![Stadtbahn-in-pforzheim](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Stadtbahn-in-pforzheim.JPG)
The Enz Valley Railway (''Enztalbahn'' or ''Enzbahn'') is a long railway line in the northern part of the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
in the German state of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. The line runs from
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") ...
to
Bad Wildbad
Bad Wildbad is a town in Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the government district (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Karlsruhe and in the district (''Landkreis'') of Calw. Its coordinates are 48° 45' N, 8° 33' E. About 10,1 ...
and for its course runs close to the River
Enz
The Enz is a river flowing north from the Black Forest to the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg.
It is 106 km long.
Its headstreams – the Little Enz (german: Kleine Enz) and the Great Enz or Big Enz (''Große Enz'') – rise in the Northern B ...
.
The line was opened by 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 ...
on 11 June 1868 and is one of the
oldest railways in Germany. It is now integrated into 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 ...
as line S 6.
Route
The Enz Valley line is located in the northern Black Forest and the entire line runs along the Enz river. From
Pforzheim Central Station
Pforzheim Hauptbahnhof is the main station in the city of Pforzheim in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History
The first Pforzheim station was opened on the 3 July 1861 on the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker railway by the Grand Duchy of Baden S ...
to Brötzingen Wohnlichstraße it runs within the limits of the city of Pforzheim, from
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants.
Geography
...
to
Neuenbürg
Neuenbürg is a town in the Enz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Enz, 10 km southwest of Pforzheim.
History
Neuenbürg originated as a village around a castle built by the in the 12th century. Between 1 ...
Eyachbrücke it runs through
Enzkreis
Enzkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Karlsruhe (district), Karlsruhe, Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg (district), ...
and the rest of the line runs through the
Calw district
Calw is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Karlsruhe, Enz, the district-free city Pforzheim, Böblingen, Freudenstadt and Rastatt.
History
The district w ...
. It runs through the five municipalities of Pforzheim, Birkenfeld, Neuenbürg,
Höfen an der Enz
Höfen or Höfen an der Enz is a municipality in Calw district, in the region of Karlsruhe of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Höfen is located on the River Enz at the northern edge of the Black Forest. It is located where street L 343 intersects ...
and Bad Wildbad.
The line begins in Pforzheim station, where there are connections to the
line from Karlsruhe to Mühlacker. Since 2002, the Enz Valley Railway has run together with 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 ...
from to
Horb
Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, between Offenburg to the west (about away) and Tübingen to the east (about away). It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom ...
on a two-track line through Pforzheim to Brötzingen Mitte station. Previously, the two lines had run parallel as independent single-track lines.
From Brötzingen the line follows the valley of the Enz through Birkenfeld, Neuenbürg, Höfen an der Enz to Calmbach (part of the municipality of Bad Wildbad since 1974) and then the valley of the Großen Enz to Bad Wildbad. In Neuenbürg the line twice crosses the Enz and passes under Schlossberg (hill) through a 135-metre-long tunnel.
At its penultimate stop in Bad Wildbad, the S6 also connects with the
Sommerbergbahn
The ''Sommerbergbahn'' is a funicular railway in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It runs from Bad Wildbad to the top of the Wildbader Sommerberg, which gives good views over the town, with one intermediate stop.
The ''Sommerbergbahn'' opened in 1 ...
funicular railway
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
.
The line to Bad Wildbad is equipped with the 15 kV AC overhead electrification system used by 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 ...
. The extension of the line from Bad Wildbad station through the town of Bad Wildbad is electrified as a tramway with 750 V DC. The terminus of the line is located at the entrance to the spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
.
History
The Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...
had been planning to build a railway to Wildbad from the 1850s. Already during the construction of 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 List of the first German ra ...
from 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 ...
to 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, ...
and the construction of the connecting line from Pforzheim via Mühlacker to Karlsruhe by 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 ...
, the possibility of building a railway into the Enz valley was considered. The reason for this comparatively early planning was primarily the former importance of Bad Wildbad as a spa, which was favoured by the kings of Württemberg. The construction of the railway line would make the journey of aristocrats as pleasant as possible and promote the importance of Bad Wildbad as a fashionable resort.
There was a problem, however, in that the limitations of railway technology at the time meant that the line through the Enz valley could only run through Pforzheim, which was in the Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
, so a treaty between Württemberg and Baden was necessary to regulate the construction of the railway. Württemberg secured the right to build the Enz Valley Railway and Nagold Valley Railway through Pforzheim station in 1863. In return the Baden government was able to build the line from Karlsruhe to Mühlacker, where it would connect with the Western Railway to Stuttgart. Thus the government of Württemberg introduced two bills on 26 April 1858 that would ensure the construction of the railway from Pforzheim to Wildbad. These were enacted on 17 November 1858. The construction work began in 1865 under the leadership of Carl Julius Abel. 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 ...
built a separate wing of Pforzheim station southwest of the facilities of the Baden State Railways. At the same time construction work began on the already planned Nagold Valley Railway from Pforzheim to Calw
Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled ''Kalb'' accordingly) is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the district Calw. It is located in the Northern Black Forest and is a ...
, with the track formation prepared for two tracks, with the northern path reserved for the Enz Valley Railway and the southern path reserved for the Nagold Valley Railway.
Württemberg State Railways (1868–1919)
On 11 June 1868, the Enz Railway was opened, following several trial runs during the previous two months. Initially, it was isolated from the rest of the network of the Württemberg State Railways: passengers from Stuttgart to Bad Wildbad had to use services of the Baden State Railways between Mühlacker and Pforzheim. Only the opening of the Nagold Valley Railway in 1874 allowed an alternative connection from Stuttgart via Weil der Stadt
Weil der Stadt is a town of about 19,000 inhabitants in the Stuttgart Region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is about west of Stuttgart city centre, in the valley of the River Würm, and is often called the "Gate to the Black Fore ...
, Calw and Brötzingen to Bad Wildbad. This was a significantly more difficult route than the line via Mühlacker and its only advantage from Württemberg's perspective was that it ran only through Wurttemberg, although in Brötzingen it ran for a few kilometres close to Baden territory. To facilitate these trips a connecting curve was built between the Enz and Nagold Valley Railways bypassing Brötzingen station.
In the first decades of its existence, the market developed very positively on the Enz Valley Railway, and several prominent guests of the resort—for example, in 1903 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...
—travelled by train specifically for a cure at Wildbad. In addition to the carriage of passengers to Bad Wildbad, trains, even including at times expresses, were used to carry freight on the final section of the route. The transport of wood and wood products was particularly important. The most important customers for freight for decades were the Krauth & Co. sawmill (at the time Württemberg's largest sawmill) at the former Rotenbach station and the timber yard in the Eyach valley.
As Neuenbürg lies on a sweeping bend of the Enz and the line cuts through the neck of the bend in a tunnel, Neuenbürg station was built to the northeast of the town. To improve the accessibility of the line to Neuenbürg, Neuenbürg Stadt halt was opened southeast of the town on 6 August 1909. In the following years there were plans to duplicate the railway between Calmbach and Wildbad, but their realisation was prevented by the outbreak of World War I.
German Reichsbahn (1920–1949)
After the First World War, the route was absorbed by the newly founded 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 ...
and administered by the railway division (''Direktion'') of Karlsruhe.
In the 1930s, the Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
organization Strength through Joy
NC Gemeinschaft (KdF; ) was a German state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany.Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 197, It was part of the German Labour Front (german: link=no, Deutsche Arbeitsfront), the national labour org ...
(''Kraft durch Freude'') organised trips on several weekends to Wildbad. In addition, Neuenbürg Stadt station received facilities for handling baggage.
Because the Enz Valley Railway, unlike other Black Forest lines, had no connecting lines and had no military significance, it was largely spared from attack during the Second World War. An attempt to bomb the bridge at Neuenbürg missed its target and instead hit one at nearby Schlossberg.
After the Second World War, services on the Enz Valley Railway were resumed on 10 July 1945.
Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Bahn (1949–2002)
In the second half of the 20th century the line increasingly lost its importance. This was due to the increasing competition from cars and trucks, the decline in the traditional tourist traffic to Wildbad and the importance of companies such as the Krauth & Co sawmill.
Although 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 ...
attempted to counteract competition through the use of railbuses
A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed ...
and the replacement of steam by diesel locomotives from 1962, it could not stem the loss of traffic. The signal boxes in Neuenbürg and Bad Wildbad were rationalised and replaced by more modern equipment in 1976 and the stations of Birkenfeld, Höfen and Calmbach were subsequently downgraded to halts, so that it was only possible for trains to cross in Neuenbürg. Rotenbach station was closed for freight transport in 1964 and for passenger traffic in 1975. The same fate had occurred in Engelsbrand as early as 1960 due to its remote location.
The decline in traffic to the spa at Bad Wildbad led to the abandonment of express trains. Since 1950, the only long-distance connections remaining on the line had been single through coaches from at least as far away as Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
and from Emden
Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528.
History
The exact founding date of E ...
. These were abandoned in 1995 to reduce costs. In 1988, class 628 diesel multiple units replaced the railbuses. The loss of freight and low passenger numbers meant that the line was threatened with closure.
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (since 2002)
An initiative of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (Alb Valley Transport Company, AVG) brought a new approach to the line. Following its success on the neighbouring Alb Valley Railway
The Alb Valley Railway (german: Albtalbahn) is a railway line in southern Germany that runs from Karlsruhe via Ettlingen to Bad Herrenalb with a branch to Ittersbach. The line is owned and operated, as part of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe, by the Al ...
from Karlsruhe to Bad Herrenalb
Bad Herrenalb is a municipality in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the northern Black Forest, 15 km east of Baden-Baden, and 22 km southwest of Pforzheim.
The town is connected to the city of K ...
, it suggested in March 1995 that the line be adapted for light rail (stadtbahn
' (; German for "city railway"; plural ') is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...
) operations. The attractiveness of the line in Bad Wildbad would be increased if it was extended to the spa park (''Kurpark'').
With the political support of the state of Baden-Württemberg and the adjacent municipalities and districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
, the line was taken over by AVG on 1 January 2000 under a 25 years lease from 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 ...
and the line began to be converted for light rail operations. This included the modernisation of the tracks, the electrification of the line and the renovation of Brötzingen station; the unused station building still stands at the 0 kilometre mark. New stations were established at Maihälden Pforzheim, Brötzingen Sandweg, Brötzingen Wohnlichstraße, Neuenbürg Freibad, Rotenbach, Eyachbrücke, Höfen Nord, Calmbach Süd and Bad Wildbad Nord; one more stations at Pforzheim Durlacher Straße is planned. Calmbach station became a crossing station and new signals were installed.
In addition, the line in Bad Wildbad was extended by one kilometre to Kurpark and this section, due to space limitations, was designed as a light railway line and electrified at 750 V DC, while the line between Pforzheim and Bad Wildbad station was electrified with the mainline railway system (15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz). As a result, only the two-system sets of 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 ...
can be used on the last kilometre of the line. The cost of reconstructing the line for Stadtbahn operations totalled DM 59.9 million.
Rail operations were launched in two stages: on 14 December 2002, operations commenced between Pforzheim and Bad Wildbad station; services were extended to Bad Wildbad Kurpark on 4 October 2003. The introduction of Stadtbahn operation also involved more frequent trains and expanded hours of operation.
Since 25 May 2014, the line has been controlled from the Karlsruhe central control centre. The line has been acquired by the AVG.
Operations
The Enz Valley Railway is integrated into 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 ...
as line S 6. The operation of the two-rail system Stadtbahn sets are managed by Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft. It runs on weekdays instead from 5:00 AM until 1:00 AM, with at least one service per hour, with services running during busy periods twice an hour (either every 30 minutes or with intervals alternating between 20 and 40 minutes). On weekends services operate hourly throughout the day, starting at 6:00 AM. Some services link in Pforzheim with Stadtbahn line S 5 and run via Karlsruhe to Wörth or to Bietigheim-Bissingen
Bietigheim-Bissingen (locally: ''Biedge-Bissenge'') is the second-largest town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with 42,515 inhabitants in 2007. It is situated on the river Enz and the river Metter, close to its conflu ...
.
Since 2003, the so-called ''Enztäler Freizeitexpress'' has run on some summer Sundays from Stuttgart to Bad Wildbad station and back. This service is operated with historic class ET 25 electric multiple units by Stuttgart's Schienenverkehrsgesellschaft (rail transport company, SVG) and includes an extra baggage car for carrying bicycles.
Regular freight trains no longer run on the Enz Valley Railway.
Rolling stock
Until 1962, steam locomotives were used on the line. These were replaced by Uerdingen railbus
The Uerdingen railbus (German: ''Uerdinger Schienenbus'') is the common term for the multiple units which were developed by the German firm of Waggonfabrik Uerdingen for the Deutsche Bundesbahn and private railways after the Second World War. Th ...
es and trains hauled by class V 100 diesel locomotives. In 1988, the locomotive-hauled trains were replaces by class 628 diesel multiple units; in 1993 these took over all passenger services on the line. Since late 2002, services on the line have been operated by ''Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft''’s two-system Stadtbahn vehicles of class GT8-100C/2S and GT8-100D/2S-M.
Intermediate stations
Train crossings are possible on the line between Pforzheim Hbf and Brötzingen Mitte only at the stations of Neuenbürg, Calmbach and Bad Wildbad. Rotenbach and Höfen an der Enz Nord halts have platforms that are only 20 metres long because the potential passenger traffic is very low.
Notes
References
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*
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External links
{{Commons category, Enztalbahn, Enz Valley Railway
Information and photographs of the route conversion, mainly in Bad Wildbad
Historical page on the Enz Railway before its conversion to a Stadtbahn line
Railway lines in the Black Forest
Railway lines in Baden-Württemberg
Railway lines opened in 1868
1868 establishments in Baden
Buildings and structures in Pforzheim
Buildings and structures in Enzkreis
Buildings and structures in Calw (district)
Karlsruhe Stadtbahn