The Karlsruhe–Mühlacker–Stuttgart railway line is a railway line in the west of Baden-Württemberg. It was built between 1859 and 1863 as a second connection between the networks of the Baden and Württemberg state railways and is still an important east-west axis in southern Germany today. The starting point on the Baden side was originally Durlach, where there was a connection to the Baden main line. Only later was the line extended to Karlsruhe. From Durlach the line runs through the Pfinz and Kämpfelbach valleys, passes under the watershed between the Rhine and Neckar in a tunnel near Pforzheim and follows the Enz east of Pforzheim to Mühlacker. The Stuttgart–Karlsruhe railway line, which consists of this line and part of the Württemberg Western Railway, has been run by Deutsche Bahn under the name “Residenzbahn” since the end of 2010. This name was the result of a public competition. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Details Route Westbahn: Line length: 43.5 km Track gauge: 1435 mm (standard gauge) Line class: D4 Power system: 15 kV, 16.7 Hz ~ Maximum gradient: <15 4 (AVG line) ‰ Maximum speed: 140 km/h > 80 (AVG line for LNT) > 50 (AVG line) km/h Double track: yes, AVG line: no + Section Part 2: Bietigheim-Bissingen - Mühlacker (known as Westbahn) Route length: 45.4 km Track gauge: 1435 mm (standard gauge) Route class: D4 Power system: 15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ Maximum gradient: 10 ‰ Minimum radius: 300 m Maximum speed: 140 km/h + Section Part 3: Stuttgart HBF - Bietigheim-Bissingen - (Known as Frankenbahn) Route length: 23.6 km Track gauge: 1435 mm (standard gauge) Route class: D4 Power system: 15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ Maximum gradient: 10 ‰ Minimum radius: 300 m Maximum speed: 140 km/h This route then continues from Mühlacker to Bietigheim-Bissingen on the Westbahn. From Bietigheim-Bissingen the route meets the Frankenbahn, which is served together for 23.6 kilometers. In principle, this route from Mühlacker can be called the Westbahn and the Frankenbahn in one. In total: 90,1 kilometers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Route: In Bietigheim-Bissingen, the Western Railway branches off from the Franconian Railway (Stuttgart–Heilbronn–Würzburg) in a left-hand bend and crosses the Enz valley, which is cut about 30 metres into the valley, westwards with the Bietigheim Enz viaduct. It then runs on the slope above the Metter until it reaches Vaihingen (Enz) station through the side tunnel created during the construction of the high-speed line. The original route had crossed the flat watershed to the Enz catchment area near Kleinglattbach using an open-cut construction method. The current - newly constructed - connection with the high-speed line at Vaihingen station near Illingen is on the southern slope of the Schreckstein towards the Enz valley. From there, the railway line continues westwards in a side depression to Mühlacker. In Mühlacker, where the line branches off to Karlsruhe, the Western Railway turns northwest towards Maulbronn (which is connected to the town by a branch line). The route uses shallow side ditches to the watershed between the Enz and Salzach south of Maulbronn, to reach Bretten on the southern flank of the Salzach valley, where it crosses the Kraichgau Railway. The route runs through the Saalbach valley from Bretten on the valley floor to its end point in Bruchsal. Its old town is bypassed in a southward loop with several tunnels. A shorter tunnel passes under the cemetery and after two longer tunnels it joins the Rhine Valley Railway without crossing, separated to the passenger station from the east and the freight station from the west. From Bietigheim-Bissingen to Vaihingen the West Railway runs within the district of Ludwigsburg, from Illingen to Kleinvillars it crosses the Enz district, the rest of the route to Bruchsal is in the district of Karlsruhe. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story The Western Railway 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 Western Railway was therefore an important element in the creation of a pan-German rail network. However, its construction was preceded by years of disputes because Baden and Württemberg had different interests. Negotiations between Württemberg and Baden [Edit | Edit source text] The Western Railway was a Württemberg project. When Württemberg began planning its main lines around 1835 (see also History of the Railway in Württemberg), these were intended from the outset as a connected network that would also have links with other countries (Baden, Bavaria, Switzerland). In this context, the Western Railway was to take into account the transport needs of Württemberg towards the Rhine, but also to accommodate transit traffic from western Germany and France towards Bavaria and southeastern Europe, which, it was believed, would make the Württemberg railways profitable. Baden had started building railways earlier than Württemberg and had built its Rhine Valley Railway between 1840 and 1843 from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Bruchsal, Durlach to Karlsruhe, and later to Basel and Konstanz. Württemberg's desire to connect to this route aroused fears in Baden of competition in traffic with the Lake Constance region and Switzerland on the one hand, and the prospect of being able to participate in east-west traffic on the other. For a long time, there was disagreement about the choice of the connecting station and technical parameters such as the track width. Essentially, three variants were considered for the route. From north to south, these were: from Heilbronn via the small Odenwald in Baden to Wiesloch from the Württemberg Northern Railway branching off north of Ludwigsburg via Bretten to Bruchsal from Württemberg to Pforzheim in Baden and from there to Durlach The first option would have been advantageous for Württemberg, as it would have routed transit traffic over long distances through its own network. For this reason, and because it was disadvantageous for traffic from the west to Karlsruhe, Baden rejected it outright. It therefore played no serious role in the negotiations. The second option (hereinafter referred to as the Bretten line) was championed by Württemberg, the third (Pforzheim line) by Baden. Baden intended to provide its important industrial city of 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 considered for this route. This was planned by Württemberg, but not considered worth building. Subsequent investigations into this option focused on a route from Pforzheim through the Enz valley with a border crossing at Mühlacker. Initial discussions between the two states led to a joint commission investigating the Pforzheim line at the end of the 1830s, as a result of which the Baden side found this route suitable, while the Württemberg side found it unsuitable. In 1842, Württemberg asked for the Bretten line to be investigated 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 Bretten line was investigated in 1844, and the commission on both sides acknowledged that it had technical advantages over the Pforzheim line. Baden, however, continued to insist on the latter and, as the only German state to build its railway network in broad gauge, also tried to force Württemberg to use the 1600 mm gauge. Württemberg, however, had already decided in favor of standard gauge for its network. The Württemberg state assembly was inclined to give in to Baden's desire for the Pforzheim line, but only on the condition that the Heilbronn-Wiesloch line should be built at the same time. However, this plan was not successful due to Baden's rejection of the latter, as mentioned above. Since an agreement had initially failed, efforts were made to present the other side with a fait accompli. The Württemberg government decided to build a railway to the border just before Bretten, but did not receive the necessary money from the states. The Baden state parliament suggested granting a private company the concession for a Durlach-Pforzheim railway, but was unable to find an entrepreneur for the job. The March Revolution of 1848/49, which particularly affected Baden, put the Western Railway on hold. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vehicle use: Dual-system railcars of the GT8-100C/2S and GT8-100D/2S-M types were used on the Karlsruhe city railway lines S5 and S9. Due to the delayed approval of the ET 2010, dual-system railcars of the Flexity Link type, borrowed from Saarbahn, have also been running on the S9 line since December 2009, and Regio-Shuttles leased by Bombardier from Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH since December 2013. The Karlsruhe-Stuttgart RE line has generally been served by the 425 series since 2002, 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 Stuttgart-Heidelberg RE line 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 running on the IRE line since June 2019. Talent 2 trains from Abellio were to be used on the RB and RE lines from June 2019. Due to delivery difficulties, AVG light rail vehicles, Deutsche Bahn series 425 railcars and Alstom Coradia Continental trains from Agilis were used as replacements. I would be very happy if these routes could also appear in the Train Simulator Classic 2024 (series), since this is in my living space, I would be very happy about it Best regards BR430
