Waiblingen–Schwäbisch Hall railway

Waiblingen–Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental
railway or Murr Railway
Overview
Native nameMurrbahn
Line number4930
LocaleBaden-Württemberg, Germany
Service
Route number
  • 785 (784 until 2007)
  • 790.3 (S-Bahn)
Technical
Line length60.696 km (37.715 mi)
Number of tracks2 (Waiblingen–Backnang)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification15 kV/16.7 Hz AC
Overhead catenary
Route map

elev (M)
or length (m)
in metres
0.00
Waiblingen
239 m
4.3
Neustadt-Hohenacker
(formerly Neustadt (Württ))
5.9
Schwaikheim tunnel
308 m
6.8
Schwaikheim
289 M
9.9
Winnenden
284 M
13.0
Nellmersbach
307 M
15.9
Maubach
290 M
18.5
Backnang
S 3 S 4
278 M
20.8
Backnang (Spinnerei)
22.4
Backnang-Steinbach
24.9
Oppenweiler (Württ)
28.4
Sulzbach (Murr)
268 M
31.4
Schleißweiler
34.6
Murrhardt
39.3
Fornsbach
42.3
Schanz tunnel
860 m
44.2
Fichtenberg
348 M
46.9
Mittelrot
48.3
Kappelesberg tunnel
415 m
Upper Kocher Valley Railway
to Untergröningen
49.1
Gaildorf West
348 M
52.2
Ottendorf
56.7
Wilhelmsglück salt mine
60.7
Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental
371 M
Source: German railway atlas.

The Waiblingen–Schwäbisch Hall railway (also known in German as the Murrbahn—Murr Railway—or the Murrtalbahn—Murr Valley Railway) is a major railway in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the shortest rail link between Stuttgart and Nuremberg.

It starts at Waiblingen and runs between Backnang and Fornsbach through the upper valley of the Murr. The Backnang–Ludwigsburg railway, known as the Kleine Murrbahn ("Little Murr Railway"), runs through the lower part of the Murr valley. The Murr Railway continues to Gaildorf on the Rot river, then to Schwäbisch Hall on the Kocher. There it connects with the Hohenlohe Railway from Crailsheim to Heilbronn.

The first section of the Murr Railway to Backnang is integrated with the Stuttgart S-Bahn as line S3. The section to Backnang is double track and the remaining line to Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental is single track.