page_title: Württemberg Western Railway
section_title: 1853–1920: developments under the Württemberg and Baden State Railways
hierarchical_section_title: Württemberg Western Railway / History / 1853–1920: developments under the Württemberg and Baden State Railways
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Blick auf die Gleisanlagen des Bahnhofs von Mühlacker. English: railway station of Mühlacker.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: 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.
  The original stations along the line were in Mühlacker, Maulbronn and Bretten, with halts in Großsachsenheim (now Sachsenheim), Sersheim, Illingen, Gondelsheim and Heidelsheim. Later, halts were opened at Ruit, Ölbronn (1891), Ötisheim (1890), Ensingen (1900), Helmsheim (1909) and Metterzimmern (1912). During 1904, the Vaihingen–Enzweihingen line (called the Vaihinger Stadtbahn prior to the suspension of its operations in 2002) opened from Sersheim-Vaihingen station, which was situated some distance from both Vaihingen and Sersheim. In 1906 the station was renamed Vaihingen (Enz) Staatsbahnhof ("state station"). This was renamed Vaihingen (Enz) Reichsbahnhof ("national station") in 1923 and Vaihingen (Enz) Nordbahnhof ("north station") in 1950. In 1905 a halt was built close to Sersheim.
  Between 1890 and 1914 Bruchsal station had developed into a hub for rail transport and underwent extensive modifications. The narrow and steep curves (with grades of about 1.0%) between the station and the cemetery tunnel had over time become an obstacle for the heavier trains now running. On 3 December 1898 a wider curve was opened, which included the 424 metre-long Personenzug-Tunnel ("Passenger train tunnel"). Furthermore, between 1903 and 1906 a new freight line was opened. This connected the freight yard, which is on the west side was Bruchsal station, via a bridge over the tracks of the line to Karlsruhe, then through a 780-metre-long Güterzug-Tunnel ("Freight train tunnel") to Ruhstein junction on the Western Railway. This freight bypass was extended on 29 January 1906 by a connection with the Bruhrain Railway to the west for freight, which would otherwise always have had to cross the tracks of the line to Karlsruhe.
  The Western Railway, together with the Durlach–Mühlacker line, had not only regional but national and international significance. In 1914, before the start of World War I, there were nine daily long-distance trains operating on the Bruchsal–Mühlacker–Bietigheim section, connecting western Germany and the Netherlands on one hand and Bavaria and Austria on the other. Trains on 13 major train services operated over the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker–Bietigheim line, including the Paris–Vienna service and the Orient Expres
caption: The former border station of Mühlacker
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