page_title: Heilbronn Stadtbahn
section_title: East–west line
hierarchical_section_title: Heilbronn Stadtbahn / History / East–west line
context_page_description: The Heilbronn Stadtbahn is a three line tram-train system in city of Heilbronn in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is based on the Karlsruhe model and operated jointly by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft, the Stadtwerke Heilbronn and Deutsche Bahn AG. It operates on normal railways under the Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsordnung and within Heilbronn under the Verordnung über den Bau und Betrieb der Straßenbahnen.
  The oldest line of the system, the S4, was an extension of an existing line that had been operated by the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn since 1992. It was extended in 1999 from Eppingen to Heilbronn and since 2001 it has continued over the new Heilbronn inner-city line. In 2005, the line was extended to Öhringen, which is integrated into the Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr, a transport association that is responsible for coordinating fares and transport investment. In 2013, the new S42 service was opened to Neckarsulm. Since 2014, this service has continued via Bad Friedrichshall to Sinsheim, while the new S41 service also runs via Bad Friedrichshall to Mosbach.
context_section_description: The introduction of a Stadtbahn network on the Karlsruhe model was first discussed in 1991, over 35 years after the last Heilbronn tram ran. The public transport scheme that was subsequently developed was approved by the Heilbronn council on 6 September 1994. Even then, it was intended that today's S4 line would be the first service put into operation. An important step in this direction was made in June 1997 with the extension of Karlsruhe Stadtbahn line S4 to  Eppingen in the western part of the Heilbronn district.
  In anticipation of the new Stadtbahn line, tracks were already laid on Kaiserstraße during its reconstruction in 1998. As of 12 March 1998, the Stadtbahn ran between Eppingen and Heilbronn Hauptbahnhof, at first only on weekends, but from 27 September of the same year it ran all week. In parallel, the first section of the inner-city route to Harmonie was designed. Construction work on the track began in June 2000. The first test train ran on the track on 4 June 2001 and services commenced on 21 June.
  The course of the route to Pfühlpark was finally determined on 5 July 2001 before the opening of the first section of track. Construction started on 9 September 2003, including the demolition of the bridge of the closed Bottwar Valley Railway (Bottwartalbahn) over Jägerhausstraße since it would have obstructed the line’s overhead wire. This section was opened on 25 November 2004.
  The line was  connected to the Crailsheim–Heilbronn railway on 10 December 2005 and since then line S4 has run to Öhringen. As part of the extension of the Stadtbahn line, Karlstor station, which was on the Hohenlohe Railway in the urban area, was closed.
caption: Terminus of the Stadtbahn in Öhringen-Cappel
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