Once upon a time one could travel by train in seven different directions
from Oebisfelde. After W.W.II some of the smaller railroad connections
were cut off by the inner German border and Oebisfelde became a border
station. Freight trains coming in from West Germany had to be split up
and reassembled to be send in all directions across the DDR. Over a thousand
people were employed at Oebisfelde in those days.
After the border reopened and Germany reunited the importance of Oebisfelde
diminished. Freight traffic fell sharply after 1993. In the late '90ties
a high-speed railway line was build between Berlin and Hannover and at
this occasion the station was rebuild. All unnecessary infrastructure
was removed, the pedestrian tunnel and platforms removed and completely
rebuild. The highspeed line runs just north of the station, hidden between
sound barriers and without a connection to the other tracks at the station.
Only regional trains now still halt at Oebisfelde.
From 1995 the locomotives stationed at BW (train depot) Oebisfelde were
gradually moved to Stendal. The last task of the depot was servicing the
construction trains used in building the high speed line. The BW was closed
down in 1998. The wagon maintenance shed is now used by a scrap metal
company, the turntable and large locomotive shed are used by private railway
company "Lappwaldbahn GmbH"
and lends out space to the Dampflok-Gemeinschaft
e.V. Braunschweig Weferlingen, a museum club.
12-05-07
Start of a small hiking and railtracking trip between Oebisfelde and Salzwedel
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