Altenburg station is on the Saxon-Bavarian Railway from Leipzig

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof

is, at 83,460 m², Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area. It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds; a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches; and a 293 metre-long facade...

 to Hof

Hof Hauptbahnhof

Hof Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in Hof in southern Germany and is situated at the intersection of the Saxon-Franconian trunk line and the Munich–Regensburg–Leipzig–Berlin line...

 in the city of Altenburg

Altenburg

Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...

 in the German state of Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

. South of Altenburg, in Lehndorf, the line to Gera branches to the west. Passenger services on other lines have been closed to Zeitz and to Narsdorf.

Terminal station

The original Altenburg station was located elsewhere in today's Fabrikstraße (street). Its opening ceremony was held on 19 September 1842 and it was the first station in the Ernestine duchies

Ernestine duchies

The Ernestine duchies, also called the Saxon duchies , were a changing number of small states largely located in the present German state of Thuringia, governed by dukes of the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin.-Overview:The...

. The Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg

Saxe-Altenburg

Saxe-Altenburg was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia.-History:The duchy originated from the medieval Burgraviate of Altenburg in the Imperial Pleissnerland , a possession of the Wettin Margraves of Meissen since 1243...

 required the station to be built as close as possible to the Residenzstadt (city with a royal palace) of Altenburg, which had the consequence that a further construction of the line to the south was not possible for topographical reasons and thus to the station was built as a terminal station. As a result the line to Hof first ran a short distance to the north and then made a 180-degree turn into the valley of the Pleiße

Pleiße

The Pleiße is a right tributary of the Weiße Elster in Saxony, Germany. It has its source southwest of Zwickau at Ebersbrunn, then flows through Werdau, Crimmitschau, Altenburg, and other cities in Saxony and Thuringia, before meeting the Weiße Elster in Leipzig.The river naturally had a length of...

, which is located east of the city.

Altenburg Hauptbahnhof

Increasing traffic meant that the terminal station could no longer cope. In 1876, work began on a new station a little further to the east and the mainline was moved to a new route running south through a 375 m long tunnel. On 25 September 1878, the first train ran through the new tunnel. There are still remains of the former station in Fabrikstraße. The roof of Altenburg tunnel was removed for the electrification of the Leipzig–Hof line between 1957 and 1959.

Immediately northwest of the passenger station the, now defunct, Zeitz line ran through the marshalling yard, which is now let as sidings to the Villmanngruppe company.

As part of economic stimulus package, Altenburg station is being renovated by DB Station & Service. The focus of the project is the renewal and renovation of the platforms (raising of the platform edges to suit Intercity-Express services) and the sealing of the main platform roof. A new lift will facilitate access to the central platform, which are used by tracks 2 and 3.

Passenger services

The station is on served by services on timetable routes 501.2 and 530, on which the following lines of DB Regio

DB Regio

DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...

 Southeast run:

Line	Route
	Leipzig Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is, at 83,460 m², Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area. It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds; a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches; and a 293 metre-long facade...  – Markkleeberg Markkleeberg Markkleeberg is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Pleiße, approx. 7 km south of Leipzig.In 1813 much of the Battle of Leipzig took place where today's Markkleeberg is situated....  – Altenburg – Gößnitz Gößnitz Gößnitz is a town in the Altenburger Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 12 km south of Altenburg, and 20 km northwest of Zwickau....  – Werdau Werdau Werdau is a town in Germany, part of the Landkreis Zwickau in the administrative region of Chemnitz, the Free State of Saxony. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 8 km from Zwickau....  – Zwickau Zwickau Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station of Zwickau in the German state of Saxony.-History :On 18 September 1845 Zwickau was connected by a branch line to the Leipzig–Reichenbach railway line...
	Leipzig – Markkleeberg – Altenburg – Gößnitz – Werdau – Plauen o. Bf Plauen (Vogtland) Oberer station Plauen Oberer station is the main station of Plauen in the German state of Saxony on the Leipzig–Hof line. It is the main hub of rail traffic in Vogtland. This station is maintained and operated by Deutsche Bahn.-History :...  – Adorf
	Leipzig – Markkleeberg – Altenburg – Gößnitz – Werdau – Johanngeorgenstadt Johanngeorgenstadt Johanngeorgenstadt is a mining town in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, 17 km south of Aue, and 27 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, and right on the border with the Czech Republic, is a state-recognized health resort , and calls itself Stadt des...  / Schöneck – Adorf (winter sport)
	Altenburg – Lehndorf (Altenburg) Saara Saara is a German municipality in the Thuringian district of Altenburger Land.-History:The municipality of Saara was established on January 1, 1996, through the consolidation of Lehndorf, Mockern, Podelwitz, Taupadel, and Zehma.-References:...  – Schmölln (Thür) Schmölln Schmölln is a town in the Thuringian, Germany, landkreis of Altenburger Land, and which lies on the river Sprotte.-Neighboring municipalities:...  – Gera Gera Hauptbahnhof is the main station of the Thuringian town of Gera. Gera is one of the largest cities in Germany with no long-distance rail connections and no electrified lines. The station is a significant regional transport hub...  – Jena-Göschwitz Jena-Göschwitz station Jena-Göschwitz station is a railway station in city of Jena in the German state of Thuringia. It is 152.21 metres above sea level and is located 32.22 km from Großheringen on the Saal Railway and 27.50 from Weimar station on the Weimar–Gera railway. It was opened and on 1 July 1876...  – Weimar Weimar station Weimar station is the main station in the city of Weimar in the German state of Thuringia, located on the Thuringian Railway. It is an Intercity-Express stop on the line between Frankfurt am Main and Dresden. Weimar station is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 2 station. It is officially...  – Erfurt Erfurt Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station of Erfurt in Germany. It is an important junctions of the German railways and is served by numerous local and long-distance rail services. Immediately north of the station, is Erfurt's city center. It had approximately 12.5 million passengers in 2006, that is an...
	Leipzig – Markkleeberg – Gaschwitz – Neukieritzsch Neukieritzsch Neukieritzsch is a municipality in the Leipzig district, in Saxony, Germany. On 1 April 2008, the former municipality of Lobstädt was incorporated into Neukieritzsch.... – Altenburg – Gößnitz – Werdau – Zwickau

External links

• Altenburg station Private Homepage