In the Soviet Zone, which became East Germany in 1949, trains initially ran between Stendal and Bergen. Border security measures were imposed between Salzwedel and Bergen on 7 October 1951 as Bergen station was only 1,200 meters from the border. Between Stendal and Salzwedel one of the two tracks was dismantled because the track material was supposedly needed for the construction of the Berlin outer ring.
