Böblingen station is located on the
Stuttgart–Horb railway
The Stuttgart–Horb railway is a 67.227 kilometer-long railway in the southern part of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, running from Stuttgart to Horb. It forms part of a railway known as the Gäubahn () or Gäu Railway. The Royal W� ...
() and is at the start of the
Rankbach Railway (''Rankbachbahn'') and the
Schönbuch Railway (''Schönbuchbahn''). It is served by regional services and
Stuttgart S-Bahn
The Stuttgart S-Bahn is a suburban railway system (S-Bahn) serving the Stuttgart Region, an urban agglomeration of around 2.7 million people, consisting of the city of Stuttgart and the adjacent districts of Esslingen, Böblingen, Ludwigsb ...
line S 1. Until 2002 it was served by
Intercity-Express
Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE () and running under this Train categories in Europe, category) is a high-speed rail in Germany, high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland an ...
and
Cisalpino services.
History
The Oberamts (the former districts of Baden-Württemberg, that were replaced in 1934 by
Landkreise) of
Calw
Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled Kalb accordingly; ) is a Landstadt, town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the Calw (district), district Calw. It is located in the North ...
and
Nagold
Nagold () is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the '' Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is recorded for the first time in a historical document dating back to ...
proposed a railway line from
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
at the
Northern Black Forest
The Northern Black Forest () refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region.
Geography
The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north by a line from Karlsruh ...
Festival in 1863. According to the plans of Professor Johannes Mährlen, an adviser to
King William I, and Otto Elben, a Member of the Oberamt Böblingen, a railway junction would be built at Böblingen, with lines running to Calw,
Horb and
Tübingen
Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
. Tübingen hoped for a faster connection to Stuttgart, without having to go through
Plochingen
Plochingen (; or ) is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It lies on the river Neckar, on which it has a river port. With about 14,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region.
Geo ...
. But overcoming the altitude difference between
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (; ) is the primary railway station in the city of Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. It is the largest regional and long-distance railway station in Stuttgart, the main node of the ...
and the high level of the
Filder plain presented a major problem.
The counter proposal was for a route through the
Strohgäu. After several debates in the Landtag (parliament) in 1865 a small majority of members voted for the route via
Leonberg
Leonberg (; ) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district () of Böblingen (afte ...
to Calw. 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.
Early ...
proposed that the Gäu Railway be built first and Elben eventually persuaded the royal court to support this. In November 1873, construction commenced and the line from Stuttgart via
Herrenberg
Herrenberg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 30 km
south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it ...
to
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt (, Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is the capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to ...
opened on 2 September 1879.
A station serving both Böblingen and
Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the river Würm), and is home to a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant. The current mayor ...
was to be built between Galgenberg and Goldberg. The State Railways decided to move site of the station to the fields west of Böblingen partly to serve a sugar factory on the Unteren See (a lake). The station building, consisting of a central building and two wings, has three floors. A shed was built for handling goods south-west of the station. In 1885 the station was renamed ''Böblingen (Sindelfingen)'' or ''Böblingen/Sindelfingen''.
In 1905 a second track was completed on the line between
Stuttgart West station and Böblingen. The
Schönbuch Railway (''Schönbuchbahn'') was planned to run from Böblingen to Tübingen via
Dettenhausen. The branch line connected the villages of the Schönbuchlichtung to Böblingen. On 16 October 1910, the State Railways opened the line to
Weil im Schönbuch
Weil im Schönbuch is a municipality in the Böblingen district, middle Neckar region, Stuttgart governmental district, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its name is derived from the presence of a Roman villa in the area. Two smaller villages, Neuwei ...
. The first trains reached Dettenhausen on 29 July 1911.
After a planned freight bypass track did not eventuate between Stuttgart West station and
Zuffenhausen, the State Railway needed an alternative. It planned a line from Böblingen to Renningen to connect with the
Black Forest Railway. The
Rankbach Railway allowed freight trains to be diverted from the Stuttgart basin. Construction began in 1913. Although the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
delayed construction, the first section was opened on 23 December 1914 to Sindelfingen. As a result of the opening of Sindelfingen station, ''Böblingen (Sindelfingen)'' station was renamed ''Böblingen'' station. In October 1915, the whole line was completed.
On 1 May 1922 a branch of the Schönbuch Railway was opened to
Schönaich from a junction at ''Schönaicher First'' (now ''Böblingen Zimmerschlag'') station. As a continuation to
Waldenbuch
Waldenbuch ( Swabian: ''Waldebuech'') is a town in the district of Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
It is the home of the popular Ritter Sport brand of chocolate.
Geography
Geographical location
Waldenbuch is situated at an altitude ...
or even
Nürtingen
Nürtingen (; ) is a town on the river Neckar in the district of Esslingen (district), Esslingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
History
The following events occurred, by year:
*1046: First mention of ''Niuritingin'' in ...
was never implemented, Schönaich was the end of the line.
The growing car ownership during the post-war economic boom led to the end of passenger traffic on the branch lines around Böblingen.
Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...
closed the Schönaicher First–Schönaich section in 1954. In 1965, the last passenger service ran to Dettenhausen. Passenger services on the Rankbach Railway were closed west of Sindelfingen in 1970; in 2004 passengers services were closed to Sindelfingen. A new entrance building was opened in Böblingen in 1969. This is a multi-storey building, with a facade on its street side that is covered by a
relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
, which is reminiscent of railway tracks.
In 1996, the
Württembergische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft reopened the Schönbuch Railway. In 2010, the Rankbach Railway was reopened and it is served by the Stuttgart S-Bahn.
Operations
Böblingen station is a railway junction on the Gäu Railway, from which the Rankbach Railway and Schönbuch Railway branch. Trains on the Schönbuch Railway start and finish on platform track 1. Track 2 is the used by regional trains to Stuttgart. Track 3 is used by S-Bahn trains to
Rohr. Track 4 is used by S-Bahn trains to
Herrenberg station
Herrenberg station is located on the Stuttgart–Horb railway () and is at the start of the Ammer Valley Railway (''Ammertalbahn''). Because it is a stop for Regional-Express services and it is a terminus for both Stuttgart S-Bahn line S 1 and R ...
. S-Bahn services on line S 60 start and end on track 5 and it also used by regional trains to Herrenberg. The station is classified by
Deutsche Bahn
(, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG).
DB was fou ...
as a
category 3 station.
Regional Transport
S-Bahn
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boblingen Station
Stuttgart S-Bahn stations
Railway stations in Baden-Württemberg
Buildings and structures in Böblingen
Railway stations in Germany opened in 1879