Recent from talks
Katzbach Railway
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Katzbach Railway
The Katzbach Railway (German: Katzbachbahn) is a branch line in southwestern Germany from Bruchsal to Odenheim that opened in 1896, and was extended in 1900 to Hilsbach. In 1960 services between Tiefenbach and Hilsbach were withdrawn, in 1975 the section between Odenheim Ost and Tiefenbach followed and, in 1986, the 600-metre-long section from Odenheim station to Odenheim Ost was closed. Since 1994 the line has been operated by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG), who electrified it in 1998 and integrated it into the network of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn.
The line follows its namesake, the Katzbach stream, from Stettfeld to Odenheim. Together with the neighbouring Kraich Valley Railway from Bruchsal to Menzingen, with which it shares a common trackbed as far as Ubstadt Ort, it has formed a single operating unit since its inception.
After Bruchsal station, the Katzbach line runs together with the Kraich Valley Railway as a single track parallel with the Rhine Valley Railway through the stations of Bruchsal Schlossgarten and Bruchsal Stegwiesen before it leaves the main line for Ubstadt Ort, where it separates from the Kraich Valley Railway. The Katzbach Railway continues straight on to Ubstadt Uhlandstraße station and runs to Stettfeld next to the Kraichbach. At Stettfeld, it turns to climb beside the Katzbach and passes through the hilly landscape of the Kraichgau. After it has passed through Zeutern, it reaches the current end of the line at Odenheim.
The current line follows two river valleys, while the topographical conditions of the closed section to Hilsbach was much more difficult, which is the reason it was built later.
Before the Baden-Württemberg administrative reform of 1973, the towns along the railway line from Bruchsal to Odenheim were in the district of Bruchsal, while the remaining municipalities (Tiefenbach, Eichelberg, Elsenz and Hilsbach) were part of the district of Sinsheim. The line was ultimately closed because the connection to Sinsheim was never completed and patronage on the last section of the line was rather low.
Since the administrative reform both the municipalities and the districts that include the places along the line have become a bit more complicated: from Ubstadt to Zeutern the Katzbach line is within the municipality of Ubstadt-Weiher; Odenheim, Tiefenbach and Eichelberg are now municipality of Östringen, Elsenz is now part of Eppingen and Hilsbach is part of Sinsheim. Thus, the historic Katzbach line passes through three districts: the district of Karlsruhe from Bruchsal to Eichelberg, the district of Heilbronn in Elsenz and the former section to its terminus Hilsbach is part of the Rhein-Neckar district.
A cycle path that runs on the route of the old line begins on the other side of the street immediately after the current end of the line at Odenheim. Only a few metres after the start of the closed section there is a train signal, which was forgotten during the dismantling of the line. Near the next level crossing was the location of Odenheim Ost station, which was the end of the line from 1975 to 1986. At the eastern edge of Odenheim, the line was demolished over a length of about three hundred metres for the realignment of state highway 552.
In Tiefenbach, the former line has also been converted into a cycle path. The railway viaduct over the Katzbach valley in Eichelberg is still preserved. It was renovated in 1988 by the City of Östringen at a cost of 155,000 Deutsche Marks and converted into a hiking and biking trail. The Elsenz station building has now been converted into residential accommodation; elsewhere in Elsenz the route of the line has been built on, but some sleepers still exist in Elsenz. Between Elsenz and Hilsbach the line climbs almost entirely through meadows and fields. There are also other smaller bridges over streams, including in Tiefenbach and Hilsbach, which are now used for hiking trails.
Hub AI
Katzbach Railway AI simulator
(@Katzbach Railway_simulator)
Katzbach Railway
The Katzbach Railway (German: Katzbachbahn) is a branch line in southwestern Germany from Bruchsal to Odenheim that opened in 1896, and was extended in 1900 to Hilsbach. In 1960 services between Tiefenbach and Hilsbach were withdrawn, in 1975 the section between Odenheim Ost and Tiefenbach followed and, in 1986, the 600-metre-long section from Odenheim station to Odenheim Ost was closed. Since 1994 the line has been operated by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG), who electrified it in 1998 and integrated it into the network of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn.
The line follows its namesake, the Katzbach stream, from Stettfeld to Odenheim. Together with the neighbouring Kraich Valley Railway from Bruchsal to Menzingen, with which it shares a common trackbed as far as Ubstadt Ort, it has formed a single operating unit since its inception.
After Bruchsal station, the Katzbach line runs together with the Kraich Valley Railway as a single track parallel with the Rhine Valley Railway through the stations of Bruchsal Schlossgarten and Bruchsal Stegwiesen before it leaves the main line for Ubstadt Ort, where it separates from the Kraich Valley Railway. The Katzbach Railway continues straight on to Ubstadt Uhlandstraße station and runs to Stettfeld next to the Kraichbach. At Stettfeld, it turns to climb beside the Katzbach and passes through the hilly landscape of the Kraichgau. After it has passed through Zeutern, it reaches the current end of the line at Odenheim.
The current line follows two river valleys, while the topographical conditions of the closed section to Hilsbach was much more difficult, which is the reason it was built later.
Before the Baden-Württemberg administrative reform of 1973, the towns along the railway line from Bruchsal to Odenheim were in the district of Bruchsal, while the remaining municipalities (Tiefenbach, Eichelberg, Elsenz and Hilsbach) were part of the district of Sinsheim. The line was ultimately closed because the connection to Sinsheim was never completed and patronage on the last section of the line was rather low.
Since the administrative reform both the municipalities and the districts that include the places along the line have become a bit more complicated: from Ubstadt to Zeutern the Katzbach line is within the municipality of Ubstadt-Weiher; Odenheim, Tiefenbach and Eichelberg are now municipality of Östringen, Elsenz is now part of Eppingen and Hilsbach is part of Sinsheim. Thus, the historic Katzbach line passes through three districts: the district of Karlsruhe from Bruchsal to Eichelberg, the district of Heilbronn in Elsenz and the former section to its terminus Hilsbach is part of the Rhein-Neckar district.
A cycle path that runs on the route of the old line begins on the other side of the street immediately after the current end of the line at Odenheim. Only a few metres after the start of the closed section there is a train signal, which was forgotten during the dismantling of the line. Near the next level crossing was the location of Odenheim Ost station, which was the end of the line from 1975 to 1986. At the eastern edge of Odenheim, the line was demolished over a length of about three hundred metres for the realignment of state highway 552.
In Tiefenbach, the former line has also been converted into a cycle path. The railway viaduct over the Katzbach valley in Eichelberg is still preserved. It was renovated in 1988 by the City of Östringen at a cost of 155,000 Deutsche Marks and converted into a hiking and biking trail. The Elsenz station building has now been converted into residential accommodation; elsewhere in Elsenz the route of the line has been built on, but some sleepers still exist in Elsenz. Between Elsenz and Hilsbach the line climbs almost entirely through meadows and fields. There are also other smaller bridges over streams, including in Tiefenbach and Hilsbach, which are now used for hiking trails.
Recent media