The situation changed drastically after World War II – Germany was divided in half, and, owing to the Wanfried Agreement, all of the lines forming the North-South line were situated inside West Germany. As the connection via Leipzig and Halle was no longer available, the lines had to carry most of the traffic, which had shifted from Germany's previous East-West orientation. Providing a convenient bypass around the GDR, the lines also took international trains like the Copenhagen to Vienna expresses. The Deutsche Bundesbahn favoured the faster connection via Hanover, Fulda and Würzburg over the Main-Weser Railway which had the disadvantage of the terminal station in Kassel, among others. With the Main-Weser Railway taking most of the freight traffic, the passenger traffic on the North–South railway increased steadily in the 1950s and 1960s.