Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt–Nördlingen railway

1861 timetable

Thus, on 25 July 1861[6] the line opened from Cannstatt via Waiblingen, Schorndorf, Gmünd and Aalen to Wasseralfingen. This was the location of the Schwäbische Hüttenwerke, then a major state steelworks. This steelworks delivered all of its steel that was moved by rail via the Rems line until the mid-1860s.[7] The fastest regular service at the time ran between Wasseralfingen and Stuttgart in 2 hours, 55 minutes.

The line was equipped with signalman's houses about once every kilometre and with an electric telegraph.[7] In 1863, the second section to Nördlingen was opened, connecting the Rems line to the Bavarian Ludwig South-North Railway. This was after the line crossing the border at Ulm/Neu-Ulm (now part of the Ulm–Augsburg railway), the second link built between the railways of Württemberg and Bavaria. The 3.75 km section between the border and the Bavarian town of Nördlingen was operated by the Württemberg State Railways on lease. There was a separate entrance in the Nördlingen terminus, with its own hall for the Rems Railway.[8]

The line was initially built as a single track, but duplication was planned from the outset. It was duplicated from Cannstatt to Fellbach in 1864, Waiblingen in 1876, Schorndorf in 1899, Lorch in 1902, Deinbach in 1905, Gmünd in 1910, Unterböbingen in 1920,[7] then Essingen, and Aalen in 1926.[9] The Aalen–Goldshöfe line was duplicated in 1866,[7] completing the duplication achieved to date.

On 1 May 1897, the connecting line was opened from Untertürkheim to the Rems line towards Fellbach. It opens just before the site of the current Rems line Nürnberger Straße station, creating a triangular junction between Bad Cannstatt, Untertürkheim and Nürnberger Straße. Its purpose was, together with today's Schuster Railway (Schusterbahn, then called the Kornwestheim–Untertürkheim line), to relieve Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof of freight traffic.[10]

Haldenbach Viaduct in Endersbach

At the end of World War II, the German military blew up the viaduct over the Haldenbach west of Endersbach station and the bridge over the Kocher west of Aalen, so that the intervening places were only accessible via the Hohenstaufen Railway from Schwäbisch Gmünd to Göppingen on the Fils Railway. Pioneers of the U.S. Army built a temporary bridge in Endersbach, so that in August 1945 the line was accessible again. Traffic was also restored over the Kocher in Aalen during the summer of 1945.[11]

The Rems Railway was electrified, starting from Stuttgart, to Waiblingen in 1949, to Schorndorf in 1962, to Aalen in 1971 and in 1972 on the Ries Railway from Aalen to Nördlingen and Donauwörth. The line was electrified as an alternative route for traffic between Stuttgart and Munich to the line via Ulm for the Olympic Games in Munich.[12]

Flyover between Fellbach and Waiblingen (2006). Left: the fifth track opened in 2005. Right: another running line covered by the flyover

From 1978 to 1981, a third and fourth track were built on the Bad Cannstatt–Waiblingen section and a flying junction was built between Fellbach and Waiblingen where the Murr railway branches off, so that in 1981 Stuttgart S-Bahn services could operate to Backnang and Schorndorf.

In 1983 and 1984 a portion of the Rheingold ran from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Stuttgart and over the Rems line, continuing to Nördlingen and Donauwörth to Munich. This route was chosen for touristic reasons despite the longer travel time. The route, however, had low patronage and lacked compatibility with the reinstated InterCity system.

The electrification of the line from Goldshöfe via Crailsheim to Nuremberg in 1985 allowed trains on the Rems line to Nuremberg, which had previously been hauled by diesel locomotives, to be electrically hauled.

In the early 1980s, Deutsche Bundesbahn introduced approximately hourly expresses on the line. For the summer 1988 timetable, modernised vehicles were introduced running hourly all day.[13] These trains ran from the summer 1989 timetable under the generic name of RegionalSchnellBahn ("regional fast rail").

In 1996, the interval between Stuttgart S-Bahn services was reduced in the peak period from 20 minutes to 15 minutes. Before its introduction, Deutsche Bundesbahn had suggested that the increase in services would require additional tracks on the section between Waiblingen and Schorndorf, which was almost at capacity with the combined operation of S-Bahn and other trains on it. However, a report by RWTH Aachen University in 1993 came to the conclusion that the planned operations could be realised by shortening signal blocks on the line and modifying Waiblingen station. Deutsche Bundesbahn agreed to implement these measures in 1993[14] and new signalling was implemented on the Waiblingen–Schorndorf section with the Ks-Signalsystem.

It was found that the timetable was still vulnerable to disruptions.[15] To resolve this, a fifth track was installed in about 2000 on the section between Fellbach and Waiblingen, so that long-distance and S-Bahn trains could run from Fellbach to Waiblingen towards Schorndorf at the same time.[16]

Simultaneously with these upgrades for passenger traffic, freight facilities were dismantled everywhere, as elsewhere in Germany at this time, and in particular the operation of small and medium-sized railway sidings and freight yards were closed. But the once large freight yard at Schwäbisch Gmünd is also now closed.

From December 2002 to December 2003, the line was closed due to a landslide on the Bildwasen Tunnel between Lauchheim and Aufhausen . The east portal of the tunnel was then extensively renovated.[4]

Until 2006, night trains ran via Aalen on the Stuttgart–Dresden and Stuttgart–Prague routes. The trains in the opposite direction ran alternatively via Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental.

The line was renovated in 2009 and, among other things, around 68 kilometres of track and 47 sets of points were renewed.[17] The platforms at the Westhausen, Lauchheim, Aufhausen, Bopfingen and Pflaumloch stations were also rebuilt to provide accessibility. From 24 April to 15 October 2009, the line between Schorndorf and Nördlingen was completely closed in two construction phases. During the closure there was a rail replacement bus service for local transport. During this time, Intercity Line 61 (Nuremberg–Karlsruhe) was diverted between Crailsheim and Waiblingen via Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental. The project cost €50 million.[18] Further renovation work related to the Schorndorf–Waiblingen section and was carried out from July to September 2013. The S2 therefore only ran every half hour during peak hour and the Regional-Express between Aalen and Stuttgart every hour. The section was completely closed from 30 August to 2 September 2013 and a rail replacement service was established.[19][20]

On 9 June 2019, Go-Ahead Verkehrsgesellschaft Deutschland took over regional services on the Waiblingen–Aalen section from DB Regio Baden-Württemberg. A depot with a workshop was built in Essingen.[21]

The line between Bad Cannstatt and Waiblingen was completely closed from 12 May to 9 June 2023 for work on the Waiblingen digital interlocking.[22]

Lines S 2 and S 3 of the Stuttgart S-Bahn serve the Stuttgart–Waiblingen section and line S2 serves the Waiblingen–Schorndorf section.

The MEX 13 service from Stuttgart to Aalen operate every 30 minutes on weekdays, every hour to Ellwangen and every two hours to Crailsheim. Intermediate stops are Bad Cannstatt, Waiblingen, Schorndorf and then all stations. This is supplemented by the IRE 1 Interregio-Express service, which runs every two hours between Karlsruhe and Aalen, with intermediate stops in Schorndorf and Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Between Aalen and Donauwörth, regional trains on line RB 89 run every hour from Monday to Friday. Until the 2022/2023 timetable change, operations were operated by DB Regio Bayern as part of the E-Netz Augsburg under the name Fugger-Express. In December 2022, Go-Ahead took over from DB Bayern. Since then, the hourly service has run daily (previously every two hours on weekends). In addition, trains continue every two hours as RE 89 via Donauwörth to/from Augsburg and Munich.

The carriages used in regional transport until 2015 were mainly renovated Silberling carriages.[24] From the timetable change on 12 December 2010, Regional-Express trains at weekends largely consisted of double-deck carriages built from 1994 to 1996.[25] Since 1 February 2016, six trains were also operated with double-deck coaches from Monday to Friday.[26] From 1 October 2016 to 8 June 2019, only double-decker coaches ran on the RE lines. Since Go-Ahead took over operations on 9 June 2019, Stadler FLIRT multiple units have been used.

Siemens Mireo electric multiple units are operated by Go-Ahead Bayern between Aalen and Donauwörth.

One InterCity service, IC 61 runs at two-hour intervals on the Karlsruhe–Nuremberg route, stopping in Stuttgart, Schwäbisch Gmünd and Aaalen. One pair of trains, extending to and from Leipzig, also stops in Schorndorf at the end of the day.

• Seidel, Kurt (1987). Die Remsbahn. Schienenwege in Ostwürttemberg (in German). Stuttgart: Theiss. ISBN 3-8062-0483-7.
• Zeitler, Walther; Hufschläger, Helge (1980). Die Eisenbahn in Schwaben (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-761-0.
• Wedler, Jürgen; Thömmes, Manfred; Schott, Olaf (1993). Bundesbahndirektion Stuttgart, Deutsche Bundesbahn (ed.). Die Bilanz. 25 Jahre Planung und Bau der S-Bahn Stuttgart (in German). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. p. 352. ISBN 3-925565-03-5.
• Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland [German railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2017. ISBN 978-3-89494-146-8.