A new timetable is always something of an early Christmas present: wrapped like a gift, the changes for December 11 will please some, surprise others, and one or the other will be disappointed. A lot is changing, especially in the East.
Stuttgart (dpa/lsw) - New trains will be on the move, some of them on new routes, the intervals are to become more frequent and electric trains are increasingly replacing the diesel variant: With the new timetable on December 11th, a lot will change in regional rail traffic in Baden -Württemberg promises to change. "There is an increase of around 4.16 million train kilometers," said Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens) on Friday. According to state information, trains in Baden-Württemberg's rail network then cover a total of 94.92 million kilometers - that's more than 123 trips to the moon and back.
The biggest innovation: With the timetable change, the new line from Wendlingen to Ulm will go into operation. You should redeem some of the promises made around the multi-billion dollar railway project Stuttgart-Ulm. The offer of the so-called Metropolexpresse (MEX) around Stuttgart will also be completed and the offer on the Regio-S-Bahn Donau-Iller around Ulm will be expanded. In the future, fast regional express trains of DB Regio will operate between Heilbronn, the Kraichgau, Karlsruhe and the Murg Valley with new trains and shorter travel times. And gaps in commuter traffic between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart are to be closed.
Some of the changes in detail:
NEW CONSTRUCTION LINE - The approximately 60-kilometer-long component of the Stuttgart-Ulm railway project is intended to reduce the travel time between Stuttgart and Ulm by around 15 minutes. At the same time, the daily range of long-distance transport between Stuttgart and Munich is growing by around 20 to 90 journeys, according to Bahn. The station in Merklingen/Schwäbische Alb, which is served every hour between Wendlingen and Ulm via the new IRE 200 line, will be connected to regional traffic. The fly in the ointment of the so-called preliminary operation: The route only covers part of the planned route between Stuttgart and Ulm. Depending on the direction of travel, you will brake before or after Wendlingen. Because of the high route loads between Wendlingen, Plochingen and Stuttgart, the regional trains cannot be routed directly to Stuttgart, according to Bahn. In Wendlingen it means "change" in regional traffic and continue with the Neckar-Alb-Bahn.
METROPOL EXPRESS TRAINS - With the new Metropolis Express (MEX) connections, the number of journeys should also increase and the frequency from Pforzheim Hbf, Heilbronn Hbf and Tübingen Hbf to Stuttgart Hbf should be tighter. Almost all previous regional train/regional express connections that lead to the state capital will in future operate as MEX.
AROUND KARLSRUHE - Between Heilbronn, the Kraichgau, Karlsruhe and the Murg Valley, a lot of regional transport is being reorganized. In the future, DB Regio will run fast regional express trains, while AVG will take care of the S-Bahn trains. In addition to new connections in Heilbronn and Karlsruhe, travel time gains of up to 20 minutes are promised for many connections. In the direction of Stuttgart, the time gaps on the IRE 1 from Karlsruhe are to be closed at the weekend, so that all trains with a few exceptions are now running daily. "Thus, together with the IC, which runs every two hours, there is a 30-minute cycle," says the state.
RHEINEBENE - The number of journeys between Menzingen, Odenheim and Bruchsal is to increase sharply, in the future at least two trains per hour will run on each route. In the evening rush hour, a new regional train from Weinheim to Mannheim is offered. In addition, the new Schwetzingen-Hirschacker station goes into operation.
DONAU-ILLER - In the area of the Regio S-Bahn Donau-Iller, according to information from the state and railway, there is also more rail travel. Among other things, the half-hourly service between Ulm and Herrlingen (line RS 3) and between Ulm and Biberach (RS 2 and RS 21) will be introduced and night traffic on the southern railway will be expanded. The last train to Friedrichshafen leaves Ulm after midnight and reaches Friedrichshafen at 1:16 am.
