Heath Railway
In 1969, the permissible speed on the Hanover–Buchholz line was raised to 80 km/h. Closure of the branch line was considered from time to time from 1978, which led to protests. The "Rettet die Heidebahn" (save the Heath Railway) association was founded in 1984 and operated more than 70 special trips with a total of 35,000 passengers in the following years. In 1989, after an upgrade of the line, a ceremony was also held in Soltau for the inauguration of the so-called "Neuen Heidebahn" (new Heath Railway). Numerous special trains ran in the 1990s on the Heath Railway and through Soltau, so there were in 1994, for example, trips to Bad Segeberg, Westerland, Cologne and the island of Rügen.