The Göttingen–Bebra railway is a mainline railway in Germany, running north–south, which mainly serves through traffic. It is part of the old North–South railway and until 1991 Intercity trains ran on it. Today it is used mainly by freight trains, as well as regional and night passenger trains. History Until 1945 The section from Göttingen to Friedland was opened in 1867 as part of a line to Arenshausen connecting with the Halle–Kassel line. After Prussia’s annexation of Hanover and the Electorate of Hesse (Kurhessen) after the 1866 war, it wanted a direct connection between the Hanoverian Southern line and the Frankfurt–Bebra line. Together with the planned Flieden–Gemünden line this would create a north–south axis. Moreover, it would provide connections with the Cannons Railway (Kanonenbahn)—which was planned to connect Berlin and Metz, serving military purposes. To the north it would connect with Göttingen and Hanover via the Hanoverian Southern line and to the south to Bebra and Hanau. Arenshausen and Witzenhausen were considered for the northern end of the new line, but it was decided that it would be at Friedland with a link to the Halle–Kassel line at Eichenberg. In 1875, the section was opened from Bebra to Niederhone (now Eschwege West) and Eschwege town (the last part of this line later became part of the Kanonenbahn). A year later, the Niederhone–Eichenberg–Friedland section was opened. At the watersheds between the Fulda and Werra valleys at Cornberg and between the Werra and the Leine near Eichenberg significant slopes had to be overcome, requiring tunnels and a curvy alignment. The direct Friedland–Arenshausen route was abandoned in 1884, as there were sufficient connections in Eichenberg. Between 1908 and 1910 the rail infrastructure in Göttingen was rebuilt, tracks were raised above street level, the current marshalling yard was built and the new Göttingen–Bodenfelde railway was connected. A new alignment to Bebra was also built from Göttingen to Rosdorf west of the Leine hills. The old route went almost direct from Göttingen Station (with a junction with the old Dransfeld ramp line—the now closed southern end of the Hanoverian Southern line—at the Groner Landstraßeat level crossing) to Rosdorf. Up to 1945 there was substantial but not outstanding traffic growth. In 1939 the line had four pairs of through trains, while the nearby Main-Weser line between Kassel and Frankfurt am Main had twelve pairs of trains. Whisky-Vodka Line After 1866, borders were not significant in this