Editing Thuringia (section)

=== Transport ===
[[File:Die A4 bei Lobeda-West mit der Saaletalbrücke.JPG|thumb|right|[[Bundesautobahn 4]] near Jena]]
[[File:Thuringia Erfurt Hbf asv2020-07 img1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Erfurt Hauptbahnhof|Erfurt Central Station]] is an important junction on the German rail network.]]
[[File:J24 014 Hp Anger, ET 623.jpg|thumb|right|[[Erfurt Stadtbahn]] at Anger (city centre)]]
As Germany's most central state, Thuringia is an important hub of transit traffic. The transportation infrastructure was in very poor condition after the [[GDR]] period. Since 1990, many billions of Euros have been invested to improve the condition of roads and railways within Thuringia.

During the 1930s, the first two [[Autobahn|motorways]] were built across the Land, the [[Bundesautobahn 4|A4 motorway]] as an important east–west connection in central Germany and the main link between [[Berlin]] and south-west Germany, and the [[Bundesautobahn 9|A9 motorway]] as the main north–south route in eastern Germany, connecting Berlin with [[Munich]]. The A4 runs from [[Frankfurt]] in [[Hesse]] via [[Eisenach]], [[Gotha]], [[Erfurt]], [[Weimar]], [[Jena]] and [[Gera]] to [[Dresden]] in [[Saxony]], connecting Thuringia's most important cities. At [[Hermsdorf, Thuringia|Hermsdorf]] junction it is connected with the A9. Both highways were widened from four to six lanes (three each way) after 1990, including some extensive re-routing in the Eisenach and Jena areas. Furthermore, three new motorways were built during the 1990s and 2000s. The [[Bundesautobahn 71|A71]] crosses the Land in southwest–northeast direction, connecting [[Würzburg]] in [[Bavaria]] via [[Meiningen]], [[Suhl]], [[Ilmenau]], [[Arnstadt]], Erfurt and [[Sömmerda]] with [[Sangerhausen]] and [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]] in [[Saxony-Anhalt]]. The crossing of the [[Thuringian Forest]] by the A71 has been one of Germany's most expensive motorway segments with various tunnels (including Germany's longest road tunnel, the [[Rennsteig Tunnel]]) and large bridges. The [[Bundesautobahn 73|A73]] starts at the A71 south of Erfurt in Suhl and runs south towards [[Nuremberg]] in Bavaria. The [[Bundesautobahn 38|A38]] is another west–east connection in the north of Thuringia running from [[Göttingen]] in [[Lower Saxony]] via [[Heilbad Heiligenstadt|Heiligenstadt]] and [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen]] to [[Leipzig]] in Saxony. Furthermore, there is a dense network of [[Bundesstraße|federal highways]] complementing the motorway network. The upgrading of federal highways is prioritised in the federal trunk road programme 2015 (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan'' 2015). Envisaged projects include upgrades of the [[Bundesstraße 247|B247]] from Gotha to [[Leinefelde]] to improve [[Mühlhausen]]'s connection to the national road network, the [[Bundesstraße 19|B19]] from Eisenach to Meiningen to improve access to [[Bad Salzungen]] and [[Schmalkalden]], and the [[Bundesstraße 88|B88]] and [[Bundesstraße 281|B281]] for strengthening the [[Saalfeld]]/[[Rudolstadt]] region.

The first railways in Thuringia had been built in the 1840s and the network of main lines was finished around 1880. By 1920, many branch lines had been built, giving Thuringia one of the densest rail networks in the world before World War II with about 2,500&nbsp;km of track. Between 1950 and 2000 most of the branch lines were abandoned, reducing Thuringia's network by half compared to 1940. On the other hand, most of the main lines were refurbished after 1990, resulting in improved speed of travel. The most important railway lines at present are the [[Thuringian Railway]], connecting [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]] and [[Leipzig]] via [[Weimar]], [[Erfurt]], [[Gotha]] and [[Eisenach]] with [[Frankfurt]] and [[Kassel]] and the [[Saal Railway]] from Halle/Leipzig via [[Jena]] and [[Saalfeld]] to [[Nuremberg]]. The former has an hourly [[Intercity-Express|ICE]]/[[Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)|IC]] service from [[Dresden]] to Frankfurt while the latter is served hourly by ICE trains from [[Berlin]] to [[Munich]]. In 2017, a new high speed line will be opened, diverting long-distance services from these mid-19th century lines. Both ICE routes will then use the [[Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway]], and the Berlin-Munich route will continue via the [[Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway]]. Only the segment west of Erfurt of the Frankfurt-Dresden line will continue to be used by ICE trains after 2017, with an increased line speed of 200&nbsp;km/h (currently 160&nbsp;km/h). [[Erfurt Hauptbahnhof|Erfurt's central station]], which was completely rebuilt for this purpose in the 2000s (decade), will be the new connection between both ICE lines. The most important regional railway lines in Thuringia are the [[Neudietendorf–Ritschenhausen railway]] from Erfurt to [[Würzburg]] and [[Meiningen]], the [[Weimar–Gera railway]] from Erfurt to [[Chemnitz]], the [[Sangerhausen–Erfurt railway]] from Erfurt to [[Magdeburg]], the [[Gotha–Leinefelde railway]] from Erfurt to [[Göttingen]], the [[Halle–Kassel railway]] from Halle via [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen]] to Kassel and the [[Leipzig–Hof railway]] from Leipzig via [[Altenburg]] to [[Zwickau]] and [[Hof, Bavaria|Hof]]. Most regional and local lines have hourly service, but some run only every other hour.

A few small airports are in Thuringia. In public transport is [[Erfurt–Weimar Airport]], used for charter flights to the Mediterranean and other holiday destinations. In private flights, [[Leipzig–Altenburg Airport]] is a further key airport.

International hub airports are [[Frankfurt Airport]], [[Berlin Brandenburg Airport]] and [[Munich Airport]] in adjacent states.

Thuringia is the only state without barge or ship waterways; its rivers are too small to be navigable to them.