The Western Railway () 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.
Formerly an important link line in national and international long-distance traffic, it has largely lost that role since the opening of the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway and primarily handles regional and goods traffic between the cities of Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Heidelberg. The line links the Württemberg Northern Railway with the Baden Mainline, crossing the Bietigheim Enz Valley Viaduct and passing through Mühlacker and Bretten.
Route In Bietigheim-Bissingen the Western Railway branches off from the Franconia Railway (Stuttgart–Heilbronn–Würzburg) in turning left and crosses the Bietigheim Enz Valley Viaduct. After that it runs on the slope above the Metter river until it passes through a tunnel to reach Vaihingen (Enz) station. In Mühlacker, where the line to Karlsruhe branches off, the Western Railway turns to the northeast towards Bretten where the Kraichgau line intersects.
The line runs along the valley of the Saalbach and ends in Bruchsal. The line bypasses Bruchsal's old town by running to the south and looping back to the north through several tunnels. A short tunnel passes under the cemetery; two longer, parallel tunnels enable the line to reach Bruchsal station, while keeping regional and freight traffic separate.
Between Bietigheim-Bissingen and Vaihingen the Western Railway runs within the Ludwigsburg district, from Illingen to Kleinvillars it crossed the Enz district and the rest of the line to Bruchsal is located in the Karlsruhe district.
History The Western Railway was the first link between the railway networks of the Grand Duchy of Baden and Kingdom of Württemberg. It linked the Baden Mainline in Bruchsal with the Württemberg Northern Railway in Bietigheim. The Western Railway was thus an important element in creating an all-German railway network. Its construction, however, was preceded by years of conflict, because Baden and Wuerttemberg had different interests.
Negotiations between Baden and Württemberg The Western Railway was a project undertaken by Württemberg, which began planning its main lines in 1835 (see also History of railways in Württemberg). These were the beginning of the idea of a future interconnected network, which would also develop in other nearby countries (Baden, Bavaria and Switzerland). The Western Railway, in this context, would meet Württemberg need to connect with the Rhine valley, but also provide a connection from Western Germany and France to Bavaria and South East Germany, which, it was believed, would make the Württemberg railways financially viable.
In 1840, Baden had begun the construction of its Rhine Valley Railway from Mannheim to Heidelberg, Bruchsal, Durlach and Karlsruhe, and later to Basel and Constance. Württemberg's desire to establish a connection to the Rhine Valley line led Baden, on the one hand, to fear Württemberg's competition in trade with the region around Lake Constance and Switzerland and, on the other hand, to welcome the prospect of being able to participate in east–west traffic. There were for a long time conflicts over the choice of the point of connection and over technical parameters, such as track gauge.
For the route there were essentially three options considered, which were in order from north to south: from Heilbronn to Wiesloch from the Württemberg Northern Railway branching off north of Ludwigsburg to Bretten and Bruchsal from the Württemberg network to Pforzheim and from there to Durlach The first option would have been favourable for Württemberg since it would have led to operations over a longer section of its own network. For this reason, and because it was unfavourable for transport to Karlsruhe, Baden rejected it outright. It thus played no serious role in the negotiations.
The second option (called the Bretten line) was championed by Württemberg, the third (the Pforzheim line) by Baden. Baden wished to provide a rail connection through Pforzheim (which was an important industrial city) and also to keep transit traffic on the Rhine Valley Railway as long as possible. A variation of this line that ran through Zuffenhausen, Ditzingen and Friolzheim was also considered, but not considered feasible. The subsequent investigations of this option focused on a line from Pforzheim along the Enz valley to a border crossing at Mühlacker.
Preliminary discussions between the two countries led in the late 1830s to a study of the Pforzheim route by a joint commission, which found it to be suitable for Baden but inappropriate for Württemberg. In 1842, Württemberg asked for an investigation of the Bretten route.
Given the disagreement, the Württemberg railway law of 1843, which authorised the construction of its main lines, initially only stated that a connection should be made to the Baden network, without specifying a route.
In its investigation, the commission acknowledged in 1844 the mutual technical advantages of the Bretten route over the Pforzheim line. Baden, however, continued to press for the latter route and tried in addition, as the only German state with a broad gauge rail network, to require that Württemberg line use Irish gauge (). Württemberg had, however, already decided in favour of standard gauge for its network.
The Württemberg Diet was inclined to agree to Baden's desire for the Pforzheim route, but only on condition that the Heilbronn–Wiesloch line should be built as well. This solution was offered to Baden but it was rejected. Since an agreement had initially failed, efforts were made to present the other side with a fait accompli. The Wurttemberg government decided to build a railway to the border near Bretten. The Baden parliament proposed to grant a concession to a private company for a Durlach–Pforzheim railway, but found no operator for it.
The March Revolution of 1848/49, which particular affected Baden, delayed the Western Railway. When negotiations recommenced in 1850, Württemberg had already completed other major lines (from Heilbronn to Stuttgart, Ulm and Lake Constance). This strengthened its bargaining position, while Baden's finances had deteriorated as a result of the revolution. As a result, Baden accepted Württemberg's offer to build and operate the entire route at its own cost and gave in on the questions on route and gauge.
Planning and building
On 4 December 1850, a treaty was concluded for the construction of the Western Railway. The line would make provision for a junction to a line towards Pforzheim. The railway was built under the direction of Karl Etzel, using standard gauge of , which had already become widely accepted in most European countries. The cost of the line came to a total of 11.37 million guilders, which made it the most expensive line per kilometre in Württemberg.
There were greater difficulties for the line in Württemberg, particularly in crossing the deep Enz valley. Initial plans envisaged crossing the river further west, in Bissingen or near the Leudelsbach valley, and then following that valley to Vaihingen. The British rail expert, Charles Vignoles recommended a junction with the Northern Railway in Tamm and the building a large viaduct at the Bissingen saw mill to reach Kleinglattbach and Illingen on a direct route. These alignments had the advantages that they were relatively straightforward; their disadvantages was their need to run through difficult terrain with poor grades and the requirement of a high and long bridge over the Enz.
Karl Etzel proposed in 1845 the more northerly branch in Bietigheim, since the Enz valley was at its narrowest there and therefore a shorter and lower bridge was required than in the previous plans. Although the line would be longer, it would achieve cost savings. Etzel's ideas prevailed, and so the Enz valley viaduct was built at Bietigheimer, with a length of 287 metres and a height of 26 meters, the largest engineering works on the route and very expensive to build. On 13 August 1853 it was inaugurated with great ceremony.
The best route for the line would have been through the Metter valley and via Zaisersweiher to Knittlingen. Taking into account the Baden interest in serving Pforzheim, the line was laid on the slope between the Metter and Enz valleys with provision made for a junction to the north of the hamlet of Mühlacker so that a connection could be later built to Pforzheim. On 17 November 1852, the Maulbronn tunnel was broken through between Ötisheim and Maulbronn, under the watershed between the Rhine and the Enz.
On the Baden side the line ran between Bretten and Bruchsal largely through the valley of the Saalbach. In Bruchsal the route was controversial, as the town's cemetery was on the edge of the old town in the Saalbach valley in the way of the direct route to Baden station. The town of Bruchsal initially opposed a plan to tunnel under the cemetery, since it was thought that it would disturb the peace of the dead. It was then proposed to build a separate terminal station for the Württemberg railway before Bruchsal in the Saalbach valley, which would have avoided the cost of constructing the tunnel, amounting to 200,000 guilders. Passengers and freight would then have to be transported by horse and buggy through the town to Baden station. Ultimately, the town allowed the construction of the 120-metre cemetery tunnel.
1853–1920: developments under the Württemberg and Baden State Railways
On 1 October 1853 the Western Railway went into service; the inaugural trip had run on 20 September. Under a treaty of 1850, the line was operated for its full length, including in Baden, by the Royal Württemberg State Railways. In Bruchsal, there was initially a Württemberg station for the Western Railway with standard gauge, which was east of the original Baden station. Only after 1854/55 was the Baden station converted to standard gauge and the lines of the two Bruchsal stations were connected. The original line from Durlach to Pforzheim and Mühlacker supported by Baden was put into operation in 1863, with Mühlacker as the border station. In conjunction with the Mühlacker–Bietigheim line, this provided a more direct link between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, which became an important route for long-distance services.
Under the 1850 treaty, Baden had the right to buy back the line on its territory. This right was invoked in 1873, when the plans for the Kraichgau Railway were developed. This would cross the Western Railway in Bretten, but a connection between the lines was not required. The negotiations for the purchase dragged on until 1878, since Württemberg was reluctant to cede the profitable line and there were differences over the purchase price for the line. With the construction of the Kraichgau railway, the Bretten Station, which had previously been in close proximity to the city centre, was moved to the south-western outskirts. From 15 October 1879, the Baden State Railways took over the assets and operations of the line from Bretten to Bruchsal.
Between 1859 and 1862, only the first section from Bietigheim to Mühlacker was double track. The Bruchsal–Bretten section was duplicated in 1888 by the Baden Railways and the Württemberg Baden Railways completed the duplication between Mühlacker and Bretten in 1890.