Deutsche Bahn continues modernising the Saxony-Franconia trunk line

The Saxony-Franconia trunk line is an approximately 288 km rail axis between Dresden and Hof (part of the roughly 390 km corridor to Nuremberg) that has been modernized in stages since the 1990s: electrification, track renewal, 14 new electronic signal boxes, bridge refurbishment and barrier-free stations. Several expansion stages are currently underway between Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz and Crimmitschau and, per the project operator, are due for completion by 2028; the Zwickau junction and the Dresden section with the Nossen bridge are still in planning. Electrification between Hof and Nuremberg, however, remains unresolved, as the federal government halted that planning in 2022 due to an insufficient cost-benefit ratio. Update (6 Aug 2026): From 17 August to 12 December 2026 DB InfraGO is concentrating works at the Gößnitz junction and Werdau station (track, points, overhead lines, three railway bridges at Ponitz and Crimmitschau, and in Werdau two new 750 m passing loops and a modernised station). Because of more difficult ground conditions and tight capacity in signalling technology, commissioning of the Gößnitz tracks moves to a further closure in 2027, and the Werdau passing loops open in December 2026 instead of October. The overall programme covers 288 km, 32 electronic interlockings and 223 refurbished or replaced bridges; trains will be able to run at 160 instead of 120 km/h (LOK Report, 6 Aug 2026).