Stuttgart S-Bahn

:"This article has been partially translated from the German Wikipedia article."

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Current Lines

All lines lead through the city centre of Stuttgart. The northeastern end of the tunnel (from the tracks near "Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof" through "Schwabstraße") was the first part of the tunnel to open and has been used since the beginning, the southwestern end from "Schwabstraße" through Universität since 1985.

*S-Bahn-Linie|S1|white|#5c8e3c Herrenberg - Böblingen - Vaihingen - Österfeld - Universität - Schwabstraße - Hauptbahnhof - Bad Cannstatt - Esslingen - Plochingen (extension to Kirchheim unter Teck planned for 2009)
*S-Bahn-Linie|S2|white|#dc022c Filderstadt - Flughafen - Vaihingen - Universität - Schwabstraße - Bad Cannstatt - Waiblingen - Schorndorf
*S-Bahn-Linie|S3|white|#f4aa04 (Flughafen -) Vaihingen - Universität - Schwabstraße - Bad Cannstatt - Waiblingen - Backnang
*S-Bahn-Linie|S4|white|#0c66b4 Schwabstraße - Hauptbahnhof - Feuerbach - Zuffenhausen - Kornwestheim - Ludwigsburg - Marbach
*S-Bahn-Linie|S5|white|#04aae4 Schwabstraße - Hauptbahnhof - Feuerbach - Zuffenhausen - Kornwestheim - Ludwigsburg - Bietigheim
*S-Bahn-Linie|S6|white|#8c6204 Schwabstraße - Hauptbahnhof - Feuerbach - Zuffenhausen - Leonberg - Weil der Stadt

Schedule

The Stuttgart S-Bahn has a "memorable schedule". The basic cycle is one train per hour and line (which is only used early in the morning and late in the evening). Over the day, there are usually additional trains which increases the cycle for each line to every 30 minutes (outside of rush hour) or 15 minutes (rush hour). Beginning at Schwabstraße and heading towards Hauptbahnhof, the schedule is as follows:

*xx:00 - S2 > Schorndorf
*xx:03 - S4 > Marbach
*xx:10 - S3 > Backnang
*xx:13 - S6 > Weil der Stadt
*xx:20 - S1 > Plochingen
*xx:23 - S5 > Bietigheim

If there are additional trains, these times rotate by 15 or 30 minutes (which means that during rush hour the S4 will depart on e.g. 07:03 AM, 07:18 AM, 07:33 AM and 07:48 AM). Some additional trains do not travel the full length of the track, e.g. there are some trains of line S1 that shuttle between Esslingen and Schwabstraße instead of continuing through to Plochingen.

History

Suburban transport in Stuttgart has been operated since 1933, initially along electric lines from the Central Station until 1978. The primary line was from Esslingen to Ludwigsburg while changing direction in Stuttgart Central Station.

The first steps toward an S-Bahn in Stuttgart began after World War II. With the Stuttgart Central Station moved to its current location in the 1920s, the focus was shifted to construction of a downtown railway tunnel to improve access to the central city and points south. Simultaneously, the Stuttgart streetcar company was embarking on plans to build tunnels downtown for their system. Additionally, extra tracks were added to several outlying rail corridors in preparation for eventual S-Bahn service.

After financing agreements between the city, state and federal government and the state railway Deutsche Bundesbahn were reached, construction on the downtown tunnel from Stuttgart Central Station to Schwabstraße began on July 5th, 1971. Work was completed in September 1978 and operation of the Stuttgart S-Bahn began with three lines (all beginning at "Schwabstraße" station): the S1 to Plochingen via Esslingen, the S4 to Ludwigsburg and the S6 to Weil der Stadt via Feuerbach and Leonberg. Over the following years, the network has been extended to Bietigheim, Backnang and Schorndorf (1981) and the southern branches to Böblingen (1985), Herrenberg (1992) and Airport (1993). The latest extension was the additional station on the S2 beyond the airport, connecting Filderstadt with the network.

Operation

The 177km long system has 71 stations and serves approximately 330,000 passengers every workday. The trains operate on the standard gauge tracks of the Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) and are powered by single phase AC at 15 kV and 16.67 hertz, taken from overhead wires.

Installation of new passenger information systems began in December 2004. These systems indicate the actual real-time status for the next three trains rather than just the scheduled departure time and route of the next train.

All six S-Bahn lines travel under the downtown area to Schwabstraße, and three continue on to Vaihingen through a dual-track tunnel. This tunnel, however, presents a bottleneck that limits train headways to two and a half minutes, meaning that trains on each individual line can only run at 15 minute headways.

Operational Improvements

* 1996: Introduction of 15 minute headways during morning rush hour
* June 1997: Introduction of 30 minute headways in the evening until 10:00pm on all lines
* January 2000: New S-Bahn ET 423 trainsets placed into operation on the S1
* January 2001: Improved train capacities (full-length trains) on workdays up to the end of shopping hours
* June 2001: Improved train capacities (full-length trains) on Saturdays up to the end of shopping hours
* June 2001: Introduction of 30 minute headways (except on the S3 and S4) during the late evenings through the end of service
* April 2002: Complete introduction of 30 minute headways on all lines during the late evenings through the end of service
* May 2003: 25 new ET 423 trainsets placed into service
* December 2003: Expansion of the 15 minute headways to the evening rush hours (Monday through Friday)
* Summer 2004: Pilot project of early morning service to airport
* Summer 2005: Continuation of airport early morning service pilot project
* April 2006: Introduction of two prototypes of trainsets renewed as "ET 420Plus" on the S1, S4 and S5 lines

Headways

At first, the shortest headway (the time between vehicle arrivals at a given point) on each line was 20 minutes. Headways were subsequently improved on the S1 between Schwabstraße and Esslingen and on the S6 between Schwabstraße and Leonberg to 10 minutes. Beginning in 1996, 15 minute headways during rush hours were introduced on all lines. This was accomplished with supplemental trains and operational changes along the outlying segments. This allowed the overall headway on the central trunk section to remain at 2.5 minutes.

All lines currently converge in the central trunk section of the track. This results in steady headways to Rohr, Waiblingen, and Ludwigsburg. The section from Vaihingen to Bad Cannstatt and Zuffenhausen has an optimal 10 minute headway during the day.

Fleet

As of July 7th, 2005, the fleet consisted of ninety Class 420 train sets and sixty Class 423 sets. The Class 423 trains ply the S1 and S3 lines, while the 420s are in use along the other lines. Maintenance of the trains and power units takes place in the S-Bahn service yard at the eastern terminus of line S1 in Plochingen. This yard is equipped with the latest wheel lathes and washing and graffiti-cleaning equipment. About 550 employees working in three shifts keep the S-Bahn in service.

Expansion Projects

The following expansions of the Stuttgart S-Bahn system are currently in planning or underway:

*Extension to Wernau/Wendlingen/Kirchheim: The financing agreement for the extension of the S1 from the current terminus at Plochingen via Wernau and Wendlingen to Kirchheim was signed on July 28th, 2005. Construction has begun in July 2008, operation is expected to begin in December 2009.

*Peripheral connection Marbach – Backnang: After several options fell-through, financing of the 11 million euro project from the state and local municipalities was finally arranged in November 2005. After initial preparatory work was completed, expansion of the single-track section from Freiberg to Benningen to dual-track began on December 1st, 2005 at a cost of 24.5 million euro. Construction is expected to take three years. This upgrade must be completed before the extension of the S4 from Marbach to Backnang can take place. That route is currently is served by the RegionalBahn line R31.

*Southwest Tangent: Originally scheduled for 2006, the planned tangential connection line S60 from Böblingen and Sindelfingen to Renningen is now scheduled to be complete in 2008.
*Stuttgart 21 Project: In conjunction with Deutsche Bahn's massive plan to rebuild the Stuttgart Central Station underground and restructure rail traffic through the city, changes to the S-Bahn are planned as well. A new station ("Mittnachtstraße") is planned north of the central station. Besides serving the new residential areas to be built on the site of the former rail yard, this station would provide a transfer point between the eastern and western sections of the network and would also provide an emergency transfer location from the S-Bahn to the Stadtbahn in case an incident closes the central S-Bahn tunnel.

* Nordkreuz: The Stuttgart Regional government considers the improvement of transportation across the "Nordkreuz" (Northcross) from Bad Cannstatt to Nordbahnhof to be necessary. This idea, under consideration since the 1990s, emerged during planning from the Stuttgart 21 project and would provide relief along the central city tunnel section and also allow for a bypass of the tunnel in the event of an emergency. It also would allow for new connections and travel options. While officials consider the plan to have its own merit, further consideration is on hold pending the completion of planning for the Stuttgart 21 project.

*Extension to Murrhardt: Studies have identified the potential for an extension of the S-Bahn to Murrhardt. Given that most passengers are headed toward Backnang, Waiblingen, and Stuttgart, an extension of the S3 is more favorable. At present, discussions are underway regarding financing.

Additional projects not actively being considered at present:

*Airport – Plochingen connection: Due to a negative cost-benefit ratio (based on the need for a climbing tunnel), as well as regional network changes planned for Stuttgart 21, this project has been abandoned.

*Untertürkheim – Kornwestheim: At present, four regional trains make this connection every weekday. Despite this project's potential in providing a direct connection from Esslingen to Ludwigsburg, budgetary constraints and other projects in the region have caused this plan to be shelved for the time being.

ee also

* List of commuter rail systems

External links

* [http://www.s-bahn-stuttgart.de/ Official Website of the Deutsche Bahn AG and S-Bahn Stuttgart (in German)]
* [http://www.vvs.de/ Routes and Prices Stuttgart GmbH (VVS)(in German)]
* [http://www.vvs.de/download/72.pdf Official System Map (->VVS)] (PDF-Datei)
* [http://www.vvs.de/download/87.pdf Official System Map with Schedule (01/05) (->VVS)] (PDF-Datei)
* [http://www.region-stuttgart.org/ Stuttgart Regional Connections (VRS) (in German)]
* [http://www.s-bahn-region-stuttgart.de/ The S-Bahn in the Stuttgart region (Info-Website pf VRS and S-Bahn) (in German)]