The Bautzen–Bad Schandau railway is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 64-kilometre long railway line, that connects Bautzen

Bautzen

Bautzen is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative centre of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2008, its population is 41,161...

 to Bad Schandau

Bad Schandau

Bad Schandau is a spa town in Germany, in the south of the Free State of Saxony and the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, at the mouth of the little valley of the Kirnitzsch.-Geography:...

 via Neukirch/Lausitz, Neustadt in Sachsen

Neustadt in Sachsen

Neustadt in Sachsen is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Czech Republic, 35 km east of Dresden , and 23 km southwest of Bautzen...

 and Sebnitz

Sebnitz

Sebnitz is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.- Geography :The town of Sebnitz lies in the valley of the River Sebnitz and its side valleys between 250 and 460 m above sea level between the mountains of Saxon Switzerland and the Lusatian...

. The railway was opened fully in 1898. The part between Neustadt in Sachsen and Bad Schandau is also known as Sebnitztalbahn (Sebnitz

Sebnitz (river)

The Sebnitz is the left, larger headstream of the Lachsbach and runs through both the Czech Republic] as well as the German Free State of Saxony...

 valley railway).

History

Construction of the line began in 1874 and by the inauguration in 1877 had cost 9.8 million Reichsmark, 1 million of which going to the construction of the bridge over the Elbe

Elbe

The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

at Bad Schandau. The Neustadt-Bad Schandau section opened on 1 July 1877 and the Bautzen-Neustadt section opened on 1 September 1877.

The freight section between Bautzen and Wilthen closed on 31 December 1994. Since the 12th December 2004, the non-stop passenger trains between Bautzen and Neustadt have also stopped. The section Neukirch-Wilthen is still used by local trains connecting Dresden and Zittau.

Services

The Bautzen–Bad Schandau railway is used by the following passenger services:

• RB61 Dresden Hbf − Bischofswerda − Ebersbach (Sachs) − Zittau (between Neukirch West and Wilthen)
• SB71 Pirna - Neustadt - Bad Schandau (between Neustadt and Bad Schandau).