On 24 October 1881, the second and more important line, the Sangerhausen–Erfurt railway was opened through Sömmerda.

This line served the traffic from Erfurt to the then capital of the Prussian Province of Saxony, Magdeburg.

It was built by the Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company (Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft) and was taken over by the Prussian government in 1886.

The second track was dismantled in 1946 to provide reparations, but was restored after the reunification of Germany.

Passenger traffic on the Straußfurt–Sömmerda section ended on 9 December 2007 and Regionalbahn services now run on the Peppermint Railway only to Großheringen.