Nord-Süd-Strecke
As a result of the Iron Curtain several eastern lines running parallel with the North–South railway were no longer usable, especially the Scandinavia–Rostock, Hamburg–Halle and Leipzig–Saal Railway–Nuremberg lines. The easternmost north–south route of the Federal Republic became known as the "western bypass of East Germany". Added to this was a strong general traffic growth. This made the North–South railway one of the most important lines. In the summer of 1989, 37 trains ran each day and each direction between Göttingen and Bebra.