The Baden main line (german: Badische Hauptbahn) is a German railway line that was built between 1840 and 1863. It runs through
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
, from
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
via
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
,
Offenburg
Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...
,
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
,
Basle
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
,
Waldshut,
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
and
Singen
Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.
Location
Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...
to
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
(''Konstanz''). The Baden Mainline is 412.7 kilometres long, making it the longest route in the
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
network and also the oldest in southwest Germany. The section between Mannheim and Basle is the most important northern approach to the Swiss Alpine passes, whilst the section between Basle and Constance is only of regional significance. The stretch from Karlsruhe to Basle is also known as the
Rhine Valley Railway
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
(''Rheintalbahn'') and the Basle–Constance section as the
High Rhine Railway
The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Bad ...
(''Hochrheinstrecke'').
History
The Upper Rhine Valley has been an important trade route from
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
to Switzerland and Italy since
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
times. With the development of railways in the early 1830s, considerations arose of building a railway from Mannheim to Basel in order to handle the movement of people and goods faster and cheaper than was possible with carts, especially as the Upper Rhine south of Mannheim only allowed restricted navigation.
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
’s locomotive and the opening of the
line between Liverpool and Manchester was first discussed in the Baden Parliament by the priest and liberal politician Gottlieb Bernhard Fecht (1771–1851) in the autumn of 1831. He was accused of being ahead of his time and his proposal received no support. The first real initiative for a railway was made in 1833 by the Mannheim businessman Louis Newhouse, but just like the suggestion of
Friedrich List
Georg Friedrich List (6 August 1789 – 30 November 1846) was a German-American economist who developed the "National System" of political economy. He was a forefather of the German historical school of economics, and argued for the German Customs ...
, it was not supported by the Baden government.
Planning
It was only when a railway company was founded in neighbouring
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
in 1837 with the goal of building a west bank line between Basel and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
that Baden began to plan the building of a railway to avoid a shift of the traffic flow on the Rhine to the Alsace shore. A specially convened meeting of the Baden Assembly of the Estates (''Badische Ständeversammlung'') decided in 1838 to build a railway from Mannheim to the Swiss border near Basel at public expense, as had been called for on 31 July 1835 by the Freiburg historian
Karl von Rotteck
Karl Wenzeslaus Rodecker von Rotteck (18 July 1775, Freiburg, Baden – 26 November 1840, Freiburg) was a German political activist, historian, politician and political scientist. He was a prominent advocate of freedom of the press and the aboli ...
. The line would serve as the main line of Baden and would therefore have a generally straight route on the eastern edge of the Upper Rhine Valley. Baden was the only German state to choose initially to build its new rail network with
1600 mm broad gauge.
Construction of the Mannheim–Basel line
![Heidelberg Station 1840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Heidelberg_Station_1840.jpg)
Construction began as soon as September 1838 on the first section between the two new terminal stations in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
and
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. After two years of construction, this section was officially opened on 12 September 1840. The continuation of the line to the south took place in the following stages: Heidelberg–
Bruchsal
Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...
–
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
on 10 April 1843, Karlsruhe–
Ettlingen
Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...
–
Rastatt
Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was an ...
on 1 May 1844, Rastatt–Oos (now
Baden-Baden station
Baden-Baden station is the most important of the three railway stations in the city of Baden-Baden in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is regularly served by local and long distance trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. It is also the serv ...
) on 6 May 1844, Oos–
Offenburg
Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...
on 1 June 1844 and Offenburg–
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
on 1 August 1845. All the station buildings on the line from Mannheim to Freiburg, some of which have been preserved, were planned by the Baden architect
Friedrich Eisenlohr
Jakob Friedrich Eisenlohr (23 November 1805, Lörrach - 27 February 1854, Karlsruhe) was a German architect and university professor. His design for a cuckoo clock, now known as the Cuckoo clock#Bahnhäusle style, a successful design from Furtwan ...
. It was followed by the Freiburg–
Müllheim
Müllheim (High Alemannic: ''Mille'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It belongs to the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. Müllheim is generally considered to be the center of the region known as Markgräflerland.
History
O ...
section on 1 June 1847, Müllheim–
Schliengen
Schliengen is a municipality in southwestern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in the '' Kreis'' (district) of Lörrach. Schliengen's claim to international fame is the Battle of Schliengen (24 October 1796), fought between forces of th ...
on 15 June 1847 and Schliengen–
Efringen-Kirchen
Efringen-Kirchen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Fortifications
During World War I fortifications were built at Istein, these were destroyed at the end of the war. In 1936 plans were drawn up to tur ...
on 8 November 1848. The ongoing construction to the Swiss border was disrupted by the events of the
March Revolution and the course of the line was damaged at several points by guerrillas. The completion of the section to Haltingen was delayed to 22 January 1851. Once it became clear that all the neighbouring countries had chosen standard gauge for their railways, the
Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway
The Grand Duchy of Baden was an independent state in what is now southwestern Germany until the creation of the German Empire in 1871. It had its own state-owned railway company, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways (''Großherzoglich Badische ...
(''Großherzogliche Badische Staatsbahn'') rebuilt its lines and rolling stock to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
within a year in 1854/55.
Continuation to Constance
While the law of 1838 only referred to the construction of a route "from Mannheim to the Swiss border at Basel," discussions turned to the question of an appropriate end point and the connection to the Swiss rail network. While the city of Basel called for a connection to Basel, there were other suggestions in Baden. There was scepticism about a foreign end point for the line, so the Baden town of
Lörrach
Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including the ...
or even Waldshut were preferred. The political debate was dominated by many national arguments and reservations. So, in 1846, Baden granted the
Swiss Northern Railway
The Swiss Northern Railway (German: ''Schweizerische Nordbahn'', SNB), informally known as the ''Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn'', opened the first railway line within Switzerland in 1847, the Zürich–Baden line. This followed the extension of a Fre ...
Company (''Schweizerische Nordbahn'', SNB) the concession to build a railway from Basel/Lörrach to Waldshut, continuing through Switzerland to
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in order to achieve a connection with the Swiss railway network in Waldshut in Baden rather than to Basel in Switzerland. However, the Swiss Northern Railway Company could not muster the financial resources to build the line, so the license lapsed. Only the Baden-Swiss treaty signed on 27 July 1852 could achieve a durable solution for the continuation of the Baden main line: the treaty provided for the further construction from Haltingen on the east bank to Basel and continuing through
Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen (High Alemannic: ''Bad Säckinge'') is a rural town in the administrative district of Waldshut in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is famous as the "Trumpeteer's City" because of the book ''Der Trompeter von Säcking ...
to Waldshut. This led to the unusual situation, which still persists, of a German state railway company building and operating a railway line in another country.
The route from Haltingen to Basel was opened on 20 February 1855, followed by the section to Bad Säckingen on 4 February 1856, continuing on 30 October 1856 to Waldshut, where, with the opening of the
bridge over the Rhine on 18 August 1859, the first railway connection was made between Baden and Switzerland.
While the focus during the construction of the Mannheim–Basel/Waldshut railway was on the international north–south traffic and the connection of the largest cities of Baden, the Baden-Swiss treaty already provided for its continuation with a rail connection towards the
Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
area and
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
. But disagreements on the route led to the delays on the approach to Schaffhausen: while the Swiss side preferred a route through the northern Klettgau on Swiss territory, Baden favoured a route through
Jestetten
Jestetten is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
History
In 1806 Jestetten became part of Baden.
From 1840 until 1935, the territory of Jestetten together with Altenburg, Lottstetten and what was then ...
in Baden. It could not, however, insist on its preference and the continuation of the main line from Baden to Constance, opened on 13 June 1863, ran from Waldshut not through Jestetten, but via Erzingen and
Beringen. This last section, directed by
Robert Gerwig, completed the construction of the Baden main line.
Branch lines
Already in the Act of 1838, the construction was planned for two branch lines: the
Appenweier–Kehl line, connecting to Alsace, was opened on 1 June 1844 and the short branch line from Baden-Oos to
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
on 27 July 1845. On 11 February 1872 the bridge over the Rhine between Weil am Rhein and
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
was opened and the opening of the connection from Müllheim to
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
on 6 February 1878 provided a further connections to Alsace. Connections to Switzerland were provided with the opening of the
Rhine Bridge at Waldshut in 1859, the Constance–Kreuzlingen link in 1871 and the
Basel Connecting Line
The Basel Connecting Line (german: Basler Verbindungsbahn) is a railway line in the Swiss city of Basel and connects Basel Baden station on the right bank of the Rhine and Basel SBB station on the left bank. It is located on Swiss territory.
Mo ...
, connecting the
Baden station in Basel with the
Basel central station in 1873.
In the north connections were established in Heidelberg to the
Main-Neckar Railway
The Main-Neckar Railway (german: Main-Neckar–Eisenbahn, MNE) is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim. It was opened in 1 ...
towards
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
in 1846 and in Mannheim to
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...
,
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and Cologne in 1867.
Evolution of the line until the First World War
The first section between Mannheim and Heidelberg was originally served by four daily passenger train pairs that took about 35–40 minutes each way. By comparison, the same route takes about 12–17 minutes now. Freight was added in 1845 and the first express train ran between Schliengen and Mannheim in 1847. With further extensions of the Baden main line this express was extended to Basel, Waldshut and Constance. From 1863, two pairs of expresses operated daily between Mannheim and Constance, needing 12–14 hours for the 414 km line. By comparison, trains from Mannheim to Constance via Basel takes about 4 hours today; those running over the
Black Forest Railway take about 3.5 hours.
The traffic on the Baden main line was rising rapidly, so duplication soon became necessary. Duplication was completed between Mannheim and Heidelberg in 1846, to Offenburg in 1847, to Freiburg in 1848 and to Basel in 1855. The Appenweier–Kehl branch line was duplicated in 1846/1847. In contrast, the High Rhine Railway between Basel and Constance remained single track.
On 22 July 1870, the mobilisation for the
Franco-Prussian War made the main line unusable by the public at several points between Rastatt and Offenburg. The Baden State Railway's rolling stock fleet at that time mostly consisted of two-axle compartment coaches, while the
Royal Württemberg State Railways
The Royal Württemberg State Railways (''Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.W.St.E.'') were the state railways of the Kingdom of Württemberg (from 1918 the ''People's State of Württemberg'') between 1843 and 1920. Please ...
had sets of open coaches from the beginning. Baden later also moved to this system.
Trains in Baden operated on the left on two track sections until 1888 and later switched to the right in stages.
The first sections of track on the Baden main line were built to a broad gauge of . It soon became apparent, however, that the other Central European states had chosen standard gauge, which would have left the Baden railway network isolated. There were already connections to standard gauge lines to neighbouring states in Heidelberg (from 1846) and Bruchsal (from 1853). Through freight had to be reloaded at these points. Therefore, the lines were rebuilt to standard gauge during 1854/55. A total of 203 km of double track and 79 km of single-track were converted, as well as the existing 66 locomotives and 1,133 carriages and wagons. These measure allowed the operations of cross-border freight services.
Construction of railways meant that Mannheim, the largest and most important commercial city of Baden, was now in a peripheral location, as most north–south traffic now ran from Frankfurt to Switzerland via the Main-Neckar Railway to Heidelberg and from there on the Baden main line to Basel. Therefore, Mannheim tried to provide a direct rail connection to the south and sought to build a railway to Karlsruhe via
Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.
Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized ...
. The opening in 1870 of the
Rhine Railway (''Rheinbahn'') attracted part of the railway traffic between the Rhine-Neckar region and Karlsruhe from the Baden main line and created an alternative line for the relief of the main line in this area, which had reached the limits of its capacity. This relief route was extended in 1895 for strategic reasons further south to Rastatt (via
Durmersheim
Durmersheim is a small town in the district of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany and has a population of 12,112 (2020).
Durmersheim is situated between Karlsruhe and Rastatt, in the valley of the river Rhine near the border to Fra ...
), so that there are now also two lines between Karlsruhe and Rastatt.
![Basel Badischer Bahnhof](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Basel_Badischer_Bahnhof.jpg)
The ever-increasing traffic and the construction of the
Gotthard Railway
The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between no ...
in 1882 emphasised the continuing importance of the Mannheim–Basel line. In contrast, the Upper Rhine line between Basel and Constance did not benefit from this development as the building of the
Basel Connecting Line
The Basel Connecting Line (german: Basler Verbindungsbahn) is a railway line in the Swiss city of Basel and connects Basel Baden station on the right bank of the Rhine and Basel SBB station on the left bank. It is located on Swiss territory.
Mo ...
(1873) and the
Bözberg line (1875) provided a direct route between Baden and central Switzerland, so that the border crossing in Waldshut lost its importance and international traffic was handled through the border crossing at Basel. Connections from the Lake Constance region have since 1873 primarily been over the shorter Black Forest Railway, so the Upper Rhine line has become a regional east–west route with no national significance.
Due to the growing traffic between Mannheim and Basel and the growth of cities it had become necessary to remodel the major rail nodes. Thus between 1895 and 1914 new freight and marshalling yards were built at Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Basel, Freiburg and Heidelberg and new passenger stations were built in Karlsruhe and Basel.
Development of the route in the 20th century
From about 1895 to 1914, the Baden main line was in sharp competition with the Alsatian railway, because the travel times between Basel and Frankfurt and between Basel and Mannheim were almost identical. During World War I, the fast trains ran only on the Baden main line as the Alsace lines in Mulhouse were within reach of the French artillery. After Alsace had returned to France after the First World War, all German trains ran to Basel on the Baden main line.
After the founding of
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
in 1920, the Baden main line along with the rest of the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway became part of the Reichsbahn, so in addition to the
Baden-built locomotives and locomotives built by the other former state railways, newly developed steam locomotives were used on the Baden main line.
The assignment of Alsace-Lorraine to France after World War I meant that the state of Baden, and with it the Baden main line, were now on the periphery of Germany. This also meant, according to military strategists, that it did not allow reliable operations. In particular, the line near the Isteiner Klotz ridge (near Istein) is within sight of the German-French border. During the
occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr (german: link=no, Ruhrbesetzung) was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925.
France and Belgium occupied the heavily industria ...
, French troops occupied Offenburg and Appenweier in February 1923, so traffic was stopped on the main line and trains had to be diverted over a large area. Both the
Elz Valley Railway
The Elz Valley Railway (German: ''Elztalbahn'') is a long, single-tracked, standard gauge branch line in the Black Forest area of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The line branches off the Freiburg im Breisgau to Offenburg section of the Rh ...
and the
Murg Valley Railway
The Murg Valley Railway (german: Murgtalbahn) is a 58 kilometre long railway line in the Northern Black Forest in Germany, that links Rastatt and Freudenstadt. It was opened in stages from 1868 to 1928 being built outwards from both Rastatt and Fr ...
had no connections to the rail network at this time. The bypass route from Freiburg ran by the
Hell Valley Railway to
Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar '' Kreis''. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Da ...
, continued on the
Black Forest Railway to
Hausach
Hausach (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Huusä) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Hausach was founded in the 13th century, below Husen Castle. In the 14th century, it became a possession of the County ...
and from there over the
Kinzig Valley Railway to
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt ( Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...
. From here, the trains ran over the
Gäu Railway to Hochdorf and from there over the
Nagold Valley Railway
The Nagold Valley Railway (German: ''Nagoldtalbahn'') is a railway line in the northern part of the Black Forest in Germany which links Pforzheim with Horb am Neckar and, for most of its route, follows the valley of the River Nagold.
Trains on the ...
to
Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
and the
Karlsruhe–Mühlacker line to Karlsruhe. Although these long-range detours were established in the first month of the occupation,
they showed that, with trains having to be reversed in both Hochdorf and Pforzheim and the need to operate over single-track branch lines and the steep sections in the Höllental (Hell Valley), they did not provide a permanent alternative to the Baden main line. Nevertheless, the events showed the susceptibility of the Baden main line to French assaults. As a result, plans were made for developing a Germany–Switzerland–Italy transport corridor via the
Gäu Railway and Zürich.
From 1928 to 1939, the
Rheingold luxury trains ran between Karlsruhe and Basel on the Baden main line. Rheingold trains were restored on the Baden main line after the Second World War and ran from 1951 to 1987 as
Fernzug (long-distance express) or
Trans Europ Express
The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network compri ...
services. The
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
also operated over the Baden main line: coming from Strasbourg, it ran on the route on the section between Appenweier and Karlsruhe.
During the Second World War, the Baden main line—like all major lines in Germany—was affected by heavy bombardment of railway junctions and the destruction of bridges and buildings. After the war, the line was divided into two parts: the Mannheim–Karlsruhe section was in the American occupation zone, the Rastatt–Constance section was in the French zone and under the management of the ''Betriebsvereinigung der Südwestdeutschen Eisenbahnen'' (Southwestern Railways Association). The sections within Switzerland were operated under a trust administered by the Federal government. After the founding of the
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained ...
in 1949, the operation of the line returned to single management. The second track of the line between Offenburg and Denzlingen was dismantled and transferred to the French occupation forces in 1946 as
reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
*War reparations
**World War I reparations, made from G ...
. Since the single-track section became a bottleneck on this heavily used route, the second track was restored in 1950 at the insistence of Switzerland, which considered that the congestion endangered the approach to the Gotthard Pass.
As early as the 1950s, Deutsche Bundesbahn began the electrification of the Mannheim–Basel route. The electrification was carried out in several stages:
Associated with the electrification was also the relocation of
Heidelberg Central Station
Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof (commonly known as Heidelberg HBF) is the main railway station for the city of Heidelberg. In 2005 it was used by around 42,000 passengers per day and is one of the largest passenger stations in the German state of Baden-W ...
in 1955. The electrification shortened travel times and increased the efficiency of the line. Due to its largely straight alignment, speeds on the line could be increased on most sections to 160 km/h.
The Upper Rhine line between Basel and Constance, however, remained unelectrified. The Singen–Constance section was electrified on 24 September 1977 as part of the electrification of the Black Forest Railway. In 1990, the Singen–Schaffhausen section was electrified as part of the international connection between Stuttgart and Zürich. In the 1980s, the Basel–Waldshut section of the line was duplicated to provide improved local services on an integrated regular interval timetable.
Upgrade as a high-speed line
The heavy traffic of the Baden main line led to plans from the 1970s to upgrade the line as a multi-track route. Congestion was relieved on the northern section of the main line between Mannheim Baden and Bruchsal with the opening of the
Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway
The Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway is a 99 km long railway line in Germany, connecting the cities of Mannheim and Stuttgart. The line was officially opened on 9 May 1991, and InterCityExpress service began on 2 June. The Hanover–W ...
in stages between 1987 and 1991.
The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan'') of 1985 also listed the quadruplication of the Karlsruhe–Offenburg section and the addition of a third track between Offenburg and Basel as part of the construction of a ''
Neu- und Ausbaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel'' (i.e. a mixture of new high-speed line and upgraded line) as urgently needed.
Sections
The railways of Baden main line can be categorised as follows:
*Baden main line
**
Rhine Valley Railway
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
***Mannheim–Heidelberg
***Heidelberg–Karlsruhe, also known as the ''Baden-Kurpfalz-Bahn'' (Baden–Palatinate Railway)
***Karlsruhe–Basel
**
High Rhine Railway
The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Bad ...
Mannheim–Heidelberg
The Mannheim–Heidelberg section is the oldest railway in southwestern Germany. It runs almost straight across the Upper Rhine Plain and originally only had a single intermediate station at the halfway point in Friedrichsfeld. Originally it was planned to build the line a little further to the north, which would have allowed a better connection with Seckenheim. However, these plans were thwarted by the resistance of the local population. The
Main-Neckar Railway
The Main-Neckar Railway (german: Main-Neckar–Eisenbahn, MNE) is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim. It was opened in 1 ...
connects to the Mannheim–Heidelberg line in Friedrichsfeld at a “wye” junction.
![MannheimBahnhof1840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/MannheimBahnhof1840.jpg)
The first Mannheim station was built to the north of the existing facility at the current Tattersall tram stop and designed to allow an extension to the north, but this never came to pass. During the construction of the bridge over the Rhine to Mannheim (now the
Konrad Adenauer Bridge), the station was rebuilt at its present location with completion in 1876. A freight yard was built in Mannheim harbour in 1854, which was followed by the building in 1906 of a
marshalling yard
A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ya ...
south of Mannheim station, which is now Germany's second largest marshalling yard.
The original Heidelberg station was at today's Adenauerplatz and designed as a railway terminus so that it could be built as close to town as possible. The terminus of the Main-Neckar Railway was directly adjacent. As early as 1862 the station was partially converted into a through station. A new freight yard was completed on the western outskirts of Heidelberg in 1914. Work was already underway for the relocation of Heidelberg's main station to the western suburbs, but this was interrupted by World War I and it continued until after World War II. The construction of the new station as a through station was completed in 1955.
Meanwhile, the Heidelberg freight yard and the locomotive depot were closed and only one pair of tracks of the four-track railway between Friedrichsfeld and Wieblingen is currently in use. The line is used by
Intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
(IC) or
Intercity-Express
The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerla ...
(ICE) services every hour.
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
services (since 2003), local services and freight trains run at high frequencies.
Heidelberg–Karlsruhe
For several years this section has been called for marketing purposes the ''Baden-Kurpfalz-Bahn'' (Baden–Palatinate Railway), as Heidelberg was the historic capital of the
Palatinate.
Route
![Karte Baden-Kurpfalz-Bahn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Karte_Baden-Kurpfalz-Bahn.png)
The section of line between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe runs along the eastern edge of the Upper Rhine Valley from north to south. From Heidelberg station, the line runs south through the stations of
Heidelberg-Kirchheim
Kirchheim (literally German for "Churchville") is a southern district town of the city of Heidelberg in north-west Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
First traces of a settlement here derive from vessels found dating back to 3500-1800 BC and G ...
, St. Ilgen and
Wiesloch-Walldorf and passes under the
A 6 in the Hochholz forest. This is followed by Rot-Malsch, Kislau castle on the western side of the line and
Ubstadt-Weiher
Ubstadt-Weiher is a municipality in northern Karlsruhe district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route
The Bertha Benz Memorial Route is a German tourist and theme route in Baden-Württemberg and membe ...
station. The
Kraich Valley Railway
The Kraich Valley Railway (german: Kraichtalbahn) is a branch line in southwestern Germany running from Bruchsal to Menzingen. It is now integrated as line 32 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn.
Route
The Kraich Valley Railway runs from Bruchsal in th ...
and the
Katzbach Railway
The Katzbach Railway (german: Katzbachbahn) is a branch line in southwestern Germany from Bruchsal to Odenheim that opened in 1896, and was extended in 1900 to Hilsbach. In 1960 services between Tiefenbach and Hilsbach were withdrawn, in 1975 th ...
connect to the line from the left, then it passes under that the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed line, which is connected to the east by curves to and from the Baden main line at
Bruchsal Rollenberg junction
Bruchsal Rollenberg junction is a complex flying junction at the intersection of Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway with the Heidelberg–Karlsruhe line and is located between Bruchsal and Ubstadt in the German state of Baden-Württembe ...
. It continues to
Bruchsal station
Bruchsal station is the centre of the rail transport in the city of Bruchsal in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History
The original station of the baroque town of Bruchsal opened on 10 April 1843 as part of the Karlsruhe–Heidelberg ...
, where the
Württemberg Western Railway
The Western Railway (''Westbahn'') in Württemberg was opened in 1853 and ran from Bietigheim-Bissingen to Bruchsal. It was the first railway link between the states of Württemberg and Baden in Germany and one of the oldest lines in Germany.
...
and the
Bruhrain Railway
The Bruhrain Railway (german: Bruhrainbahn) is a railway line running from Bruchsal to Germersheim in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. Whilst it was part of a national trunk line (''Magistrale'') and handled long- ...
terminate. The track then runs along the edge of the
Kraichgau
The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...
via Untergrombach and
Weingarten to
Karlsruhe-Durlach station
Karlsruhe-Durlach station is the second largest station in the city of Karlsruhe in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof. It is used by services of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn and the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn, regular regio ...
and passes under the
A 5 and reaches
Karlsruhe Central Station
Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Karlsruhe. The station is classified as a Category 1 station, as it is a major hub where several railways connect.
History
Old station
When the Baden Mainline was built betwe ...
.
In 1911, the route in the area of Durlach changed as a result of the relocation of Durlach station to the west in order to increase the curve radii. Karlsruhe station was on the southern edge of the city centre until 1913. Due to the limited capacity of this station, a new station was opened on the southern outskirts in 1913. In 1895, a marshalling yard was created on the southern outskirts of the city, but its operations were moved to Mannheim a few years ago.
Approximately level with Durlach an industrial siding formerly branched off and ran for about a kilometre parallel with the Baden line to the north and then veered to the west and ran to the
Bosch factory. In Weingarten and Untergrombach tracks formerly branched off to quarries, which have since been converted into lakes for swimming (''Baggersee''). In Bruchsal freight sidings run to the south of the city, in addition, there are still sidings at Wiesloch-Walldorf station.
Amenities
During the introduction of the S-Bahn, stations were modernised and made accessible for the disabled and the signalling and
interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and Track (rail transpor ...
s were renewed. In Weingarten, Untergrombach and Bruchsal Bildungszentrum, the platform heights were raised to 55 cm for step-free access to the
Karlsruhe Stadtbahn
The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is a German tram-train system combining tram lines in the city of Karlsruhe with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbou ...
trains. At all stations between Bruchsal and Heidelberg the platform heights were raised to 76 cm for step-free access to the
Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn
The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn ''(S-Bahn RheinNeckar)'' forms the backbone of the urban rail transport network of the Rhine Neckar Area, including the cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg and Ludwigshafen.
The S-Bahn operates over 437 km of route in the ...
trains. At Karlsruhe-Durlach and Bruchsal stations there are platform at both heights, as they are served by both networks. Several stations (e.g., Bad Schönborn Süd and Walldorf-Wiesloch) also have a third platform track.
The track is equipped with the latest signalling technology (
colour lights) and equipped for speeds of up to 160 km/h. The “other needs” section of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan'') provides for the refurbishment of the track for a top speed of 200 km/h, but, so far, the top speed is 160 km/h.
Operations
IC and ICE trains run on the line and connect Heidelberg, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Since 2007,
TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
trains on the
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
–
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
–
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
route run on the southern section between Karlsruhe and Bruchsal. The line is supplemented by S-Bahn services between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe and Karlsruhe Stadtbahn services operated by
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft
''Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft'' ('Alb Valley Transport Company', AVG) is a company owned by the city of Karlsruhe that operates rail and bus services in the Karlsruhe area, southwest Germany.
It is a member of the '' Karlsruher Verkehrsverbu ...
(Alb Valley Transport Company) between Karlsruhe and Bruchsal, so that at least two trains operate each hour in each direction.
Since 1994, the section between Karlsruhe and Bruchsal has been integrated in the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn network. Services were introduced over two years, to Menzingen on the Kraich Valley Railway in 1996 and to Odenheim on the Katzbach railway in 1998. In early 1996, the new ''Bruchsal Bildungszentrum'' station was opened between Untergrombach and Bruchsal stations, this station mainly serves the ''Bildungszentrum'', an educational facility.
Since December 2003, the entire line has also been part of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn. During the introduction of the S-Bahn, stations were modernised and made barrier-free and the signalling and interlocking systems were renewed. Each hour S-Bahn line S 4 operates between Heidelberg and Bruchsal and line S 3 runs between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, together providing a service every half-hour between Heidelberg and Bruchsal.
Karlsruhe–Basel
The line between Karlsruhe and Basel is one of the busiest railway lines in Germany. It runs on the eastern edge of the Upper Rhine valley. While the line is mostly straight, it has, in the southern section between Schliengen and Efringen-Kirchen a winding route passing between the Rhine and the Isteiner Klotz ridge above the villages on the slopes of the Black Forest. A lower alignment similar to the
A 5 autobahn was not possible at the time of the construction of the railway, because the Rhine had not yet been straightened in this area so the areas below the villages were still in the flood plain of the Rhine.
![ZugIsteinerKlotz18xx](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/ZugIsteinerKlotz18xx.jpg)
In 1895, another main line railway was opened between Karlsruhe and Rastatt next to the Baden main line, further to the west through
Durmersheim
Durmersheim is a small town in the district of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany and has a population of 12,112 (2020).
Durmersheim is situated between Karlsruhe and Rastatt, in the valley of the river Rhine near the border to Fra ...
. The reason for this was the demand of the German military for the construction of a second northern access to Strasbourg on the Graben-Neudorf–Karlsruhe–Rastatt–
Rœschwoog
Rœschwoog (; german: Röschwoog; gsw-FR, Reschwuch) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Bas-Rhin department
The following is a list of the 514 communes of t ...
route. Simultaneously this route relieved the Baden main line. In 1966, the Rastatt–Rœschwoog section was closed, but the section north of Rastatt continues to operate. During the construction phase of this
strategic railway
A strategic railway is a railway proposed or constructed primarily for military strategic purposes, as opposed to the usual purpose of a railway, which is the transport of civilian passengers or freight. Although the archetypal strategic railwa ...
, Rastatt station was relocated and expanded.
Due to the strong growth in traffic, the larger railway stations had to be expanded in the early 20th century. So a new
Karlsruhe freight bypass was completed in 1895 together with the extension of the Rhine Railway to Rastatt, allowing the main line through the Karlsruhe urban area to be relieved of freight trains. A new Karlsruhe station was opened in 1913. In 1911, Offenburg station was rebuilt and extended with a marshalling yard. The railway tracks in Basel were adapted for the increased traffic with a new freight yard in 1905 and a new passenger station and a new marshalling yard in 1913. The marshalling yard is partly on German and partly on Swiss territory. The railways of three counties cooperated in building extensive rail infrastructure in Basel connecting the
Baden station for trains arriving from Germany to the
Central station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
and the adjacent French station (part of
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
since 1938). In addition to the marshalling yard at the Baden station, there is another, larger marshalling yard in
Muttenz
Muttenz is a municipality with a population of approximately 17,000 in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It is located in the district of Arlesheim and next to the city of Basel.
History
Under the Roman Empire a hamlet called Montetum ...
. The passenger trains on the Baden main line usually end at Basel Baden station, only the international trains continue through to Basel Central Station.
![Offenburgbf2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Offenburgbf2.JPG)
The importance of the line meant that it was duplicated between 1847 and 1855 and electrified between 1952 and 1957. The quadruplication of the tracks and the upgrading for a top speed of 250 km/h has been under way as part of the
Karlsruhe–Basel new and upgraded line (''Neu- und Ausbaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel'') project since the late 1980s.
In 1971 there was an accident at Rheinweiler when an express train that was running too fast on the twisty section between Efringen-Kirchen and Schliengen road was derailed and crashed down the railway embankment. 23 people were killed and 121 injured.
![ICE Isteiner Klotz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/ICE_Isteiner_Klotz.jpg)
The traffic on the Rhine Valley line is notable for its international long-distance passenger and freight traffic. Every hour one or two IC,
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...
(EC) or ICE services run. Three times daily TGV services also run from Stuttgart via Karlsruhe to Strasbourg. Local services runs at least hourly as
Regionalbahn (stopping) and
Regional-Express
In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at f ...
or
Interregio-Express services. ''Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft'' also operates Karlsruhe Stadtbahn services between Karlsruhe and
Achern
Achern (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Achre) is a town in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km southwest of Baden-Baden and 19 km northeast of Offenburg. Achern is the fourth largest town in the distric ...
. In the early 1980s, a series of stations were abandoned, especially between Rastatt and Offenburg. After the quadruplication of the line, Stadtbahn stations in Haueneberstein,
Sinzheim, Steinbach (now Baden-Baden-Rebland) were put back into operation and a new station was established in Sinzheim Nord. The Regional-Express services between Basel and Freiburg are integrated into the
Basel Regional S-Bahn ,french: RER trinational de Bâle
, image = Logo trireno black.svg
, alt = logo trireno
, imagesize = 180
, image2 = Basel 2012-08 Mattes 1 (283).JPG
, alt2 = S-Bahn train at B ...
network, although the former designation of the route as line S 4 has been dropped as inappropriate for a Regional-Express service.
Freight transport is very extensive. In addition to Deutsche Bahn AG,
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
operates one third of all freight trains on this route, especially as
combined transport
Combined transport is a form of intermodal transport, which is the movement of goods in one and the same loading unit or road vehicle, using successively two or more modes of transport without handling the goods themselves in changing modes. Comb ...
. There is expected to be a large increase in freight traffic on the Rhine Valley Railway after the completion of the
New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) project in Switzerland.
Basel–Constance
The Upper Rhine line runs from Basel initially on the right bank of the Rhine to Waldshut, where it leaves the Rhine valley and crosses the northern Klettgau to
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
and it then runs through southern
Hegau
The Hegau is an extinct volcanic landscape in southern Germany extending around the industrial city of Singen (Hohentwiel), between Lake Constance in the east, the Rhine River in the south, the Danube River in the north and the Randen—as the so ...
to Radolfzell on the
Untersee. The railway then follows the banks of the Untersee to Constance, where it crosses a bridge over the Rhine. The terminus of the Baden main line at
Constance station is on the left (south) bank of the Rhine between the old town of Constance and the harbour. The line is continued by two curves connecting to
Kreuzlingen
Kreuzlingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in north-eastern Switzerland. It is the seat of the district and is the second-largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of about 22,000. ...
and Kreuzlingen Hafen, but the latter is currently only used for freight.
![Singen bahnhof](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Singen_bahnhof.jpg)
The line between Basel and Waldshut was duplicated during the 1980s, with the exception of the
Laufenburg–
Laufenburg-Ost section. There is also double track line between
Beringen and Constance-Petershausen, the other sections are single track. The section of the High Rhine Railway between Constance and Singen was electrified as part of the electrification of the Black Forest Railway to Singen in 1977. The gap between Singen and Schaffhausen was electrified in 1990.
In Basel and between Erzingen and Thayngen the line runs through the Swiss cantons of
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
. Construction and operation of these routes is governed by an international treaty between Switzerland and Baden and later Germany. It treats the operation of the line as a "single continuous main line". Thus it was possible for the Baden State Railways to operate through the fringes of Switzerland in the same way as on Baden territory, which was not normal at that time. Switzerland agreed not to impose tariffs on freight in transit or to subject trains on the line to customs formalities. The treaty of 1852 also makes a provision for Switzerland to acquire the line, but Switzerland has never used this provision. The tracks in Switzerland largely are operated under German regulations, so that the trains run on the right and the tracks are—with the exception of Schaffhausen station—controlled by signals of German design.
The availability of the line was not assured in case of war. Therefore, the military sought the creation of bypasses around the two sections running through Switzerland so that there would be to a secure east–west supply route through southern Baden during wartime. So three strategic railways were built up to 1890 between
Weil am Rhein
Weil am Rhein (High Alemannic: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and extends to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany an ...
and
Lörrach
Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including the ...
(
Weil am Rhein–Lörrach railway),
Schopfheim
Schopfheim is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach.
The town is the birthplace of Gisela Oeri, Max Picard, and A ...
and
Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen (High Alemannic: ''Bad Säckinge'') is a rural town in the administrative district of Waldshut in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is famous as the "Trumpeteer's City" because of the book ''Der Trompeter von Säcking ...
(the
Wehra Valley Railway
The Wehra Valley Railway (German: ''Wehratalbahn'') was a 19.7 km long branch line from Schopfheim to Bad Säckingen in southwestern Germany, that was electrified in 1913 at the same time as the Wiesen Valley Railway. For part of its length ...
) and between
Lauchringen
Lauchringen is a village in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is divided in two districts: Oberlauchringen and Unterlauchringen.
Geography
Lauchringen lies on the Rhine Plain in the lower Klettgau at the foot of ...
and
Hintschingen (the
Wutach Valley Railway
The Wutach Valley Railway or german: Wutachtalbahn is one of the most unusual and impressive stretches of railway in Germany. It links the town of Waldshut-Tiengen, on the High Rhine Railway (''Hochrheinbahn'') and the border of Baden-Württemberg ...
). This line ran from Ulm via the
Ulm–Sigmaringen railway
The Ulm–Sigmaringen railway is a 92.670-kilometre-long railway in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany, which is largely single-tracked and for the most part not electrified. It runs from Ulm via Blaubeuren and Riedlingen to Sigmaringen ...
, the
Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway, the Wutach Valley Railway, the
High Rhine Railway
The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Bad ...
to Alsace without touching Swiss territory. The strategic railways were virtually useless for civilian traffic. Therefore, passenger traffic on the Wehra Valley Railway and the Wutach Valley Railway were already closed in 1971. Only the short link between Lörrach and Weil is still operated; it has recently become part of the Basel Regional S-Bahn.
![Konstanz Seehas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Konstanz_Seehas.jpg)
The line is now served by regional services. Hourly Interregio-Express services are operated with
tilting technology
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide abo ...
using class 611 multiple units between Basel and Singen, complemented by Regionalbahn services on some sections. An S-Bahn-like service has been operated with electric multiple units between Constance and
Engen
Engen (延元) was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kenmu and before Kōkoku, lasting from February 1336 to April 1340.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Engen''" i ''Japan encyclop ...
via Singen under the name of ''
Seehas
Seehas is a regional rail service that operates between Engen and Konstanz in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is managed and operated by SBB GmbH, the German subsidiary of Swiss Federal Railways. It began operation in ...
'' (named after a mythical lake hare) since 1994. The operator of the service was the Swiss company
Mittelthurgau-Bahn until it became bankrupt in 2003, when its activities were taken over by
THURBO. It is planned that the service between Basel and Waldshut will become part of the Basel S-Bahn system. Between Singen and Schaffhausen services are operate by long-distance Intercity trains on the Zurich–Stuttgart route every two hours.
Notes
References
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External links
* {{cite web, url=http://pkjs.de/bahn/Kursbuch1944/Teil4/Teil4-baden.html#301, title=Timetable of 1944 , accessdate=8 August 2012 , language=German
Railway lines in Baden-Württemberg
Railway lines opened in 1840
1840 establishments in Baden