	Saalfeld (Saale) – Wurzbach (Thür) – Bad Lobenstein – Blankenstein (Saale)	120	Erfurter Bahn
* The overlay of lines results in hourly services