page_title: Heidenau–Kurort Altenberg railway
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: Heidenau–Kurort Altenberg railway / Route description
caption_attribution_description: vereinfachtes Höhenprofil der Müglitztalbahn
context_page_description: The Heidenau–Kurort Altenberg railway, also known in German as the Müglitztalbahn is a German railway in Saxony. Branching off the Elbe Valley Railway, it connects the town of Heidenau near Dresden with the towns of Glashütte and Altenberg in Erzgebirge, where it terminates. The total length is 38 km, with a total incline of 634 meters. The scenic track follows primarily the Müglitz river, passing the towns of Dohna, Glashütte and Geising.
  The railway was initially a narrow gauge railway, which was opened on November 17, 1890. Between 1935 and 1938, the tracks were graded and converted to standard gauge.
  Passenger transport services are operated on behalf of Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe by Städtebahn Sachsen since 12 December 2010 following a retendering of the transport services. The rail infrastructure is operated by DB Netz, the stations are run by DB Station&Service.
context_section_description: The route turns from Heidenau station southwards into the Müglitz valley and crosses the four-lane state road 172. Just before Dohna, it crosses Autobahn 17 and climbs the first significant slope before Köttewitz station. After the station, the Müglitz is crossed for the first time, followed immediately by the first and, at 198 metres, the longest of a total of four tunnels through spurs. Just after Weesenstein station, the route is shortened again by a second tunnel, 240 metres long. After Burkhardswalde-Maxen, the valley narrows for a short time and at 15.0 km between Niederschwottwitz and Oberschwottwitz, the line runs past the rock of the Schlottwitz agate lode. Again, the valley is shortened before Glashütte with the 292 metre-long Brückenmühle tunnel. After the station is the longest tunnel of the line, 539 metres long, and a two-lane concrete bridge, which is untypical of the Müglitz Valley Railway, is traversed at Bärenhecke-Johnsbach. From Lauenstein, the line leaves the Müglitz valley and follows the Roten Wasser (part of the Greifenbach) valley to the southwest towards Geising. The town itself is reached to the north through a 235-metre-long curving tunnel and a 76-metre-long bridge so that the line changes direction completely from running south to running north. The last section leaves the valley on the western slope and rounds the Geisingberg. Starting from kilometre 36.6, the steepest section begins with a gradient of 1:37.6.
caption: Simplified height profile of the route
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