Stuttgart Rosenstein | Stuttgart Rosenstein and the Gäubahn railway
Website Grafiken Gäubahn8 Max Kovalenko

Stuttgart Rosenstein and the Gäubahn railway

How is the urban development project connected to the Gäubahn railway line? With the exception of Maker City, Stuttgart Rosenstein cannot be developed until the underground station has been put into operation and the above-ground tracks of the current main station have been dismantled. For this reason, the Gäubahn cannot be viewed entirely independently of the urban development project, as the connection of this line also correlates with the operation of the current and future stations. Why is this the case?

Website Grafiken Gäubahn9
An overview of the entire route of the Gäubahn railway.

The Gäubahn is the name given to the railway line from Stuttgart via Singen (Hohentwiel) to the Swiss border. The 155-kilometer line is an important part of the rail network in southwestern Germany. With its continuation to Zurich, it is an important north-south connection. The Gäubahn line serves Singen, Böblingen, Herrenberg, Horb, Sulz am Neckar, Rottweil, and Tuttlingen, among other towns.

The current situation: The section between Stuttgart-Vaihingen and Stuttgart city center is also known as the Panoramabahn (Panorama Railway) because of the views it offers. Coming from the south, the route passes the Wagenhallenquartier district and the Nordbahnhof station. From there, it descends via the so-called Gleisbogen (track curve) into the track field of Stuttgart's terminus station.

Website Grafiken Gäubahn
The current route of the Gäubahn railway in Stuttgart.

Long-term planning: As part of the Stuttgart–Ulm rail project, the Stuttgart rail hub will be reorganized (Stuttgart 21). Deutsche Bahn's plans envisage connecting the Gäubahn line to the new through station in Stuttgart via the planned Pfaffensteig Tunnel and the airport. This planned route will replace the existing route.


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The planned future route of the Gäubahn railway line towards Stuttgart.

The trains will then no longer run via Stuttgart-Vaihingen and the Panoramabahn, but will stop at the airport and continue to Stuttgart city center (main station). However, this new route will only be possible a few years after the underground station has been put into operation.

For this reason, an interim has been devised: until the new line and the Pfaffensteig tunnel are completed, Deutsche Bahn plans to provide a transfer connection in Stuttgart-Vaihingen as a temporary solution. Passengers will then change to the S-Bahn at Vaihingen station. Vaihingen station has been upgraded to a regional station to enable a smooth transfer. From there, passengers can take the S-Bahn to Stuttgart Central Station. According to current plans, this interim solution will be necessary for around seven years after the terminus station is taken out of service.

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Häufig gestellte Fragen zur Anbindung der Gäubahn

What are Stuttgart's plans?

The vision for Stuttgart Rosenstein
Website Header Vision Überwerfungsbauwerk

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