Braunlage Connection: A New Era for Transport and Tourism

Feasibility Study for Braunlage Railway Connection

The plans for connecting the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen to Niedersachsen have taken a significant step forward. DB Engineering & Consulting has received the commission for a feasibility study. This study will examine both the technical feasibility and the viability of the project over the coming months, as stated in a communication from the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen. The federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt, the Braunschweig regional association, and the narrow-gauge railways had already agreed to a feasibility study last year.

All partners see great future prospects in the proposed railway connection between Braunlage in Niedersachsen and Wernigerode in Sachsen-Anhalt. The study will be jointly financed by the Public Transport Service of Sachsen-Anhalt, the regional association of Braunschweig, the city of Braunlage, the Harz district, and the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen (HSB).

This new investigation will partially utilize results from a previous feasibility study conducted in 2010. A key new aspect is the planned location of the station in Braunlage at the valley station of the Wurmberg cable car. The completion of the study is expected within the coming year.

Connecting Tourism Centers

The proposed connection would link two key tourist centers of the Harz region - Braunlage and Wernigerode - for the first time. In July 2022, the city council in Braunlage voted in favor of a connection to the HSB network. Braunlage has been involved with the HSB since its inception in the early 1990s. This city in the West Harz would become the first municipality in Niedersachsen with a connection to the narrow-gauge railway, which currently links numerous Harz towns in Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringia.