Neckarelz–Osterburken railway

Mosbach-Neckarelz–Osterburken
Overview
Locale	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Line number	4120
Technical
Line length	30.9 km (19.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	252 m (827 ft)
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC catenary
Operating speed	95km/h (max)
Maximum incline	1.7%
Route number	665.1-2 (until 2003: 708)
Route map Neckar Valley Railway from Heidelberg S 1S 2 50.4 Mosbach-Neckarelz S 41 154 m to Meckesheim (until 1945) Neckar Valley Railway to Jagstfeld S 41 51.4 Mosbach connecting curve   from Hochhausen (1939–ca. 1960) 51.8 former route of the Odenwald Railway (until 1895) 52.5 Mosbach West(since 2003) 53.1 Mosbach (Baden)(until 1997) 151 m 53.4 Mosbach (Baden)(since 1997) S 2S 41 Odenwald Express to Mudau (until 1973) 56.8 Neckarburken 175 m 59.0 Dallau 197 m 60.3 Dallau Tunnel (370 m) 62.4 Auerbach (b Mosbach, Baden) 236 m 66.0 Schefflenz Tunnel (543 m) Schefflenz Valley Railway from Billigheim (until 1965) 67.3 Oberschefflenzformer wedge station 294 m 69.4 Eicholzheim 304 m 70.2 Eicholzheim Tunnel (363 m) 72.2 Truss bridge (412 m) Madonnenland Railway from Miltenberg 73.9 Seckach 270 m 75.3 Seckacher Tunnel (248 m) 76.4 Zimmerer Tunnel (175 m) 76.7 Zimmern (b Seckach) 254 m 78.7 Adelsheim Nord 239 m 79.3 Adelsheim Tunnel (258 m) Franconia Railway from Stuttgart 81.3 OsterburkenTerminus of S 1 247 m Franconia Railway to Würzburg Source: German railway atlas

Source: German railway atlas

The Neckarelz–Osterburken railway is a 30.9 km long railway line in the north of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, which connects the Neckar and the Bauland along the edge of the Odenwald. It was opened in 1866 as part of the Odenwald Railway (Baden) (Odenwaldbahn) between Heidelberg and Würzburg. It has been upgraded to form an entirely double-track and electrified main line railway. It was an east–west axis for German long-distance transport until 1945. Since 2003 passenger services on it have been operated by the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn.

The track today starts at Mosbach-Neckarelz station, where the Neckar Valley Railway branches off. Until about 1960 there was a connecting curve from Mosbach to Hochhausen on the Neckar Valley Railway. Until 1895, the old route of the Odenwald Railway from Obrigheim connected before the line reaches the current site of the Mosbach station, which was built in 1997. The line leaves the Neckar Valley, running along the Elz and Auerbach rivers, to enter an area of karst landscape known as the Bauland. A loop of the Elz is shortened by the Dallau tunnel.

The line tunnels under the watershed between the Elz and the Jagst through Schefflenz Tunnel to reach the Schefflenz valley. It runs through Eicholzheim tunnel to the Seckach valley and in Seckach connects with the Madonnenland Railway to Miltenberg. The line runs through Adelsheim tunnel to the Kirnau valley, where it connects with the Franconia Railway in Osterburken.

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