Western Railway (Württemberg)

map

Bietigheim-Bissingen-Bruchsal
Route number (DB) :	4130 (Bruchsal – Bretten) 4131 (Güterstrasse Bruchsal) 4800 (Bietigheim-B.-Bretten) 4842 (NBS Sersheim-Illingen) 4843 (Aischb.-Vaih. Nord)
Course book section (DB) :	770 710.9 (tram lines) 772 ("Klosterstadtexpress")
Route length:	52.529 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	D4
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	10  ‰
Minimum radius :	300 m
Top speed:	140 km / h
Legend Frankenbahn from Stuttgart S 5 former line from Freiberg (Neckar) (until 1945) 23,568 000,000 Bietigheim-Bissingen S 5 220  m Frankenbahn to Würzburg 23.720 000,000 B 27 (44 m) 24.4 + 289.3 , 000 24.6 + 60.90.000 Mileage jump 24.843 000,000 Bietigheim Railway Viaduct (287 m) 25.119 000,000 25,400 000,000 Bietigheim-Bissingen Ellental (since 2003) 27.400 000,000 Bietigheim-Metterzimmer (until 1979) 224  m 30.145 000,000 Sachsenheim 232  m 33,600 000,000 Sersheim 235  m 34.108 134.108 Sersheim route change 4800/4842 Re-routing due to High-speed route 134.741 Sersheim Aischbach ( Abzw ) 258  m 136.833 Side road tunnel (north: 1067 m, south: 1102 m) 137.900 High-speed route from Stuttgart (level-free) 36.100 000,000 Vaihingen (Enz) North 242  m 138.708 Vaihingen (Enz) 249  m 138.800 Vaihinger Stadtbahn (until 2002) 38.900 000,000 Ensingen High-speed route to Mannheim (level) Re-routing due to High-speed route 40.200 141.249 Illingen route change 4842/4800 41,047 000,000 Illingen (Württ) 235  m 45,400 000,000 Mühlacker Rößlesweg (Bft; since 2003) 46,556 000,000 Mühlacker 240  m Route to Karlsruhe 47,850 000,000 Mühlacker Em Nord (Bft) 49.0 + 246.3 , 000 49.2 + 19.20.000 Mileage jump 49.456 000,000 Ötisheim 247  m 52.000 000,000 Maulbronn tunnel (also: Eichelberg tunnel, 287 m) 52.595 000,000 Maulbronn West 269  m Route to Maulbronn 55,850 000,000 Ölbronn-Dürrn (since 2003) 56.600 000,000 Ölbronn 57.050 000,000 Knittlingen - Kleinvillars (since 2004) 59,500 000,000 Bretten-Ruit (since 2002) 204  m 61.800 000,000 B 294 (55 m) 62.496 016.027 former border Württemberg / Baden 15.763 Bretten Rechberg (Bft; since 2002) Kraichgaubahn from Heilbronn S 4 14,920 Bretten S 9 170  m Kraichgaubahn to Karlsruhe S 4 13,420 Diedelsheim (Bft; since 1994) 10,850 Gondelsheim (Baden) (formerly Bf) 151  m 10.173 Gondelsheim Schloßstadion (since 1994) 7.766 Helmsheim 143  m 5.961 Heidelsheim (Hp Anst; formerly Bf ) 135  m 5.443 Heidelsheim Nord (since 1996) 2.271 Bruchsal Schlachthof (since 1994) 1,818 Cemetery tunnel (120 m) 1,698 1,100 Bruchsal Tunnelstrasse (since 1996) 0.956 00.956 Bruchsal Ost ( Abzw ; formerly "Ruhstein" ) 120  m 0.677 00,000 Passenger train tunnel (424 m) 0.665 Freight train tunnel (780 m) 0.253 00,000 −0.115 −0.426 Rheintalbahn from Karlsruhe S 3 S 31 S 32 −0.822 −2.059 Bruchsal S 33 S 4 S 9 114  m Bruhrainbahn to Germersheim S 33 Rheintalbahn to Heidelberg S 3 S 4 S 31 S 32 Swell:

Planning variants of the Westbahn

The Wuerttemberg railway line opened in 1853 from Bietigheim-Bissingen via Bretten to Bruchsal is called the Westbahn . It established the first rail connection between the states of Württemberg and Baden .

Formerly an important link in national and international long-distance traffic , it has largely given up this function since the Mannheim – Stuttgart high-speed line went into operation and is now primarily used for regional and freight traffic between Stuttgart , Karlsruhe , Mannheim and Heidelberg .

The Stuttgart – Karlsruhe line, which consists of part of this line and the Karlsruhe – Mühlacker line , has been operated by Deutsche Bahn since the end of 2010 under the name " Residenzbahn ". This name was the result of a public competition.

Route

In Bietigheim-Bissingen, the Westbahn branches off the Frankenbahn (Stuttgart– Heilbronn - Würzburg ) in a left curve and crosses the Bietigheim Enz Viaduct . Thereafter, it runs on the slope above the Metter until it by the construction of the high-speed line created Nebenwegtunnel the Vaihingen (Enz) station achieved. In Mühlacker , where the line branches off to Karlsruhe , the Westbahn turns northwest towards Maulbronn (which is connected to the town with a branch line) and Bretten , where it crosses the Kraichgau Railway.

The route runs through the Saalbach valley to its end point in Bruchsal. Its old town is bypassed in a south-facing loop with several tunnels . A shorter tunnel crosses under the cemetery and after two longer tunnels it threads into the Rheintalbahn without crossing , separated from the passenger station from the east and the freight station from the west.

From Bietigheim-Bissingen to Vaihingen, the Westbahn runs within the Ludwigsburg district , from Illingen to Kleinvillars it crosses the Enzkreis , and the rest of the route to Bruchsal is in the Karlsruhe district .

history

The Westbahn was the first connection between the Baden and Württemberg railway networks. It links the Baden main line in Bruchsal with the Württemberg northern line in Bietigheim. The Westbahn was therefore an important element in the creation of an all-German rail network. However, their construction had been preceded by years of disputes because Baden and Württemberg pursued different interests.

Negotiations between Württemberg and Baden

The Westbahn was a Württemberg project. When Württemberg began planning its main railways around 1835 (see also the history of the railway in Württemberg ), these were intended from the outset as a cohesive network that was also intended to have a relationship with other countries (Baden, Bavaria, Switzerland). In this context, the Westbahn was supposed to take into account the Württemberg transport needs in the direction of the Rhine , but also to accommodate transit traffic from West Germany and France to Bavaria and Southeast Europe, which, it was believed, would make the Württemberg railways profitable in the first place.

Baden had started building the railway earlier than Württemberg, and between 1840 and 1843 it had advanced its Rhine Valley Railway from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Bruchsal, Durlach to Karlsruhe, and later to Basel and Constance . Württemberg's desire to establish a connection to this route aroused in Baden on the one hand the fear of competition in traffic with the Lake Constance region and Switzerland, on the other hand the prospect of being able to participate in east-west traffic. For a long time there was disagreement about the choice of the connecting station and technical parameters such as the gauge .

There were essentially three options for the route. In order from north to south these were:

1. from Heilbronn via the small Odenwald in Baden to Wiesloch
2. branching off from the Württemberg Northern Railway north of Ludwigsburg via Bretten to Bruchsal
3. from Württemberg to Pforzheim in Baden and from there to Durlach

The first option would have been beneficial for Württemberg, as it would have routed transit traffic over long distances through its own network. For this reason, and because it was unfavorable for traffic from the west to Karlsruhe, Baden flatly rejected it. It did not play a serious role in the negotiations.

The second option (hereinafter called the Bretten Line ) was championed by Württemberg, the third ( Pforzheimer Line ) by Baden. Baden intended to provide its important industrial city Pforzheim with a rail connection and also to keep transit traffic on the Rhine Valley Railway for as long as possible. In principle, a route via Zuffenhausen , Ditzingen and Friolzheim would also have been possible for this route ; although this was planned by the Württemberg side, it was not considered worth building. The subsequent investigations of this option concentrated on a route from Pforzheim through the Enztal with a border crossing at Mühlacker.

Initial discussions between the two states led to the investigation of the Pforzheimer line by a joint commission at the end of the 1830s, as a result of which this route was found suitable by the Baden side and unsuitable by the Württemberg side. In 1842, Württemberg asked for an investigation of the Bretten line as well.

In view of the disagreement, the Württemberg Railway Act of 1843, which ordered the construction of the main lines, initially only stipulated that a connection to the Baden network should be created, but not how this should be done.

The investigation of the Bretten line took place in 1844, whereby the mutual commission granted it technical advantages over the Pforzheim line. Baden, however, continued to insist on the latter and, as the only German state to build its broad-gauge railway network , also tried to oblige Württemberg to use the 1600 mm gauge. However, Württemberg had already decided in favor of the standard gauge for its network .

The Württemberg meeting of the estates was inclined to give in to Baden's endeavors to establish the Pforzheim line, but only on the condition that the Heilbronn – Wiesloch line should be built at the same time. However, this project was unsuccessful because of the aforementioned Baden rejection of the latter.

Since an agreement had initially failed, efforts were made to present the other side with a fait accompli. The Württemberg government made the decision to build a railway to the border shortly before Bretten, but did not receive the necessary money from the estates. The Baden state parliament suggested granting a private company the concession for a railway Durlach – Pforzheim, but could not find an entrepreneur for it.

Due to the March Revolution of 1848/49, which particularly affected Baden, the question of the western railways was initially suspended. When negotiations were resumed in 1850, Württemberg had strengthened its negotiating position with the other main lines that had meanwhile been completed (from Heilbronn via Stuttgart to Ulm and to Lake Constance ), while Baden's financial position was tense due to the previous events. Baden, for example, accepted Württemberg's offer to build and operate the entire line at its own expense, and gave in to questions about the route and track gauge.

Planning and construction

On December 4, 1850, the State Treaty on the construction of the Western Railway was concluded. The route should take into account a later turn towards Pforzheim. The railway was then built under the direction of Karl Etzel , in the standard gauge of 1435 millimeters, which had already established itself in most European countries. The total cost was 11,370,000 marks, making it the most expensive per kilometer within Württemberg.

The routing on the Württemberg side caused greater difficulties, in particular the crossing of the deeply cut Enz . Initial plans envisaged reaching the river further west through the gently sloping valley of the Leudelsbach near Markgröningen and after its confluence with the Enz, following the valley to Vaihingen . The appraiser Vignoles , on the other hand, advised branching off the northern line in Tamm and building a large viaduct at the Bissinger Sägmühle in order to reach Kleinglattbach and Illingen in a straight line. These alignments had the advantage that they were relatively direct. The disadvantage at the Tammer junction was the high and long bridge that the Enz valley would have required.

View of the Bietigheim railway viaduct from around 1855

In 1845, Karl Etzel brought the junction further north near Bietigheim into play, as the Enz Valley was the narrowest here and therefore a shorter and lower bridge was required than at the Bissinger Sägmühle. Although the route was lengthened, this should result in cost savings. Regardless of the topographically more favorable solution through the Leudelsbachtal, Etzel ignored corresponding protests from the town of Markgröningen and prevailed in favor of Bietigheim with his expensive ideas. This is how the Bietigheim Enz Viaduct was created , which, with a length of 287 meters and a height of 26 meters, was the largest engineering structure along the route and the construction of which proved to be very complex. Finally, it was decided to use stone as the material and semicircular supporting vaults as supports. On August 13, 1853, it was inaugurated with a great celebration.

In the further course, a route through the Mettertal to Zaisersweiher and Knittlingen would have been the cheapest. In consideration of Baden's interests in relation to Pforzheim, however, the route was laid on the slope between Metter- and Enztal and the branch to the north was only inserted at the hamlet of Mühlacker, where the later connection to Pforzheim was also planned. Between Ötisheim and Maulbronn, the Maulbronn Tunnel, which was pushed through on November 17, 1852, crossed the watershed between Enz and Rhine.

On the Baden side, the course between Bretten and Bruchsal was largely predetermined through the Saalbach valley . At Heidelsheim there were major problems during construction work on a cut, as the loess structure there was unstable due to its moisture content. The problem was solved by diverting the water contained in the loess into the nearby Saalbach. To do this, a process was used that had never been used before and was later copied to many other railway constructions.

In Bruchsal, the route was controversial because the old town at the exit of the Saalbach valley stood in the way of the direct route to the Baden train station and a tunnel had to be built under the cemetery to bypass it. The city of Bruchsal, however, blocked a route near the cemetery because they feared disruption to the peace of the dead . As a result, Württemberg initially proposed a separate Württemberg terminus in the Saalbachtal, which would have avoided construction costs for the tunnel route of 200,000 guilders. People and goods would then have to be transported through the city to the Baden train station by horse-drawn vehicles. In the end, the city allowed the construction of the 120 meter long cemetery tunnel .

1853–1920: Development under the Württemberg and Baden state railways

Course of the Western Railway in Württemberg in 1854

Facilities of the former Mühlacker border station (June 2006)

Reception building of Heidelsheim (Aug. 2006)

The Westbahn went into operation on October 1, 1853; the opening run had already taken place on September 20. According to the State Treaty of 1850, the railway was operated in full length, including in Baden territory, by the Royal Württemberg State Railways . In Bruchsal, the Westbahn initially had its own standard gauge "Württemberger Bahnhof", which was east of the first "Badischer Bahnhof". Only after Baden had switched to standard gauge in 1854/55, the rails of the two Bruchsal train stations could be linked.

The Durlach – Pforzheim – Mühlacker route originally intended by Baden was put into operation in 1863, when Mühlacker became a border station. In connection with the Mühlacker – Bietigheim section, this resulted in a more direct connection between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, which also gained importance in long-distance traffic.

In the contract of 1850, Baden had the right to buy back the route on its territory. This right was asserted in 1873 when the planning for the Kraichgau Railway was underway. This was supposed to cross the Western Railway at Bretten, but the crossing of a Baden railway over a Württemberg railway was not desired. The negotiations about the repurchase dragged on until 1878, because Württemberg was reluctant to cede the profitable railway and there were differences about the surrender value of the railway. With the construction of the Kraichgau Railway, the Bretten station , which had previously been in the immediate vicinity of the city center, was relocated to the south-western outskirts. From October 15, 1879, the Wuerttemberg portion of the Western Railway only extended to Bretten, and the Baden State Railways took over the facilities and operations from Bretten to Bruchsal. The employees of the KWSt.E. was given the option to switch to the Baden State Railways or to be transferred to Württemberg territory.

In the years 1859–1862, only the Bietigheim – Mühlacker section was initially expanded to two tracks. The two-track expansion of the Bruchsal – Bretten section did not take place until 1888 under the direction of Baden, and in 1890 Württemberg completed the expansion between Mühlacker and Bretten.

Railway stations initially existed along the route in Mühlacker, Maulbronn and Bretten. There were stops in Großsachsenheim (today: Sachsenheim), Sersheim (called Sersheim-Vaihingen or Vaihingen-Sersheim from 1863), Illingen, Gondelsheim and Heidelsheim. Later, the towns of Ruit, Ölbronn (1891), Ötisheim (1890), Ensingen (1900), Helmsheim (1909), Metterzimmer (1912) in the catchment area of ​​the Westbahn were also given stops. In the course of the Vaihingen Stadtbahn , which opened in 1904 , the Sersheim-Vaihingen station, which was the starting point of the Stadtbahn, was given the name Vaihingen (Enz) Staatsbahnhof in 1906 (from 1923 Vaihingen (Enz) Reichsbahnhof, from 1950 Vaihingen (Enz) Nord). Sersheim itself had already received a local stop in 1905.

Between 1890 and 1914, the Bruchsal train station , which in the meantime had developed into a hub for rail traffic, underwent extensive renovations. The narrow and around 10 ‰ steep track curve between the train station and the cemetery tunnel had become an obstacle over time due to the heavier trains. This has been bypassed since December 3, 1898 by a more extensive confluence curve with the 424 meter long passenger train tunnel below the Ruhstein. In addition, a freight bypass railway was built between 1903 and 1906. This led from the freight yard, which was located on the west side of the Bruchsal station, on a bridge over the tracks of the Karlsruhe line, then through the 780-meter-long freight train tunnel to join the Westbahn at the Ruhstein junction . This bypass was made necessary by the increased freight traffic arriving on the Bruhrainbahn from the west , which otherwise would always have to cross the tracks to Karlsruhe. It was put into operation on January 29, 1906.

In 1904 the Vaihinger Stadtbahn was built as a branch off the Westbahn. This was served by the city of Vaihingen an der Enz , which was not adequately connected by the route at the height between Metter and Enz. By 1928, some of the Stadtbahn trains were also tied to Bietigheim. In 1914, another branch line was set up that connected the city of Maulbronn with the station three kilometers outside.

The Westbahn together with the Durlach-Mühlacker route had not only regional, but national and international significance. In 1914, before the beginning of the First World War , nine long-distance trains ran daily on the Bruchsal – Mühlacker – Bietigheim sections and established connections between West Germany and the Netherlands on the one hand and Bavaria and Austria on the other. There were even 13 long-distance connections between Karlsruhe – Mühlacker – Bietigheim, including the Paris – Vienna route and the Orient Express .

1920–1945: Development under the Deutsche Reichsbahn

On April 1, 1920, the Westbahn became the property of the newly founded Deutsche Reichsbahn , whereby the Westbahn was subordinated to the Reichsbahndirectors Stuttgart and Karlsruhe .

The elimination of national borders had a particularly positive effect on freight traffic. Therefore, long-distance freight traffic on the route increased more and more, both in the direction of Heidelberg and via Pforzheim in the direction of Karlsruhe. In the course of the Second World War , the transport of coal, which ran from the Saar via the Western Railway to southern Germany and on to Austria, played an important role.

In 1941 a connecting curve was created in Mühlacker between the Western Railway coming from Bretten and the line to Pforzheim.

The railway systems on the line were largely unaffected by the fighting of the Second World War until autumn 1944. After that, bombing and low-flying attacks on train stations and trains increased more and more, with numerous deaths and injuries as well as property damage. Repeatedly, parts of the route had to be temporarily closed. On March 1, 1945, Bruchsal was finally the target of a devastating bomb attack that also destroyed the railway systems and damaged the tunnels. The Bietigheim Viaduct was hit by bombs several times before German troops blew up several of its pillars on April 8th.

Freight train in the direction of Stuttgart at the entrance to the new Vaihingen (Enz) station , on the right the high-speed line

Development from 1945 to 1990

As a result of the war, traffic on the Western Railway was still at the end of the war. Since the American occupation troops had an interest in restoring the route, it was tackled quickly. After clearing-up work in Bruchsal and the construction of a temporary bridge near Bietigheim, the route to Stuttgart was open to traffic again from June 1945, and the complete repair of the viaduct continued until 1949.

From 1945 to 1952, the entire length of the Westbahn was under the authority of the Reichs- and Eisenbahndirektion Stuttgart, after which the responsibility was again divided between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Under the direction of the Deutsche Bundesbahn , the Mühlacker – Bietigheim section was electrified on October 7, 1951 and integrated into the Stuttgart suburban traffic . The Mühlacker – Bruchsal section followed on May 23, 1954, and a substation was built in Mühlacker . To bypass the tunnel at Maulbronn, a 60-meter-west, 30-meter-deep incision was made between October 1952 and August 1953, as the tunnel could not be converted to operation with overhead lines with reasonable effort. Maulbronn-West station became a wedge station , as the old western railway tracks remained for the branch line to Maulbronn, while the new route runs on the west side of the reception building. After the cut went into operation on December 12, 1953, the tunnel served as a wine store for a long time. The electrification of the line made it possible to dispense with the previously necessary use of push locomotives in the steep section between Bruchsal and Mühlacker.

After the reconstruction, long-distance traffic increased even further, now also with the Hamburg - Lindau / Munich route . With the introduction of the InterCity network in 1971, the two-hour cycle between Heidelberg and Stuttgart was introduced, which in 1979 was reduced to a one-hour cycle. To relieve the route from local traffic, the less frequented stops in Metterzimmer, Ensingen, Maulbronn-West, Ölbronn and Ruit have been canceled.

The route near Vaihingen-Ensingen was abandoned in 1990, as of January 2007

1991: The Mannheim – Stuttgart high-speed line opens

In order to relieve the Westbahn in long-distance traffic, the German Federal Railroad planned a high-speed line between Mannheim and Stuttgart from the late 1960s . This line, the construction of which lasted until 1991, was to be linked in Vaihingen with the western railway line. Since this was too cumbersome in the existing Vaihingen (Enz) Nord station and its distance from the city had always given cause for complaint, the route of the western line was changed over a length of seven kilometers. This previously led on a straight path from Sersheim via Kleinglattbach to Illingen, it now describes a south-facing arc and crosses the secondary road tunnel to stop at the completely newly built Vaihingen (Enz) station , which is closer to the city . There, the tracks of the Westbahn run on both sides of the high-speed line running in the northwest-southeast direction, linked with them in both station heads and directed back to their old route before Illingen (see also the sketch in the Operation section ). The new section was put into operation on September 30, 1990 and the Illingen – Vaihingen (Enz) Nord section was shut down at the same time. The high-speed line was opened the following year.

The Federal Railroad then relocated almost all long-distance traffic connections that had previously run via Bruchsal and Bietigheim to the high-speed line. As a result, the importance of the Western Railway for tourist traffic decreased significantly, it is almost only used for regional and freight traffic. The IRE between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, which was introduced in 2001, uses the high-speed line from Vaihingen (Enz) as well as parts of the freight traffic, so that on October 1, 1993 the second track of the Bruchsal freight bypass was closed. The reconstruction of the railway near Vaihingen had repercussions on the Vaihinger Stadtbahn , so that it ceased operations in 2002. This also meant that freight traffic on the section from Vaihingen (Enz) Nord to Sersheim was discontinued on August 15, 2003, and this section was closed on November 19, 2004.

Tram line S9 at the new Gondelsheim Schloßstadion stop (Aug. 2006)

AVG light rail operation from 1994

In order to make the local transport, which had lost its importance especially between Bruchsal and Mühlacker, more attractive, the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) decided to expand the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn , which ran to Bretten since 1992, to the network of the Westbahn. Due to the great success of these two-system railways, the line was finally included in the light rail network from 1994, which was accompanied by a significant revitalization of the line in local traffic.

The first line to go into operation on May 29, 1994 was the S9 line between Bretten and Bruchsal. By 1996, five new stops were set up in this section alone. Since 1997, individual S9 trains have continued to Mühlacker, and Mühlacker was then operated on a regular basis from May 30, 1999. Since then, three new stops have been built on this section and the Maulbronn West and Bretten-Ruit stations have been reactivated. The regional express trains run after commissioning of the Mannheim-Stuttgart high-speed railway between Mühlacker and Bietigheim-Bissingen every hour, with stops at all breakpoints.

Also on May 30, 1999, the AVG extended the S5 line, which previously ended in Pforzheim, to Mühlacker and further on the Westbahn to Bietigheim-Bissingen, which means that there is a free connection to Karlsruhe city center from the subway stations. Since then, two new stops have been set up in this section ( Mühlacker Rößlesweg and Ellental ), at which the DB Regional Express trains also stop.

From May 2008, the Bruchsal – Bretten – Mühlacker section was completely closed for six months due to extensive renovation work on rails, sleepers and overhead lines. In the opinion of the railway, the work would have taken too long during ongoing operations and caused excessive restrictions for travelers. During the closure there was a rail replacement service with buses until October and the possibility to travel via Karlsruhe-Durlach (with changing trains), as the RE line Stuttgart-Heidelberg did not run.

outlook

The eastern part of the route is to be integrated into the digital hub in Stuttgart and equipped with digital interlockings , ETCS and automated driving .

Effects of railway construction

When the Westbahn was built, its route was the result of two compromises: In order to cross the Enz cheaply, the branch from the Stuttgart – Heilbronner Bahn was only inserted in Bietigheim. In order to take Baden's interests in relation to Pforzheim into consideration, the railway did not run from there on the direct route to Bretten, but via Mühlacker. As a result, regional traffic between Heidelberg and Stuttgart still has to make the two turns via Mühlacker and Bietigheim, and traffic between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart is also forced to make a detour via Bietigheim.

Despite these disadvantages, the line developed successfully and until 1990 took up a large part of the long-distance traffic between Stuttgart and Bavaria on the one hand and western Germany on the other. The route construction also contributed significantly to the rise of Bietigheim (-Bissingen), Mühlacker and Bretten, while Maulbronn and Markgröningen were sidelined.

Regional Express railcar from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe at the entrance to Mühlacker (June 2006)

At the time the route was built, Mühlacker was only an insignificant hamlet; the closest community was Dürrmenz. However, since the municipality opposed the use of its name, the station was named after Mühlacker. This subsequently developed rapidly into a small town and outstripped Dürrmenz, so that the entire municipality was declared the city of Mühlacker in 1930.

After the Bietigheim train station was built at the height southeast of the then small town of Bietigheim, both the town and the community of Bissingen an der Enz grew closer to it. From this merging, the twin town of Bietigheim-Bissingen was created in 1975, at the same time the train station from Bietigheim (Württ) was renamed Bietigheim-Bissingen .

Bretten , the center of the Kraichgau in the Middle Ages , had been in decline since the 16th century due to the effects of the war and the loss of its hinterland to Württemberg. As the crossing point between the West and Kraichgau Railway , Bretten took part in the industrial boom and was able to regain its old position in the region.

The Oberamtsstädte Vaihingen and Maulbronn only received local train stations, which had a negative impact on the growth of both cities. In both cases, branch lines were created to open up the city centers. From 1904 to 2002, the line, sometimes known as the Vaihinger Stadtbahn , ran from the station on the Westbahn (the name of which changed several times) to Enzweihingen. As a result, Vaihingen was able to halfway compensate for the disadvantages of the location, but developed less strongly than Mühlacker or Bietigheim.

In 1914 the branch line from Maulbronn West to Maulbronn City was opened. Maulbronn, however, remained in the shadow of the traffic and had to surrender its priority position in the area to Mühlacker. Passenger transport on the Maulbronn branch line ended in 1973, but was resumed at least on Sundays and public holidays in 1997 due to increased tourist interest in the Maulbronn Monastery World Heritage Site .

Markgröningen , the center of the region between Stuttgart and Vaihingen in the Middle Ages, was on the direct route between Ludwigsburg and Bretten. Because of the difficulties in crossing the Enz, the railway was built much further north. After Markgröningen had already lost its position as an administrative center with the emergence of Ludwigsburg, the new traffic routes now also passed the place.

business

Old and new routing near Vaihingen

Operating points

Bietigheim-Bissingen

The train station is 1.5 kilometers north of Bietigheim's old town. There is a change to the Frankenbahn and many bus routes.

Bietigheim-Ellental

The stop is about 600 meters away from the old town and is served by a few bus routes.

Sachsenheim

The station is served by several bus routes.

Sersheim

The stop is not served by buses.

Vaihingen (Enz)

The station is served by several bus routes. There is a change to the IRE to Stuttgart via the high-speed route. ICEs and TGVs also drive through here at 250 km / h.

Illingen (Württ)

The stop is about 800 meters from the town center. Some bus routes also stop.

Mühlacker

The station is served by IC and IRE trains. Several bus lines also stop here.

Boards

The Kraichgaubahn is crossed here and there is a change to some bus lines.

Bruchsal

The route ends here. Numerous bus routes and IC trains serve the station.

Kilometrage

In Bietigheim, the kilometering of the northern line , which began in Stuttgart, will be continued and ascending to the former property line at Bretten. On the formerly Baden side, the kilometering begins in Bruchsal - due to the re-routing in 1898 and the associated extension at route kilometers −0.8 - and also increases in the direction of Bretten.

Since the route near Vaihingen (Enz) was extended by one kilometer due to the re-routing due to the high-speed route in 1990, a new kilometer was used on this section. To this end, the route kilometers counted from Stuttgart were increased by 100.

Course book series

The Westbahn is no longer an independent route book. Today (as of 2005) it is part of the following course book series:

• Course book route 770: Stuttgart via Bietigheim-Bissingen to Mühlacker, from there branching to Karlsruhe (via Pforzheim) and to Mannheim (via Bruchsal and Heidelberg).
• Course book route 710.9: Bretten – Bruchsal, line S9 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn.
• Course book route 772: Tübingen - Horb - Pforzheim - Mühlacker - Maulbronn Stadt, the Klosterstadt-Express operated by the VCD .

Regional Express on the route Stuttgart – Heidelberg on the descent into the Salzach Valley near Ölbronn (June 2006)

Lines

An hourly regional train runs from Bruchsal to Mühlacker and is extended every two hours via Vaihingen (Enz) and Bietigheim-Bissingen to Stuttgart. There are amplifier trains between Bretten and Bruchsal during rush hour. The two-hour regional express trains on the Heidelberg-Stuttgart route stop everywhere between Bietigheim-Bissingen and Mühlacker, but only in Bretten between Mühlacker and Bruchsal. All trains to Stuttgart are combined with a train from Pforzheim in Mühlacker or separated from it coming from Stuttgart. Regional trains also run between Bietigheim-Bissingen and Pforzheim, which compress the aforementioned trains every half hour.

IRE trains also run between Mühlacker and Bietigheim-Bissingen on the Karlsruhe – Stuttgart (-Aalen) route every 30/30/60 minutes and Intercity trains from Karlsruhe to Nuremberg every two hours , which together form a half-hourly service. The IRE and IC trains only stop in Mühlacker and Vaihingen (Enz) and then travel on the high-speed rail route to Stuttgart.

Vehicle use

Two-system railcars of the types GT8-100C / 2S and GT8-100D / 2S-M were used on the Karlsruhe light rail lines S5 and S9 . Due to the delayed approval of ET 2010 , dual-system multiple-unit railcars of the Flexity Link type , which have been leased by Saarbahn since December 2013, and Regio-Shuttle leased by Bombardier from Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH , have been operating on line S9 since December 2009 . Since 2002, the RE line Karlsruhe – Stuttgart has generally been used by the 425 series, sometimes also by locomotive-hauled double-decker push-pull trains. The latter have also been running on the IREs between the two cities and on the RE line Stuttgart-Heidelberg since 2006. The 425 series initially took over the train services between Stuttgart and Heidelberg in 2002, but was replaced by the double-decker push-pull trains in 2006 due to a lack of capacity.

IC2 trains have been in use on the Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Nuremberg IC line since December 2018 .

Stadler Flirt 3 railcars from Go-Ahead have been operating on the IRE line since June 2019 . Talent 2 trains from Abellio should be used on the RB and RE lines from June 2019 . Due to delivery problems, light rail vehicles from AVG, class 425 railcars from Deutsche Bahn and Alstom Coradia Continental trains from Agilis were used instead .

Accidents

The following serious accidents are known from the operation of the Western Railway:

• On October 13, 1879, two days before the route was handed over to Baden, two freight trains collided near Heidelsheim . Three people died, 14 were injured, some seriously. The main responsible engine driver committed suicide on the spot. The accident was facilitated by the premature dismantling of a signal in preparation for the handover.
• On the night of June 20-21, 1890, two freight trains collided near Mühlacker, leaving three dead. The reason for this was a wrong course.
• On January 19, 1893, the engine driver of a freight train lost his right arm when he fell into the track when a coupling bolt broke.
• In 1930 there was almost a catastrophe in Bruchsal: Since the construction of the cemetery tunnel, the incision in the slope has regularly caused geological problems, which set the slope above the retaining wall of the western tunnel portal in motion. The morgue located here suffered severe cracks and threatened to slide onto the tracks at any moment. One of the reasons for this was that cracks had already been found in the building and, as a countermeasure, an attempt was made to support it with heavy concrete pillars, which further strained the slope. In June 1930 the morgue was torn down and rebuilt elsewhere.
• On December 6, 1934, the morning Paris – Vienna train crashed into a truck near Vaihingen because a barrier had not been closed. Four people died and 14 were injured in the accident.
• On July 16, 2009, a track construction train derailed shortly before the bypass tunnel and came to a halt in the tunnel. No persons were harmed, but there was considerable damage to the superstructure and the signal systems. All traffic between Sachsenheim and Vaihingen (Enz) had to be diverted for almost two days or converted to rail replacement traffic.

A number of other accidents resulted in less serious injuries and / or property damage.

literature

• Hans-Wolfgang Scharf: The railway in Kraichgau. Railway history between the Rhine and Neckar . EK-Verlag, Freiburg (Breisgau) 2006, ISBN 3-88255-769-9 .
• Georg von Morlok : The Royal Württemberg State Railways: Review of their construction during the years 1835–1889, taking into account their historical, technical and financial moments and results . Siedentop and Rescribo-Verlag Hengge, Heidenheim and Ravensburg 1986, ISBN 3-924305-01-3 (reprint by Heidelberger Verlagsanstalt and Druckerei, Heidelberg, 1904).
• Karl Müller: The Baden railways in a historical-statistical representation . Heidelberger Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei, Heidelberg 1904 ( uni-koeln.de ).
• Werner Greder: Bruchsal and the railroad: Origin of the railways in and around Bruchsal in the years 1843–1914 . Historical commission of the city, Bruchsal 1983.

Web links

Commons : Westbahn (Württemberg)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Route, operating points, hectometres and permissible speeds on the OpenRailwayMap
• State treaty between Baden and Württemberg on the construction of the Western Railway
• Relics of the laid route between Sersheim and Illingen
• Excerpt from the course book from 1944: p. 1 , p. 2 , p. 3 , p. 4 , p. 5 , p. 6

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
3. ↑ Stuttgart – Karlsruhe railway line receives names and additional new double-decker cars ( memento of December 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Deutsche Bahn press release 546/2010 of November 29, 2010.
4. ↑ Additional source on bypassing the Maulbronn tunnel: Günter Dutt: A foray through 150 years of tunnel structures in Württemberg . In: Yearbook for Railway History . No. 28 . Uhle & Kleimann, 1996, ISSN  0340-4250 , p. 47-63 .
5. ↑ Joachim Schultz: Rail traffic is suspended for six months . In: Badische Latest Nachrichten (edition Brettener Nachrichten ) of March 24, 2007, p. 27.
6. ^ Jens Bergmann: Digital node Stuttgart. (PDF) Declaration by DB Netz AG on content and objectives. DB Netz, April 21, 2020, pp. 3, 5 , accessed on April 24, 2020 . 
7. ^ Philipp-Marc Schmid: Train derailed in the rail tunnel. In: Vaihinger Kreiszeitung . July 17, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2009 . 
8. ↑ Current operating situation at DB Regio Baden-Württemberg. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn , July 17, 2009, archived from the original on February 8, 2018 ; Retrieved July 17, 2009 . 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.   

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on February 4, 2007 .