page_title: Kiel–Flensburg railway
section_title: Prehistory and Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Kiel–Flensburg railway / History / Prehistory and Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Eckernförde - railway station (1887) Deutsch: Bahnhof Eckernförde, 1887
context_page_description: The Kiel–Flensburg railway is a single-track railway in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The railway connects the city of Kiel on the Baltic Sea with Eckernförde and Flensburg. Travel time over the 80 km railway is around 75 minutes with a maximum speed of 120 km/h.
context_section_description: The Kiel-Eckernförde-Flensburger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (KEFE) was founded on 13 June 1878 in Kiel by the Prussian government, the local municipalities, and some individual investors. On 19 August 1878, little over two months later, the society received a concession to operate a standard-gauge railway from Kiel to Flensburg, running parallel to the Baltic Sea coast.
  In 1881, ship traders in Kappeln on the Schlei successfully resisted the arrival of the new railway in their city, fearing a railway bridge would block the river. From 1885, that city became terminus of the narrow-gauge Flensburger Kreisbahn, that ran through Angeln. In addition, the Schleswiger Kreisbahn came to connect Kappeln to Schleswig, and the narrow gauge railway of the Eckernförder Kreisbahn connected it to neighbouring Eckernförde.
  On 1 July 1881, the first stretch of the new railway was opened, from Kiel to Eckernförde; on 21 December 1881 the rest of the railway was opened; it now measured 79 km. (When the Kiel Canal was constructed, a diversion was necessary, lengthening the railway by another 2 km.) Traffic grew quickly, and on 1 July 1903 the Prussian state railways took over operation of the line.
caption: Historical station of Eckernförde (1887).
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