Enz Valley Railway
Encyclopedia
The Enz Valley Railway (German: Enztalbahn or Enzbahn) is a 23.6 km (14.7 mi) long railway line in the northern part of the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The line runs from Pforzheim
Pforzheim
Pforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...
to Bad Wildbad
Bad Wildbad
Bad Wildbad is a town in Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the government district of Karlsruhe and in the district of Calw. Its coordinates are 48° 45' N, 8° 33' E. About 11,250 people live there...
and, for much of its course, runs alongside the River Enz
Enz
The Enz is a left tributary of the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg.It is 112 km long.Its headstreams – the Little Enz and the Big Enz – rise in the northern Black Forest, the latter at Enzklösterle. In Calmbach , the Little Enz and the Big Enz join to form the Enz. The river passes through...
.
History
The Enztalbahn was opened by the Grand Duchy of Baden State RailwayGrand Duchy of Baden State Railway
The Grand Duchy of Baden was an independent state in what is now southwestern Germany until the creation of the German Empire in 1871. It had its own state-owned railway company, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways , which was founded in 1840...
on 11 June 1868 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. Until 2002 it was a single-tracked, non-electrified branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
of limited importance.
Subsequently, the line was taken over by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft
The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft is a company, which is owned 100% by the city of Karlsruhe and operates rail and bus services in the Karlsruhe area....
(AVG), and became line S6 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn. The Enztalbahn itself was electrified to the normal German mainline railway system of 15 kV
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
, 16⅔ Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
. However at the same time a street tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way extension was constructed serving two further stops in the centre of Bad Wildbad, and this was electrified at 750 V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
. The AVG operates the line using members of its fleet of dual-voltage tram-train
Tram-train
A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run both on an urban tramway network and on main-line railways to combine the tram's flexibility and availability and the train's greater speed...
s.
After its takeover by the AVG, and its upgrade into a Stadtbahn route, more trains could be laid on and the number of passengers has climbed significantly.
Operation
The passenger services of the Enztalbahn are provided by route S6 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, which are operated by the Albtal-Verkehrs-GesellschaftAlbtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft
The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft is a company, which is owned 100% by the city of Karlsruhe and operates rail and bus services in the Karlsruhe area....
. The basic service frequency is one train per hour, with an additional train at some times of day. The S6 terminates at Pforzheim Hauptbahnhof
Pforzheim Hauptbahnhof
is the main station in the city of Pforzheim in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.-Rail services :Pforzheim Hauptbahnhof is served by several lines operated at regular intervals, including an Interregio-Express/ Regional-Express line, a Regionalbahn line and two Karlsruhe Stadtbahn lines...
, but connects there with services on the Karlsruhe Stadbahn's route S5, which operates through to Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
itself. At its penultimate stop in Bad Wildbad, the S6 also connects with the Sommerbergbahn
Sommerbergbahn
The Sommerbergbahn is a funicular railway in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It runs from Bad Wildbad to the top of the Wildbader Sommerberg, which gives good views over the town, with one intermediate stop....
funicular railway
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
.
External links
- http://www.enzthalbahn.de/Historical page on the Enz Railway before its conversion to a StadtbahnStadtbahnA ' is a tramway or light railway that includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the building of tunnels in the central city area....
line]