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The Köthen–Aschersleben railway is one of the oldest railway lines in Germany, with its eastern half opened in 1846. It forms an east-west link in the state of Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

 and connects several major towns.

History

The first serious plans for the construction of the line were developed by the Duchy of Anhalt

Anhalt

Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...

 in 1845. At the time, Köthen already had rail connections in three directions, with the Magdeburg-Leipzig line connecting to Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

 in the north and Halle

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt

Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...

 in the south and the main line of the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company  conecting to Dessau

Dessau

Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...

 and Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in the east. In 1845, the Anhalt-Köthen-Bernburg Railway Company (Anhalt-Köthen-Bernburger Eisenbahn) was founded and shortly thereafter got approval for the construction of the Köthen–Bernburg

Bernburg

Bernburg is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Salzlandkreis. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 30 km downstream from Halle. The town is dominated by its huge Renaissance castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its...

 line.

The following year the line was opened, terminating at Köthen’s third station. Biendorf was the only station in between. In 1863, the Anhalt-Köthen-Bernburg Railway was taken by the Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company

Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company

The Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company was a railway in Prussia. It was nationalized in 1879.-History :The Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company received a concession on 14 January 1842 from the Prussian government to build the 58 km long railway line from Magdeburg–Oschersleben–Halberstadt...

 (Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft, MHE). The line was extended in 1865 to Aschersleben

Aschersleben

Aschersleben is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle .-Pre-20th century:...

 and a new station was opened in Bernburg, replacing the station opened in 1846. In 1879 the Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n government acquired the MHE. In the 1880s, Bernburg became an important industrial city. Sidings were opened to the Solvay Company’s factory and to a salt mine in southern Bernburg. At that time a roundhouse

Roundhouse

A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...

 was opened in Bernburg.

In 1889, a branch line was opened to Könnern

Könnern

' is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the river Saale, approx. 15 km south of Bernburg, and 25 km northwest of Halle ....

 along with Baalberge

Baalberge

Baalberge is a village and a former municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Bernburg....

 station. In 1890, a branch was opened to Calbe

Calbe

Calbe is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.It is situated on the Saale River, approx. north of Bernburg, and southeast of Magdeburg. It is known as Calbe an der Saale, to distinguish it from the smaller town of Kalbe on the Milde in the same state. Pop...

. In 1898 and 1899, the line was duplicated. There were plans in 1908 for the electrification of the track. The first accumulator railcar

Accumulator railcar

An accumulator railcar is an electrically driven railcar whose energy is derived from rechargeable batteries that drive its traction motors.The main advantage of these vehicles is their clean, quiet operation...

s were used on the line from 1908. The second track was removed after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 between Köthen and Güsten

Güsten

Güsten is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Wipper, west of Bernburg. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Saale-Wipper....

 to provide reparations

War reparations

War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...

 to the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. In the post-war period, many trains carrying spoil from open-cut lignite mines operated over the line. In 1952, a station was opened at Frenz between Köthen and Bernburg.

The second track was restored in 1962 on the Aschersleben–Güsten section. In 1964, the branch from Biendorf to Gerlebogk was closed and dismantled. In 1967, Baalberge station was rebuilt. With it a siding was built to the nearby rock salt mine. At the same time the second track was restored between Köthen and Bernburg. Also in 1976, a new depot was built in Güsten and gradually took over the functions of the Bernburg depot, which was closed in 1991. In the early 1990s, the branch line to Edderitz was dismantled. In 1992, the East German Railways planned the electrification of the line and some connecting lines, but these plans came to nothing.

Operations

Since 2004, the Elbe Saale Bahn (a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

) has had the contract to operate Regionalbahn

RegionalBahn

The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...

 services of the Altmark–Börde–Anhalt network on the line every hour with class 642 (Siemens Desiro Classic) diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s. These trains continue through Köthen on the line to Dessau. On the Güsten–Aschersleben section, addition Regionalbahn services operate between Magdeburg and Aschersleben. Similarly, Regionalbahn trains are operated by Elbe Saale Bahn between Bernburg and Calbe every two hours. Between Bernburg and Baalberge (and continuing to Halle), Veolia Verkehr Sachsen-Anhalt operates services (branded as HarzElbeExpress, HEX) every two hours with LINT 27 diesel multiple units.

The route is heavily used by freight services, with the sidings of Schwenk cement, Solvay GmbH and K + S in Bernburg providing regular consignments.