kilometers. The following options were considered: Option 1, which was considered the preferred option, provided for a northern route. The existing line would be crossed between Großkorbetha and Halle. This option envisaged linking the line with Neuwiederitzsch, Gröbers and Schkopau/southern Halle with the existing network. The planned cost of the 123 km-long route (between Erfurt and Leipzig) was DM 4.4 billion. A second option included a deviation from option 1 to the north of the border of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The route would have run south of Karsdorf via Roßbach to Großkorbetha. There would be a connecting curve to the line via Merseburg to Halle, while the main line would run to the east via Bad Dürrenberg and Leipzig/Halle Airport to reach the route of option 1 on a more easterly route. 1 The cost of the 128 km-long line was estimated to be DM 5.2 billion. Option 3 foresaw a southern course in the Großkorbetha area. A branch would run from there, parallel with the autobahn, to the airport. In addition, there would be an upgrade of the existing line towards Merseburg and Halle. The 123 km-long route was calculated to cost DM 6.6 billion. Option 4 involved an investigation of the extent that the new line could run parallel to the existing network. The studies showed that close “bundling” would have been possible only on a quarter of the length of the route. A longer tunnel was provided between Bad Sulza and Bad Kosen. The 125 km-long distance was calculated to cost DM 5.6 billion. A fifth option for the line was identified running south of the existing line through the Naumburg area and parallel to Autobahn 9 in the Schkeuditz area. The 130 km long route was calculated to cost DM 5.0 billion. In the Leipzig area, a southern connection from Leipzig (via the Bayerischen Bahnhof) with a tunnel under the city centre to the Hauptbahnhof was examined. Options 1 and 2, were examined in depth and their operational, economic and environmental were aspects to be particularly advantageous. Both options followed the same general course in Thuringia and connected with Leipzig from the northwest. The remaining three options were eliminated due to longer travel times and additional costs of about DM 1 billion. Other alternative routes through the state of Thuringia (a combination of routes 1 and 5) were submitted by the city of Halle and Vieregg