The Merseburg–Halle-Nietleben railway is an about 19 kilometre-long electrified branch line in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. A second track exists between Merseburg and Merseburg-Elisabethhöhe and between Halle-Zscherbener Straße and Halle-Nietleben. Part of the current route was built in 1967 with a significant realignment of the Zwiebelbahn on the (Merseburg–) Bad Lauchstädt–Angersdorf route.

The Halle–Bebra railway, known in German as the Thüringer Bahn, is a 210 kilometre-long railway line from Halle (Saale) via Erfurt and Gerstungen to Bebra, mainly in Thuringia. As far as Gerstungen the line originally belonged to the Thuringian Railway Company. From Gerstungen to Bebra, it was owned by the Frederick William Northern Railway (Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn), named after the Prussian king, Frederick William IV. It is now a two-track, electrified, standard gauge mainline operated by DB Netze. It was opened between 1846 and 1849 and was the first railway line in Thuringia. All types of trains from Regionalbahn to ICE currently run on the line except Interregio-Express. Four of the six largest cities in Thuringia are located on the line.