1 September 1879, a 9.9 km-long branch line was opened from Gaschwitz (now in Markkleeberg) on the main line, running via Gautzsch (now Markkleeberg West) to the Plagwitz-Lindenau station of the Saxon State Railways on the southern outskirts of Leipzig. The terminal station in Hof was replaced by a through station in 1880. From 1888 to 1925, the Leipzig-Connewitz–Plagwitz railway branched off the Leipzig–Hof railway to the south of Connewitz station to connect the Leipzig Bavarian station with the Plagwitz-Lindenau station of the Saxon State Railways. On 1 April 1920, the Royal Saxon State Railways was absorbed into the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR). The Leipzig–Hof line was then administered by the Dresden railway division (Reichsbahndirektion Dresden). Although the line was one of the most important railways in Germany, it was long spared from Allied air raids. Thus, although some stations in the southern section of the line became the target of air raids in 1944, in contrast to other routes, largely scheduled operations continued until 1945. It was only in April 1945 that the Elster Viaduct was partly blown up by the Wehrmacht, and the Saale viaduct (near Unterkotzau) was significantly damaged by air raids. Rail traffic came to a standstill and was resumed only after the end of the war. After the Second World War, no trains initially operated across the line of demarcation between the Russian and the American occupation zones at Gutenfürst. All the trains terminated in Gutenfürst and Feilitzsch. Interzonal freight traffic recommenced in 1946, passenger services only recommenced in 1947. The Altenburg tunnel had to be converted into a cutting in the run-up to the electrification in 1958/59 because its roof was too low for the installation of overhead wire and because its damaged roof allowed surface water to penetrate. Electrification was completed on the line from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof and Leipzig Bavarian station to Böhlen on 2 October 1961. Several more sections of electrification were opened, finally reaching Reichenbach on 20 December 1963. The only local service between Hof and Feilitzsch was discontinued in 1972. On 30 October 1972 there was a serious railway accident in Schweinsburg-Culten when two express trains collided and 28 people died. In the 1990s, the Planungsgesellschaft Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit ("planning corporation for German unity railway construction") developed plans for an upgrade of the railway lines between Leipzig and Zwickau, which had not been implemented by 2011. The renovation of the Altenburg–Paditz