## Description
### Steam Store Description
Originating the 1840s, the railway that connects Berlin to the likes of
Wittenberg, Bitterfeld and Leipzig has seen many upgrades throughout the
decades to make it the high speed railway known today. Before the wires
dominated over the rails, the line was considered as one of the most important
of its kind throughout Germany. Be ready at the controls as Berlin-Leipzig is
now available for Train Simulator, courtesy of Partner Programme member,
Aerosoft.
The Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company was responsible for building many of
Berlin’s railway connections throughout the mid-19th Century. Their main
railway, the Anhalt Line, ran from Berlin to Kothen via Wittenberg and opened
throughout 1840 and 1841. From Kothen, a connection was made to the nearby
Magdeburg-Leipzig railway allowing for services to Halle and further to
Leipzig. By the late 1850s, various connections were made faster with new,
more direct routes.
The Anhalt Railway was quickly established as a major long-distance route, one
of the most important in Germany. Express services were departing Berlin daily
to destinations such as Halle, Leipzig, Dresden, and even beyond Prague. By
the late 1930s, as many as 33 trains a day were on the move between Berlin and
Bitterfeld before branching off to multiple destinations. This frequency of
long-distance travel was the highest of every other railway in the country.
World War Two was harsh on the Anhalt Railway, many platform and lineside
structures were destroyed along the route and only the most essential were
repaired. The line also saw some changes in years to follow, the rise of the
Berlin Wall meant services from Halle and Leipzig were no longer allowed to
enter their former terminus. This would not be rectified until sections of the
Berlin Outer Ring were completed, allowing direct connections to continue
without approaching the wall. Several compromises had to be made and service
numbers suffered.
The reunification of Germany saw the Anhalt Railway lose a portion of its
importance, many services ceased following the fall of the Berlin Wall and a
new stable timetable was not introduced for some time after. Several years
later and even more services stopped operating across the line, with new high
speed routes offering a faster connection.
A plan was put into place to upgrade the Anhalt Railway to 160 km/h running,
with 200 km/h a distant provision. To achieve this higher speed and increase
journey times, all level crossings were to be replaced with bridges and every
station would be modernised. By 1995, the journey time between Berlin and
Leipzig was only at 100 minutes, but with further modernisation was expected
to be under an hour in years to come. Just over a decade later and a majority
of the Berlin to Leipzig route was 200 km/h ready. Further upgrades to allow
this included the restoration of the old Anhalt route in Berlin, connecting to
the new main station for the city and just outside Bitterfeld, the longest set
of points in the world were installed; safe for up to 220 km/h operation
featuring 59 metre-long point blades weighing in at 120 tons each.
With higher speed allowances, ICE services began to operate between Berlin and
Leipzig at journey times of around 1 hour and 10 minutes (non-stop services
could travel the gap between the two cities in as little as 57 minutes). The
upgrades were a success and ICE passenger numbers alone soared upwards, with
regional services also adding to the increasing popularity of the line.
Some reconstruction has taken place in recent years, old metal ‘Y-shaped’
sleepers from the days of slower running were suffering from rust and needed
to be replaced. Speed limits drastically dropped during the period of repairs,
and following the initial issue the line speed is currently no higher than 160
km/h, with 200 planned to be re-introduced in 2017. Future projects along the
line will see signal boxes replaced by larger signaling centres, with the old
structures likely to see demolition after they have lived through their
purpose.
Undoubtedly, the line owes its important heritage to the fact that it
terminates in the world’s largest railway station by floor area, Leipzig Hbf.
This goliath-like transport hub ensured that many passengers would want to
travel to Leipzig either as a destination or as a waypoint along their
journeys.
With high speed operations, both express and stopping, serving one of the most
important lines in Germany’s railway history, the line between Berlin and
Leipzig is unlike any other.
## Scenarios
The Berlin – Leipzig Route Add-on includes nine challenging career scenarios
for the route:
* Autumn Leaves
* Night Flight
* S-Bahn to Bitterfeld
* S-Bahn to Leipzig
* From Elster to Elbe
* From Elbe to Elster
* Empty train to Leipzig
* RB to Schonefeld
* RB from Schoenefeld
More scenarios are available on Steam Workshop online and in-game. Train
Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding
many more hours of gameplay. With scenarios being added daily, why don’t you
check it out now!
Click here for Steam Workshop scenarios.
## Key Features
* 195km twin-track, electrified main line from Berlin Central Station (low level) to Leipzig Main Station
* Includes the Berlin Brandenburg Airport branch line
* 18km S-Bahn line including rolling stock from TTB for AI use only
* 46 detailed stations / stops
* Depot at Wittenberg with extensive shunting possibilities, diesel depot, coal bunker and water crane
* Yard Grossbeeren with several connections for shunting scenarios and container loading
* Detailed Ks-signalling system
* Including PZB (500/1000/2000Hz magnets) by virtual Railroads
* LZB from Railtraction.eu
* Mileposts every 200m
* Superelevation
* Custom 3D vegetation
* Detailed and animated night effects
* Tram in Leipzig including rolling stock for AI traffic
* Rolling stock IC and double-decker coach RE160 with matrix display
* Nine challenging career scenarios for the route
* Quick Drive compatible
* Download size: 1.1 GB
TS: Berlin – Leipzig