page_title: Württemberg Central Railway
section_title: Further expansion of the network
hierarchical_section_title: Württemberg Central Railway / Later developments / Further expansion of the network
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Zwei Dampflokomotiven Württembergische III mit Personenzug im Bahnhof Ludwigsburg. English: Two steam locomotives Württemberg III with train in Ludwigsburg.
context_page_description: The Central Railway was the first phase of the Württemberg railways. It was built between 1844 and 1846 by the Royal Württemberg State Railways and consisted of two branches, running from Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg in the north and from Stuttgart to Esslingen in the east.
  The term Zentralbahn did not last long, as the two branches were soon extended to Heilbronn and Ulm, and were then known as the Nordbahn and the Ostbahn or Filsbahn. The Ludwigsburg–Stuttgart–Esslingen section as a whole was still of great importance, since it continued to be the core of the network and was the busiest section of the Württemberg railways and it also served the largest metropolitan area in the country. For these reasons, it has undergone many changes and enhancements over time.
context_section_description: In the following years the Württemberg railway network rapidly expanded. In 1850, railways reached Heilbronn and Friedrichshafen; in 1854, there were rail connections to Württemberg's two main neighbours, Baden and Bavaria. From 1859 there were further domestic lines that branched off from the main lines, the most important for Stuttgart was the Upper Neckar Railway from 1859, the Rems Railway from 1861, the Württemberg Black Forest Railway in 1868 and the Gäu Railway (Stuttgart–Freudenstadt) 1879. Each of these line openings extended the catchment area of Stuttgart, this and the general increase in passenger and freight traffic made sure that traffic to the Stuttgart station continued to increase. For this reason, the remaining portions of the Central Railway were duplicated between 1858 and 1861.
caption: Ludwigsburg station in 1860
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