Karlsruhe-Mühlacker Wikipedia Article Mühlacker-Vaihingen Wikipedia Article Vaihingen-Stuttgart Wikipedia Article Servus and welcome in the southwest of Germany. This is the Residenzbahn, which connects the two former royal capitals Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, hence the name. This 80km long route is formed out of sections of three different railway lines. Including both a classic line that follows a valley through the mountains and a section of a high-speed line, this route offers a great diversity of scenery, as well as many passenger and freight services to explore and enjoy. Quick Facts: Length: 79.5km Max. Speed: 140km/h (classic line), 280km/h (high-speed line) Track Gauge: 1435mm (Normal Gauge) Catenary Voltage: 15kV 16.7Hz Safety Systems: PZB, LZB (high-speed section only) Route: Karlsruhe Hbf Welcome to Karlsruhe, the third largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg and former capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden. The current main station was opened in 1913 and replaced the former station in the city center. With 16 platform tracks, it is one of the 21 top-category railway stations and is a major hub in southern Germany. Here you can change to ICE services between Switzerland and Hamburg / Berlin, TGV / ICE services to Paris and Marseille, regional services to Konstanz, Heidelberg, Basel, and Neustadt (Weinstraße), and numerous local and S-Bahn services connecting the surrounding area and northern Black Forest to the city. Karlsruhe-Durlach Durlach is the second largest station in Karlsruhe. It was opened in its current location in 1911, as it was also being moved in conjunction with the new Karlsruhe Hbf. The station is connected via two double-track lines with the main station, one being our line towards Pforzheim, and the other one towards Bruchsal. Tracks 11 and 12 are tram tracks used by the tram-trains that are routed on a parallel line until Söllingen. Wilferdingen-Singen Wilferdingen-Singen is the only station in the municipality of Remchingen, named after the two towns of Wilferdingen and Singen. The station was originally planned further south in Nöttingen, but the residents protested against the railway, hence it was built here. Whilst DB calls the station "Wilferdingen-Singen", the local transit authority calls the station "Remchingen", which can lead to confusion. Pforzheim Hbf Pforzheim lies on the border between Baden and Württemberg. Before the incorporation of the DRG, the station was shared between the two state railways. In Pforzheim the Nagoldtalbahn to Horb branches off. Mühlacker Similar to Pforzheim, Mühlacker also was a shared station between the two states. Whilst trains from Württemberg ran through, trains from Baden terminated in a dead-end part of the station. Today only track 50 remains from this time of separation. After Mühlacker we continue on the Westbahn from Bruchsal towards Vaihingen. Vaihingen (Enz) Whilst the slower metropolitan services use the classic line via Bietigheim-Bissingen, we switch to the high-speed line connecting Mannheim and Stuttgart. It is one of only a handful of stations in Germany, where ICEs pass through at 250km/h. Stuttgart Hbf Stuttgart is the former capital of the Kingdom of Württemberg and another large interchange station on this route. The station was constructed between 1914 and 1928 and replaced multiple predecessors. It has 16 dead-end platforms and two underground S-Bahn platforms, where you can change to ICE services via Frankfurt, München, and Mannheim, regional services to Nürnberg, Ulm, Tübingen, and many more. Stuttgart Hbf is also famous for soon being replaced by a new underground main station, currently still under construction. This new station, known as "Stuttgart 21" replaces and rebuilds major parts of the rail infrastructure in Stuttgart. But this route will represent the old (above ground) railway station. Services: IC61: Karlsruhe Hbf (- Karlsruhe-Durlach) - Pforzheim Hbf - Mühlacker - Vaihingen (Enz) - Stuttgart Hbf [- Aalen - Crailsheim - Nürnberg (- Jena Paradies - Leipzig Hbf)] RE1: Karlsruhe Hbf - Karlsruhe-Durlach - Wilferdingen-Singen - Pforzheim Hbf - Mühlacker - Vaihingen (Enz) - Stuttgart Hbf MEX17a: (Karlsruhe Hbf - Karlsruhe Durlach - Wilferdingen-Singen -) Pforzheim Hbf - Eutingen (Baden) - Niefern - Enzberg - Mühlacker - Mühlacker Rößlesweg - Illingen (Württemberg) - Vaihingen (Enz) [- Bietigheim-Bissingen] - Stuttgart Hbf MEX17c: [Bruchsal - Bretten -] Mühlacker - Mühlacker Rößlesweg - Illingen (Württemberg) - Vaihingen (Enz) [- Bietigheim-Bissingen] - Stuttgart Hbf S5/51: [Wörth Badepark - Wörth (Rhein) - Karlsruhe Entenfang -] Karlsruhe-Durlach - Grötzingen - Grötzingen Krappmühlenweg - Berghausen (Baden) - Berghausen Am Stadion - Söllingen Reetzstraße - Söllingen (b. Karlsruhe) - Söllingen Kapellenstraße - Kleinsteinbach - Wilferdingen-Singen - Königsbach (Baden) - Bilflingen - Ersingen West - Ersingen - Ispringen - Pforzheim Hbf Rolling Stock: Arverio BR 1428 Flirt 3 The Flirt 3 is one of the most common modern EMUs. Nine 4-unit and fourteen 6-unit trains are used on the RE1 services. Similar to the recently developed rolling stock, like the Vectron, this train can function as a basis for many other variants currently in service in Germany. The trains are operated by Arverio (ex. Go-Ahead) which is owned by the ÖBB. SBS BR 8442 Talent 2 TSW players will be familiar with the Talent 2. Twenty-four 3-car and nineteen 5-car unit trains are used on the MEX17a and MEX17c services. Whilst the hardware is identical with the Talent 2 trains already in TSW, the software on these trains was updated to be identical with the Talent 3. This might need some tweaks and patches in the game. The trains are operated by SWEG Bahn Stuttgart (ex. Abellio Rail) which is owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg. DB BR 185.2 Traxx F140 AC2 The old and trusted BR 185 finds another home on this route, pulling Zacns wagons from the Karlsruhe refinery to Ingolstadt. I've suggested a Traxx remaster separately in this thread: Traxx 2 (BR 146 & 185) Remaster DB / RP BR 193 Vectron (layer from FTF / BR 193 DLC) Like on other German routes, the Vectron can operate the same freight services as other freight locos. Optional Extras: Intercity 2 DLC: The Intercity 2 is a double-decker intercity train operated by DB Fernverkehr. It is mostly used on classic lines and connects smaller cities that don't lie near an ICE-line to the long-distance network. The trains consist of five Gen5-Dosto coaches (high-entry except the cab car) and either a BR 146.5 Traxx P160 AC2 or BR 147.5 Traxx P160 AC3. This train could also be layered onto other existing routes, like DRA or RSN. Stadtbahn Karlsruhe DLC: AVG BR 450 GT8-100D/2S-M The BR 450 consists of three different generations of tram trains operated on the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe network. The GT8-100D/2S-M is the most common of these three generations. The 2S-M is used on the S5/51 services between Karlsruhe and Pforzheim. The tram trains are specially constructed to work both on the tram and the national rail network. With a maximum speed of 100km/h, they're rather slow on the main line, but due to the special wheels needed for tram operation, faster speeds aren't possible. The trains are operated by the Albtal Verkehrs-Gesellschaft which is owned by the city of Karlsruhe. Other suggestions: Badische Hauptbahn (Karlsruhe - Offenburg / Strasbourg) ÖBB railjet 1st generation Illawarra aka South Coast Line (Bondi Junction - Port Kembla)
