Enz Valley Railway

On 11 June 1868, the Enz Railway was opened, following several trial runs during the previous two months. Initially, it was isolated from the rest of the network of the Württemberg State Railways: passengers from Stuttgart to Bad Wildbad had to use services of the Baden State Railways between Mühlacker and Pforzheim. Only the opening of the Nagold Valley Railway in 1874 allowed an alternative connection from Stuttgart via Weil der Stadt, Calw and Brötzingen to Bad Wildbad. This was a significantly more difficult route than the line via Mühlacker and its only advantage from Württemberg's perspective was that it ran only through Wurttemberg, although in Brötzingen it ran for a few kilometres close to Baden territory. To facilitate these trips a connecting curve was built between the Enz and Nagold Valley Railways bypassing Brötzingen station.

In the first decades of its existence, the market developed very positively on the Enz Valley Railway, and several prominent guests of the resort—for example, in 1903 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands—travelled by train specifically for a cure at Wildbad. In addition to the carriage of passengers to Bad Wildbad, trains, even including at times expresses, were used to carry freight on the final section of the route. The transport of wood and wood products was particularly important. The most important customers for freight for decades were the Krauth & Co. sawmill (at the time Württemberg's largest sawmill) at the former Rotenbach station and the timber yard in the Eyach valley.

As Neuenbürg lies on a sweeping bend of the Enz and the line cuts through the neck of the bend in a tunnel, Neuenbürg station was built to the northeast of the town. To improve the accessibility of the line to Neuenbürg, Neuenbürg Stadt halt was opened southeast of the town on 6 August 1909. In the following years there were plans to duplicate the railway between Calmbach and Wildbad, but their realisation was prevented by the outbreak of World War I.

After the First World War, the route was absorbed by the newly founded Deutsche Reichsbahn and administered by the railway division (Direktion) of Karlsruhe.

In the 1930s, the Nazi organization Strength through Joy (Kraft durch Freude) organised trips on several weekends to Wildbad. In addition, Neuenbürg Stadt station received facilities for handling baggage.

Because the Enz Valley Railway, unlike other Black Forest lines, had no connecting lines and had no military significance, it was largely spared from attack during the Second World War. An attempt to bomb the bridge at Neuenbürg missed its target and instead hit one at nearby Schlossberg.

After the Second World War, services on the Enz Valley Railway were resumed on 10 July 1945.

Bad Wildbad station in spring 2002 before the Stadtbahn upgrade

In the second half of the 20th century the line increasingly lost its importance. This was due to the increasing competition from cars and trucks, the decline in the traditional tourist traffic to Wildbad and the importance of companies such as the Krauth & Co sawmill.

Although Deutsche Bundesbahn attempted to counteract competition through the use of railbuses and the replacement of steam by diesel locomotives from 1962, it could not stem the loss of traffic. The signal boxes in Neuenbürg and Bad Wildbad were rationalised and replaced by more modern equipment in 1976 and the stations of Birkenfeld, Höfen and Calmbach were subsequently downgraded to halts, so that it was only possible for trains to cross in Neuenbürg. Rotenbach station was closed for freight transport in 1964 and for passenger traffic in 1975. The same fate had occurred in Engelsbrand as early as 1960 due to its remote location.

The decline in traffic to the spa at Bad Wildbad led to the abandonment of express trains. Since 1950, the only long-distance connections remaining on the line had been single through coaches from at least as far away as Dortmund and from Emden. These were abandoned in 1995 to reduce costs. In 1988, class 628 diesel multiple units replaced the railbuses. The loss of freight and low passenger numbers meant that the line was threatened with closure.

An initiative of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (Alb Valley Transport Company, AVG) brought a new approach to the line. Following its success on the neighbouring Alb Valley Railway from Karlsruhe to Bad Herrenalb, it suggested in March 1995 that the line be adapted for light rail (stadtbahn) operations. The attractiveness of the line in Bad Wildbad would be increased if it was extended to the spa park (Kurpark).

Construction train on the Enz Bridge south of the Schlossberg Tunnel in Neuenbürg

With the political support of the state of Baden-Württemberg and the adjacent municipalities and districts, the line was taken over by AVG on 1 January 2000 under a 25 years lease from Deutsche Bahn and the line began to be converted for light rail operations. This included the modernisation of the tracks, the electrification of the line and the renovation of Brötzingen station; the unused station building still stands at the 0 kilometre mark. New stations were established at Maihälden Pforzheim, Brötzingen Sandweg, Brötzingen Wohnlichstraße, Neuenbürg Freibad, Rotenbach, Eyachbrücke, Höfen Nord, Calmbach Süd and Bad Wildbad Nord; one more stations at Pforzheim Durlacher Straße is planned. Calmbach station became a crossing station and new signals were installed.

In addition, the line in Bad Wildbad was extended by one kilometre to Kurpark and this section, due to space limitations, was designed as a light railway line and electrified at 750 V DC, while the line between Pforzheim and Bad Wildbad station was electrified with the mainline railway system (15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz). As a result, only the two-system sets of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn can be used on the last kilometre of the line. The cost of reconstructing the line for Stadtbahn operations totalled DM 59.9 million.

Rail operations were launched in two stages: on 14 December 2002, operations commenced between Pforzheim and Bad Wildbad station; services were extended to Bad Wildbad Kurpark on 4 October 2003. The introduction of Stadtbahn operation also involved more frequent trains and expanded hours of operation.

Since 25 May 2014, the line has been controlled from the Karlsruhe central control centre. The line has been acquired by the AVG.[4]