Re-Opening of Waldbahn Rail in Leipzig’s South

After a 16-month-closure, the Waldbahn rail south of Leipzig went back into operation on 23 November 2025. The single-tracked, electrified line 6379 operated by DB InfraGO connects station Leipzig-Plagewitz with station Markkleeberg-West. On a section of 2.4 kilometres the infrastructure was comprehensively refurbished. In addition to the general superstructure upgrade, the railway bridges over river Weisse Elster (km 3.333) and Flossgraben (km 5.013) were completely replaced. Several culverts and retaining structures were also renewed.

SSF Ingenieure was contracted by the construction company Hentschke Bau for the design of both bridges. After the tender process, a modification to VFT construction type was successfully implemented for the railway bridge over Weisse Elster. Thanks to prefabricated composite girders, complex temporary bridges and time-consuming launching procedures were not necessary in the river area.

The railway bridge Flossgraben was designed by SSF Ingenieure as integral structure on deep foundations, and the design was successfully processed until execution. A particular challenge was the extreme obliqueness of 150 gon as well as the interaction between structure and construction soil at a very low structure height over the terrain.

Both new bridge structures make an important contribution to the modernisation of the railway line – and represent a successful collaboration between all project participants.