Berlin–Palermo railway axis
The Berlin–Palermo railway axis is project No. 1 of the Trans-European high-speed rail network (TEN-R), which involves the creation of a 2,200-kilometre-long (1,400 mi) high-speed rail line between Berlin and Palermo. It is designated as one of the main transport links connecting Central and Southern Europe, tracking through Germany, Austria and Italy.
Two ICE 3-trains running on the Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway, parallel to the BAB 9 near Greding
New Lower Inn Valley railway
A ETR 500 train running on the Florence–Rome high-speed line near Arezzo, the first high-speed railway opened in Europe.
Central German Metropolitan Region
The Central German Metropolitan Region is one of the officially established metropolitan regions in Germany. It is centered on the major cities of Leipzig and Halle, extending over Central German parts of the states of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. The Central German metropolitan region is the only one located entirely within the former East Germany.
The "region" is not actually a metropolitan area in the geographic sense of the word as an agglomeration of nearby urban areas, rather it is a registered association, the Europäische Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland e.V. whose membership is composed of towns, cities, municipalities, and companies, colleges and chambers of commerce in the central German geographic area, whose representatives vote upon new members. For example, Jena joined the Metropolitan Region in 2009. The registered association owns the management company Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland Management GmbH. As such it forms a planning and marketing framework for the region while retaining the legal independence of its members.
Leipzig is the largest city in metropolitan area
Leipzig is the heart of the Central German Metropolitan Region and is nicknamed "Hypezig".
Halle (Saale), biggest city in Saxony-Anhalt and seat of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg.
University town of Jena and the second largest city in Thuringia.