The Enz Valley Railway (Enztalbahn or Enzbahn) is a long railway line in the northern part of the Black Forest in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The line runs from Pforzheim to Bad Wildbad and for its course runs close to the River Enz.
The line was opened by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway on 11 June 1868 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. It is now integrated into the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn as line S 6.
Route
The Enz Valley line is located in the northern Black Forest and the entire line runs along the Enz river. From Pforzheim Central Station to Brötzingen Wohnlichstraße it runs within the limits of the city of Pforzheim, from Birkenfeld to Neuenbürg Eyachbrücke it runs through Enzkreis and the rest of the line runs through the Calw district. It runs through the five municipalities of Pforzheim, Birkenfeld, Neuenbürg, Höfen an der Enz and Bad Wildbad.
The line begins in Pforzheim station, where there are connections to the line from Karlsruhe to Mühlacker. Since 2002, the Enz Valley Railway has run together with the Nagold Valley Railway from to Horb on a two-track line through Pforzheim to Brötzingen Mitte station. Previously, the two lines had run parallel as independent single-track lines.
From Brötzingen the line follows the valley of the Enz through Birkenfeld, Neuenbürg, Höfen an der Enz to Calmbach (part of the municipality of Bad Wildbad since 1974) and then the valley of the Großen Enz to Bad Wildbad. In Neuenbürg the line twice crosses the Enz and passes under Schlossberg (hill) through a 135-metre-long tunnel.
At its penultimate stop in Bad Wildbad, the S6 also connects with the Sommerbergbahn funicular railway.
The line to Bad Wildbad is equipped with the 15 kV AC overhead electrification system used by Deutsche Bahn. The extension of the line from Bad Wildbad station through the town of Bad Wildbad is electrified as a tramway with 750 V DC. The terminus of the line is located at the entrance to the spa.
History
The Kingdom of Württemberg had been planning to build a railway to Wildbad from the 1850s. Already during the construction of the Württemberg Western Railway from Stuttgart to Bruchsal and the construction of the connecting line from Pforzheim via Mühlacker to Karlsruhe by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway, the possibility of building a railway into the Enz valley was considered. The reason for this comparatively early planning was primarily the former importance of Bad Wildbad as a spa, which was favoured by the kings of Württemberg. The construction of the railway line would make the journey of aristocrats as pleasant as possible and promote the importance of Bad Wildbad as a fashionable resort.
There was a problem, however, in that the limitations of railway technology at the time meant that the line through the Enz valley could only run through Pforzheim, which was in the Grand Duchy of Baden, so a treaty between Württemberg and Baden was necessary to regulate the construction of the railway. Württemberg secured the right to build the Enz Valley Railway and Nagold Valley Railway through Pforzheim station in 1863. In return the Baden government was able to build the line from Karlsruhe to Mühlacker, where it would connect with the Western Railway to Stuttgart. Thus the government of Württemberg introduced two bills on 26 April 1858 that would ensure the construction of the railway from Pforzheim to Wildbad. These were enacted on 17 November 1858. The construction work began in 1865 under the leadership of Carl Julius Abel. The Royal Württemberg State Railways built a separate wing of Pforzheim station southwest of the facilities of the Baden State Railways. At the same time construction work began on the already planned Nagold Valley Railway from Pforzheim to Calw, with the track formation prepared for two tracks, with the northern path reserved for the Enz Valley Railway and the southern path reserved for the Nagold Valley Railway.