The North–South railway (German: Nord-Süd-Strecke) is an amalgamation of several railway lines in Germany that came to significant importance in West Germany and are therefore commonly regarded as a single entity. During the division of Germany, it was the most important and the most densely used long-distance line of the Deutsche Bundesbahn. Since 1991, after the opening of the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway, the line mainly sees local passenger trains, freight trains and night services, as the long-distance services almost exclusively use the new line.