It is an electric rail public transit system operating in the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, Germany.

With the opening of the Leipzig City Tunnel on 15 December 2013 as a new artery, the network was extended for the first time to the federal states of Thuringia and Brandenburg.

It is operated by DB Regio Südost, Verkehrsbetrieb Mitteldeutschland mainly on behalf of Zweckverband für den Nahverkehrsraum Leipzig (ZVNL) and Nahverkehrsservicegesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (nasa), but also another four public transport authorities in Saxony, Thuringia (Nahverkehrsservicegesellschaft Thüringen) and Brandenburg (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg).

The competitor, Veolia, raised no objection against this but criticized the DB for its calculation on the basis that the proposed vehicle - the Bombardier Talent 2 - had not yet been approved.

[4] In mid-2011, the Transportation Service Company of Saxony-Anhalt, NASA, announced the tender of the second stage of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland network.

Due to ongoing construction works at Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof, proposed lines S8 und S9 will start service at a later date.

(6.00–8.00, 14.00–18.00) Only some trains stop in Lehndorf (Altenburg), Ponitz, Schweinsburg-Culten, Werdau Nord, Steinpleis and Lichtentanne (Sachs).

The Halle network used to connect the northern district of Trotha in a U-shaped route through the main train station with the residential suburb of Halle-Neustadt on the western bank of the Saale and then on to the last stop Halle-Dölau.

Already at the spring trade fair, the "S-Bahn-style rapid transit" system was demonstrated between the main station and the newly established Messegelände (Exhibition Center) stop.

By 12 July 1969, the S-Bahn network was expanded to the entire heart shape, in order to cope with traffic volume of the 5th East-German Gymnastics and Sports Festival (German: Turn- und Sportfest der DDR).

Although dense suburban traffic between Leipzig and Halle had already existed for decades (from 1928, powered coaches and later series ET 41 ran on this route), a special tariff was never introduced on the line.

In addition, the RegionalExpress line 5 trains took over the role of an "Express S-Bahn" which has run since 30 June 2003, in a special hourly service to the Leipzig/Halle Airport.

In 2009, the operation of the line that runs eastwards from the Leipzig main station was awarded to the Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn thus effectively reducing the size of the S-Bahn network.

[10] The S 1 line was to be reopened with finishing the City-Tunnel Leipzig and opening the new S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland network in December 2013.

North of the main station and still underground, a cross-over separates line-sections running to Leipzig-Gohlis from those to Leipzig North/Berliner Brücke.

Between the west ramp and station Leipzig-Gohlis, the route again separates to Schkeuditz and Leipzig-Leutzsch at a newly constructed above-ground cross-over.

Around the northern access to the tracks in the direction of Bitterfeld, a newly constructed S-Bahn stop Leipzig Nord on Theresienstraße has been completed.

On the route towards Engelsdorf, the previous S-Bahn stop Leipzig-Völkerschlachtdenkmal has been abandoned and replaced by a newly built 140 metres (459 ft 4 in)-long center-platform directly below Prager Straße, stairs and an elevator.

The LVB built a new tram stop directly under the S-Bahn station and thus provided improved connections.

On the route south towards Gaschwitz, the station Leipzig-Connewitz was expanded to three tracks and received a new pedestrian bridge and access platform.

Before the completion of all Talent 2 electric multiple units, the Deutsche Bahn enlisted the use of Class 182 locomotives coupled with Doppelstockwagen's to perform S-Bahn services.

Once the delivery of the Talent 2 units had been fulfilled, these locomotives returned to universal work across the Deutsche Bahn, however some are occasionally used as additional S-Bahn services.

The new vehicles have a top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) and are decorated in silver and green, not in the typical "traffic-light red" of the Deutsche Bahn.