Erfurt-Leipzig Still Lacks a Direct Local Transit Connection

Even after the rail schedule change in December, the direct local train service between Erfurt and Leipzig will not resume. Despite pressure from Thuringia’s Minister of Transportation Steffen Schütz (Thüringen.Gerecht), passengers on this route will continue to have to transfer in Naumburg as scheduled, as reported by the media portal “Fokus Thüringen,” citing the Ministry of Transportation. The ministry confirmed the report. 

Until last December, there had been a direct connection from Eisenach via Erfurt to Leipzig for many years. Since the timetable change at that time, passengers on this line have been required to transfer to the S-Bahn in Naumburg. This had led to numerous complaints from passengers in the past. Currently, due to construction, the transfer takes place in Weißenfels.

Regional Train 20 now runs only between Eisenach and Naumburg because the section of the route that previously extended to Leipzig has been integrated into the Central German S-Bahn network. Thuringia’s Minister of Transportation, Schütz, reiterated that, in his view, a cross-state direct local transit connection between Erfurt, Weimar, Naumburg, and Leipzig is of great importance to the Free State. “I will continue to advocate for this,” the portal quotes the minister as saying.