Busenbach–Ittersbach railway

Overview

Locale

Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Line number

9421

Technical

Line length

14.4 km (8.9 mi)

Track gauge

1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge

Old gauge

1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge

Electrification

750 V DC overhead

Maximum incline

0.4%

Route number

710.1

Route map

Alb Valley Railway from Karlsruhe

0.0

Busenbach

171 m

Alb Valley Railway to Bad Herrenalb

2.0

Reichenbach Kurpark (since 1972)

2.6

Reichenbach Bahnhof

258 m

Langensteinbach Schießhüttenäcker

(since 2011)

4.9

Langensteinbach

253 m

5.7

Langensteinbach St. Barbara

(since 1975)

5.8

St. Barbara turning loop (since 1975)

Langensteinbach Erholungsheim

(1932–1964)

Langensteinbach Süd (1966–1975)

Turning loop 1966–1975

8.2

Spielberg (since 1975 and until 1964)

348 m

11.5

Ittersbach Industrie

(since 1975 and 1944–1964)

Ittersbach Waldecke (until 1964)

13.8

Ittersbach Bahnhof

308 m

to Pforzheim (until 1968)

14.4

Ittersbach Rathaus

(since 1975, with turning loop)

Source: German railway atlas

The Busenbach–Ittersbach railway is a line in the northern Black Forest in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The mostly single-track and continuously electrified line branches in Waldbronn-Busenbach from the Alb Valley Railway (German: Albtalbahn)—with which it is closely linked operationally and historically—and runs as a branch line to Ittersbach. The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (Alb Valley Transport Company, AVG) is responsible for the railway infrastructure and is the only company operating on the 14.4 kilometre-long line. Originally the Busenbach–Ittersbach railway was operated together with the Ittersbach to Pforzheim line, which later became the Pforzheim Light Railway (Pforzheimer Kleinbahn). The whole line from Busenbach to Pforzheim was initially built to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge, later the section from Busenbach to Ittersbach was rebuilt to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge and the Pforzheim Light Railway was closed. The line has been operated as part of line S 11 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn since 1994.

The opening of the Alb Valley Railway from Karlsruhe to Busenbach on 14 May 1898 was followed by the opening of the Busenbach–Ittersbach section on 10 April 1899. These lines were originally metre gauge. The extension to Brötzingen, then a suburb of Pforzheim, followed on 2 January 1900. The line was initially operated with steam locomotives.

In 1898, the Busenbach–Ittersbach and the Alb Valley lines were taken over by the Badische Lokal-Eisenbahnen Aktiengesellschaft (Baden Local Railway Company, BLEAG), a newly formed subsidiary of the Westdeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (West German Railway Company, WeEG).

In 1911, the line from Busenbach to Ittersbach was electrified with single-phase AC at 8,000 volts 25 Hz (later increased to 8,800 volts). Technical problems and a lack of thermal coal forced the BLEAG in 1917 to abandon electrical service on the branch line from Busenbach and later to remove the overhead wiring.

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Wikipedia