Strohgäubahn

	Black Forest Railway from Stuttgart
	Freight line from Kornwestheim Rbf
0.0	Korntal	306 m
	Black Forest Railway to Calw
1.3	Korntal High School
4.4	Münchingen Rührberg (since 2001)
5.2	Münchingen	300 m
7.9	Schwieberdingen	261 m
8.1	Glems
11.4	Hemmingen	319 m
16.3	Heimerdingen	386 m
	Awanst Bonlanden (until 1989)
22.2	Weissach	351 m

The Strohgäubahn is a 22.2 km long, single-track and standard gauge branch line in Strohgäu that as a spur track Korntal with Weissach combines and the Württemberg railway company operated (WEG). The private railway is not electrified and is operated exclusively for passenger transport. Since the timetable change in December 2017, the section between Heimerdingen and Weissach has been without regular traffic. In the course book it has the number 790.61, in the transport and Tarifverbund Stuttgart (VVS) was performed to December 2019 as a regional line R 61, since it contributes to the new nationwide system, the designation RB 47th

history

In 1898 the Strohgäubahn was actually planned as a meter-gauge railway from Zuffenhausen to Pforzheim via the municipalities of Münchingen , Schwieberdingen , Hemmingen , Heimerdingen, Weissach, Eberdingen , Nussdorf, Iptingen , Mönsheim , Wurmberg and Wiernsheim with a total length of 50.5 kilometers. People and goods were to be transported on the route, thereby improving the perspective of the agricultural villages that were in the shadow of industrialization.

Since the communities west of Weissach and Heimerdingen could not raise the necessary contribution of 3000 Reichsmarks per kilometer, the construction of a standard-gauge line to Weissach began in 1905. It was finally inaugurated on August 13, 1906 and operated by the Württemberg branch lines (WN). These emerged from the Filderbahn company in 1905 and continued to operate the railway lines on the Fildern . Since the existence of the Strohgäubahn, attempts have been made time and again to integrate it into Stuttgart's local traffic. The first combustion railcar was put into service in the 1930s. But the Humboldt locomotives lasted until they were finally eliminated in the 1950s. From this point on, Esslinger and Fuchs railcars took over the service. Later these were supplemented by MAN rail buses . From the beginning of the 1980s, diesel locomotives also came onto the line. In 1981, the NE 81 diesel multiple unit, specially developed for the WN, SWEG and Kahlgrundbahn , was put into operation. In 1984 the WN merged with the Württembergische Eisenbahngesellschaft (WEG) to form the new WEG, which has been operating the line ever since.

In December 2009 the municipalities of Ditzingen , Korntal-Münchingen , Hemmingen and Schwieberdingen founded the Strohgäubahn association . He bought the route between Korntal and Heimerdingen from WEG, the management remains with WEG.

passenger traffic

Regio-Shuttle railcars of the Strohgäubahn in Münchingen station

New train in Korntal (from 2012)

Passenger traffic was of great importance in the early years of the Strohgäu Railway, as it made it possible to commute quickly between Stuttgart and the Strohgäu communities. With the increasing bus traffic and the establishment of the regional bus line from Hemmingen to Feuerbach (now line 501), however, passenger traffic increasingly fell into a crisis. After a serious train accident between Schwieberdingen and Münchingen on June 24, 1969, with one dead and over 40 injured, allegations were raised about inadequate safety precautions and calls for a complete cessation of passenger traffic. However, operations continued. In December 1978 traffic was reduced to four passenger train journeys a day. The turning point came with the decision to modernize the railway line from 1980. On June 1, 1982, the railway was included in the time card tariff of the Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association (VVS). At the same time, the two NE-81 sets listed above were procured and the timetable tightened. Münchingen was converted into a crossing station and provided with a second platform. Fallback switches have been installed so that the trains can cross without much effort . In 1993 another series NE 81 was ordered.

Schwieberdingen station was converted into a crossing station in 1996 with fallback switches and a central platform, while the platform was moved 100 m to the west. Also in 1996, three RS 1 regional shuttle railcars were purchased. These vehicles were handed over to the Schönbuchbahn in early 2013 . The last older vehicles, a rail bus set (multiple units, intermediate car and control car), were stationed in Weissach as an operating reserve until 2001. In recent years, all level crossings and field path crossings between Korntal and Heimerdingen have either been secured by a traffic light system or canceled. This means that the once characteristic whistling at crossings can only be heard between Heimerdingen and Weissach.

With the timetable change in December 2012, eight new RS 1s with Scharfenberg couplings were put into operation, which are owned by the Strohgäubahn association and represent its entire vehicle fleet.

In 2012, passenger traffic between Hemmingen and Weissach was abandoned. The route between Hemmingen and Heimerdingen was then rehabilitated. Passenger traffic on this piece was resumed in September.

Freight transport

NE-81 railcars are no longer used for freight traffic, here in Weissach station

In the past, wood (from the former Bonlanden timber loading platform between Heimerdingen and Weissach), goods from and for the WLZ Raiffeisen branches along the route, general cargo and beet transports at harvest time played the main role in freight transport. Many transports were moved to the streets as a result of the rumors of closure.

In 1989 a former pre-series diesel locomotive V 160 of the German Federal Railroad ("Lollo") had been procured from the Hersfeld Kreisbahn for the enormous transport of sugar beet and general cargo . When beet transport on the route was completely stopped in the 1990s, freight traffic reached its temporary low.

During this time only the branches of the WLZ were served at irregular intervals. A few years later, sewage sludge transport began for the Awilog company from Heimerdingen to Korntal. The freight trains ran an average of three times a week with an average of one to three low side cars until the service was discontinued in 2001. The loading platform in Heimerdingen is now closed as part of the renovation of the Strohgäubahn.

A short time later, the WLZ traffic was finally stopped - first to Münchingen and then to Heimerdingen. The connecting and loading tracks of the WLZ company were mostly interrupted or dismantled. Worth mentioning is the transport of broken timber from the Black Forest for a period of two years by Hurricane Lothar in 1999. For this purpose, long wooden trains were used between Weissach and Korntal, sometimes even several a day. Since the WEG NE 81 multiple units (also in double traction) were unsuitable for this task in the long term, the V 122 diesel locomotive was borrowed from WEG on the Gaildorf West – Untergröningen route , later a DB diesel locomotive from Stendal.

Route

The Strohgäubahn connects Korntal in the Ludwigsburg district with Weissach in the Böblingen district . The route leads through a landscape that is topographically demanding for railway construction. The course of the route is characterized by steep inclines and declines. The lowest point of the route is at Schwieberdingen station, the highest at the Rutesheimer Straße level crossing in Heimerdingen. The Strohgäubahn runs from Korntal in many curves and bends, mainly through a field landscape, from Schwieberdingen it rises on the valley slope of the Glems , from Hemmingen it leads through wooded area and before Weissach there is a steep gradient.

Korntal station
Korntal High School
Münchingen Rührberg
Münchingen
Schwieberdingen
Hemmingen
Heimerdingen
Weissach

business

Heimerdingen station

Weissach terminus

The Strohgäubahn has a depot in Weissach , where the vehicles on the line are serviced and repaired. The route is single-track and has means of relapse turnout intersection possibilities at the stations Hemmingen, Schwieberdingen and Münchingen.

Until December 2012, the trains ran in rush hour beyond Korntal on the infrastructure of DB Netz AG ( Württemberg Black Forest Railway and Frankenbahn ) to the Stuttgart-Feuerbach station . There the WEG trains ended on the specially built butt track 1a.

Since the timetable change in December 2013, the route has been operated Monday to Friday between 5:00 a.m. and midnight, on Saturdays operations begin two hours later and on Sundays and public holidays three hours later. Mondays to Fridays, there is usually a half-hourly service with two circuits that cross at Münchingen station. In the evenings from 8:30 p.m. and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, an hourly cycle is offered all day long. In addition, there is a train from Weissach to Korntal every morning on school days. In addition, timetable routes are available for commodity trains.

From June 10 to September 14, 2014, the stations in Hemmingen, Münchingen, Münchingen Rührberg and Korntal Gymnasium were completely renovated. For this purpose, the traffic on the entire Strohgäubahn was discontinued and a replacement bus service was set up.

The maximum speed for passenger trains between Korntal and Heimerdingen is 60 km / h, for freight trains 40 km / h. There is a general speed limit of 40 km / h between Heimerdingen and Weissach. A maximum speed of 30 km / h applies to the special steam trains of the Society for the Maintenance of Rail Vehicles (GES).

The steepest sections of the route are a gradient of 1:59 from Münchingen to Schwieberdingen, 1:68 from Heimerdingen to Hemmingen and 1:62 from Heimerdingen to Weissach.

The Strohgäubahn is subject to the tariff regulations of the Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association. It is mainly used by commuters to Stuttgart and students attending schools in Korntal or Stuttgart. According to the survey from December 2013, around 3,600 passengers are transported every day from Monday to Friday.

According to information from Deutsche Bahn, the trains to Stuttgart-Feuerbach will only be able to link through after Stuttgart 21 has been completed. This would require an interface to the DB interlocking at Korntal station, costing around one million euros.

Development since 2000

1906: Schwieberdingen station and bridge over the Glems in the year it was opened

Y-steel sleepers

RS1 double traction of the Strohgäubahn in Stuttgart Central Station

After several discussions about closing the line, it has been rehabilitated in sections since 2004 - mainly during the school holidays. In 2004 the 98-year-old Glemsbrücke was replaced by a new reinforced concrete structure. The entire section of the route between Schwieberdingen and Hemmingen was completely renewed, as silted up gravel caused problems. In many sections, new rails were installed on Y-steel sleepers.

In 2005, during the renovation of the Korntal - Münchingen section, the tracks at the underpass under the A 81 were lowered in order to be prepared for a possible electrification, as at the same time a study commissioned by the Stuttgart Region Association was investigating whether the straw pigeon railway could be taken up in the route network of the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG with a connection to the old Filderbahn to Neuhausen auf den Fildern makes economic sense. In this case, dual-system railcars based on the DT 8 type would have been purchased, which could also have run on the DB routes . However, this would have been a new development of the vehicle, as there is no comparable vehicle that is suitable for Stuttgart conditions. Another problem would be the small vehicle width of 2.65 meters of the DT 8, which would have led to too large a gap on the platforms of the S-Bahn. In addition, the DT 8 can only stop at elevated platforms, which should have been set up at all stops on the Strohgäubahn. Here too, the too large gap between the platforms on the elevated platforms according to EBO would have been problematic. The new crossing point to the tram would have been at Feuerbach station. The entire track system of the Strohgäubahn would then have had to be electrified with 15 kV AC voltage.

In September 2006, the result of the profitability study was presented: A two-system urban railway expansion of the Strohgäu and Filderbahn was not advisable, since the Stuttgart region already has two rapid transit systems and therefore an adequate rail link.

In the spring of 2007, a further report “Further development of the Strohgäubahn, optimized diesel operation”, commissioned by the Ludwigsburg district, was published. Here the operation on different sections of the route was compared for further diesel operation. This report should provide the basis for extensive investments in the line and in new vehicles and for the conclusion of a long-term operator contract with the current operator, the Württembergische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft .

Three variants with different endpoints were developed and evaluated in the Strohgäu:

Min variant: Hemmingen - Korntal - Feuerbach
Basic variant: Heimerdingen - Korntal - Feuerbach
Max variant: Weissach - Korntal - Feuerbach

The connection to Feuerbach showed high costs, which were not offset by a corresponding increase in passengers. In addition, the operational difficulties would persist, which would result from the joint use of the S-Bahn tracks between Korntal and Feuerbach and would affect the stability of the Strohgäubahn timetable.

The Heimerdingen –Korntal variant, the so-called NE variant ("branch line variant"), was then examined . For this variant, the experts forecast the lowest increase in passenger numbers, but also the lowest costs and the lowest risks for the operational quality of the Strohgäubahn. A shortening of the NE variant to Hemmingen would not have resulted in any savings in operating costs. An extension of the NE variant to Weissach would have caused additional costs by increasing the circulation time from 60 to 90 minutes and necessary investments in the infrastructure of the Heimerdingen – Weissach section, which would not have been offset by the forecast increase in passenger numbers. The total annual deficit of the Strohgäubahn would have increased by around 500,000 euros. The report therefore recommended the NE variant , taking into account traffic, operational and economic aspects .

The district council of Ludwigsburg and the local councils of the neighboring communities then decided in separate meetings in the summer that the NE variant should be implemented. The mayors signed an investment contract on December 16, 2009. On December 14, 2009, the communities of Ditzingen, Korntal-Münchingen, Hemmingen and Schwieberdingen founded the Strohgäubahn association . As the responsible body for rail traffic. He bought the route between Korntal and Heimerdingen from WEG for 320,000 euros, in return the WEG was given operational management from December 2012 for twelve years. The municipality of Weissach acquired the section between Heimerdingen and Weissach in order to secure the rail infrastructure.

The expansion project will cost almost 50 million euros.

Actions taken by the association since 2010

New company workshop

In 2010, the section between Schwieberdingen and Hagmühle was modernized. The modernization work in the section between Münchingen and Schwieberdingen continued in the 2011 summer vacation. The 2013 summer vacation was used to renovate the Schwieberdingen train station. The central platform, built in 1996, was demolished for the construction of the two outer platforms. When Stadler in Berlin eight new vehicles of the type Regio-Shuttle ordered in low-floor technology for the purpose association. They were delivered in 2012 in the new yellow-green design and have the numbers VT 361 - VT 368. These are serviced and repaired by WEG. For the first time on this route, the new vehicles only have a central buffer coupling. This means that freight traffic must be handled with other vehicles.

At the western end of the Korntal train station on the site of the former WN locomotive station, construction work began on a new workshop in April 2014; it was opened on April 15, 2015. The site is still owned by the WEG, but will then be transferred to the Zweckverband like the rest of the route. Between June and September 2014, the Hemmingen and Münchingen train stations as well as the Münchingen Rührberg and Korntal Gymnasium stops were completely rebuilt. During the period mentioned, traffic on the entire Strohgäubahn was discontinued and rail replacement services were used. Among other things, these conversion measures will adjust the platform height to 60 centimeters in order to enable barrier-free entry into the new RS1 vehicles. Investments of 4.35 million euros for infrastructure and vehicles were planned for 2017. Since September 3, 2018, the Hemmingen - Heimerdingen section has been regularly served by passenger traffic again.

Control and safety technology

In 1995 and 1996 the route block was set up on the Strohgäubahn . For this purpose, all train stations received exit signals of the Siemens Sicas type , an electronic interlocking implemented with a safe programmable logic controller . The control center was relocated from Weissach to Hemmingen. There the train conductor works in the signal box. Cable ducts were laid alongside the tracks along the entire route. These were initially made from molded concrete parts. In the meantime, elevated plastic ducts have been installed in some places. Schwieberdingen station was converted into a crossing station with fallback switches .

The Sicas system is based on a signaling system that was developed for urban and underground trains. The signals are mounted on tubular masts that are screwed onto a concrete base. The signal screens each have three signal lanterns one above the other, which were dazzled in the colors red (above), green (middle) and white (below). An additional signal was attached underneath each in a housing for traffic light systems . With the changeover of the route to technically supported train control operations , the signals no longer show a journey term (Hp 1) - instead, the train conductor approves the journey by telephone - but a white light, the identification light . To do this, the green colored cover and the no longer required additional signal were removed and the white-red-white mast signs were exchanged for white-yellow-white-yellow-white.

Exit signal
Exit signal with speed board (40 km / h)
Sicas lantern arrangement

At the end of 2015, Thales was awarded the contract to modernize the control and safety technology between Korntal and Heimerdingen. Work is scheduled to begin in 2015 and be completed in summer 2016. However, due to financial complications, this section will not be ready until 2017. According to an estimate by the interlocking manufacturer, the connection costs, initially estimated at one million euros, should now only amount to around 150,000 euros. In November 2016, Thales was commissioned to plan a route adjustment costing around 150,000 euros in Korntal station so that train journeys between the Strohgäubahn and the Black Forest Railway would be possible. A test run for this could take place in September 2017.

The district advocates an extension of the traffic to Stuttgart-Feuerbach. A traffic connection between the Strohgäubahn and the Schönbuchbahn, via the Gäubahn between Stuttgart and Böblingen, will be considered after Stuttgart 21 goes into operation.

An electronic signal box is planned in Korntal, which is to be monitored and controlled from Waiblingen- Beinstein . 36 signals, eleven turnouts and 50 axle counters are used for the modernization.

Museum train in Korntal

Museum trains

Under the name Feuriger Elias , historic vehicles from the Society for the Preservation of Rail Vehicles have been running on the route on Sundays and public holidays in the summer months since 1971.

literature

Hermann Bürnheim: Württemberg Railway Company. The story of an important private railway . 1st edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-613-01145-X .
Gerd Wolff, Hans-Dieter Menges: German small and private railways. Volume 3: Württemberg . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1995, ISBN 3-88255-655-2 .
Peter Garke: New momentum in the Strohgäu . In: Eisenbahn Modellbahn Magazin . No. 2 , 2013, p. 26-28 .

Web links

Commons : Strohgäubahn - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Notice concerning the list annexed to the International Agreement on Freight Carriage by Rail. November 6, 1906 - Sources and full texts

Route and operating points on the OpenRailwayMap .
Excerpt from the course book from 1944

Individual evidence

^ Train accident on the Württ branch line . In: Bulletin of the Heimerdingen community, June 27, 1969.
↑ private railways. Zweckverband Strohgäubahn (ZSB). In: private and museum railway pages. Alexander Bückle, accessed on June 22, 2014 .
↑ To Heimerdingen . In: railway magazine . No. 11 , 2018, ISSN 0342-1902 , p. 29 .
↑ Strohgäubahn - ((Weissach) - Hemmingen - Korntal). Disruption - replacement rail traffic with buses due to construction work. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 2, 2014 ; Retrieved June 19, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ News from the community of Schwieberdingen, page 9. (PDF) Strohgäubahn records a sharp increase in the number of passengers. Retrieved June 22, 2014 .
↑ ^a ^b Philipp Schneider: Because of S21: No longer Strohgäubahn possible . In: Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung . December 10, 2015, p. 13 (short version online ).
↑ The transport system in the region is so good that an additional 2 system as a diameter line is not economically viable. (No longer available online.) Verband Region Stuttgart, September 28, 2006, archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; Retrieved December 3, 2015 .
↑ Consultation template of the Ludwigsburg district council from July 18, 2008 with the investigation report in Appendix 1
↑ Investment contract for the Strohgäubahn. City of Ditzingen, December 16, 2009, accessed December 3, 2015 .
↑ Peter Garke: New momentum in the Strohgäu. In: eisenbahn-magazin 2/2013, p. 26
↑ Zweckverband Strohgäubahn. Retrieved June 19, 2014 .
^ ^A ^b ^c Philipp Schneider: New hope for old dream . In: Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung . November 16, 2016, p. 9 .
↑ Franziska Kleiner: Big station for the longed-for train . In: Stuttgarter Zeitung, September 5, 2018, accessed on September 27, 2018.
↑ Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Stuttgart, Germany: Trouble with the Strohgäubahn: Heimerdingen will only be served every half hour in 2017 - Stuttgarter Nachrichten. Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
↑ ^a ^b Markus Klohr: Free travel to the main train station . In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten . tape 72 , November 23, 2016, p. 2 .
↑ Thales modernizes control and safety technology . In: The Railway Engineer . tape 65 , no. 1 , 2016, ISSN 0013-2810 , p. 62 .

[1] Train accident on the Württ branch line . In: Bulletin of the Heimerdingen community, June 27, 1969.

[2] private railways. Zweckverband Strohgäubahn (ZSB). In: private and museum railway pages. Alexander Bückle, accessed on June 22, 2014 .

[3] To Heimerdingen . In: railway magazine . No. 11 , 2018, ISSN 0342-1902 , p. 29 .

[4] Strohgäubahn - ((Weissach) - Hemmingen - Korntal). Disruption - replacement rail traffic with buses due to construction work. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 2, 2014 ; Retrieved June 19, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[5] News from the community of Schwieberdingen, page 9. (PDF) Strohgäubahn records a sharp increase in the number of passengers. Retrieved June 22, 2014 .

[lbz-2015-12-10-6] Philipp Schneider: Because of S21: No longer Strohgäubahn possible . In: Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung . December 10, 2015, p. 13 (short version online ).

[vrs-20060928-7] The transport system in the region is so good that an additional 2 system as a diameter line is not economically viable. (No longer available online.) Verband Region Stuttgart, September 28, 2006, archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; Retrieved December 3, 2015 .

[8] Consultation template of the Ludwigsburg district council from July 18, 2008 with the investigation report in Appendix 1

[9] Investment contract for the Strohgäubahn. City of Ditzingen, December 16, 2009, accessed December 3, 2015 .

[10] Peter Garke: New momentum in the Strohgäu. In: eisenbahn-magazin 2/2013, p. 26

[11] Zweckverband Strohgäubahn. Retrieved June 19, 2014 .

[lbz-2016-11-16-12] A ^b ^c Philipp Schneider: New hope for old dream . In: Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung . November 16, 2016, p. 9 .

[13] Franziska Kleiner: Big station for the longed-for train . In: Stuttgarter Zeitung, September 5, 2018, accessed on September 27, 2018.

[14] Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Stuttgart, Germany: Trouble with the Strohgäubahn: Heimerdingen will only be served every half hour in 2017 - Stuttgarter Nachrichten. Retrieved August 23, 2016 .

[stn-2016-11-23-15] Markus Klohr: Free travel to the main train station . In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten . tape 72 , November 23, 2016, p. 2 .

[ei-2016-62-16] Thales modernizes control and safety technology . In: The Railway Engineer . tape 65 , no. 1 , 2016, ISSN 0013-2810 , p. 62 .