The Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway is a single-track and non-electrified 37.08 km-long railway in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The line connects Tuttlingen station with the Tübingen–Sigmaringen railway at Inzigkofen junction, which was once the site of Inzigkofen station. The line runs over its entire length along the headwaters of the Danube and it is therefore considered by Deutsche Bahn to form part of the Donaubahn (Danube Valley Railway) from Donaueschingen to Ulm.
The Royal Württemberg State Railways (Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen) and the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway (Badische Staatseisenbahnen) opened the Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen line in 1890 under pressure from the German General Staff as part of a strategic railway to bypass Switzerland. The military considered the line, along with three other strategic lines in southern Baden, necessary in preparation for another war with France. Since 1901 it has formed part of a national rail link, with the Höllentalbahn and the Ulm–Sigmaringen railway, between Freiburg im Breisgau and Ulm.
The bridges, signal boxes, embankments, gate-keepers; houses, tunnels and stations that were built according to the Baden or Württemberg design "philosophies" are now heritage-listed, but the track infrastructure is not protected.
Course
The Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway spans two rural districts and is integrated in two transport associations. Between Tuttlingen and Fridingen it runs through the district of Tuttlingen and the territory of its transport association, TUTicket, while from Beuron it runs through the district of Sigmaringen and is integrated into the Neckar-Alb-Donau Transport Association (NALDO).
The connection is particularly known for its attractive location in the Upper Danube Nature Park and on the southern edge of the Swabian Jura, and is considered one of the most scenic railway routes in Germany. It is particularly popular with cycle tourists; the Danube Cycle Path from Donaueschingen to Vienna follows most of the line.
National significance
The Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway forms part of the shortest rail link between the two cities of Ulm and Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg. It is therefore part of connections from Augsburg and Munich to Freiburg and from Ulm via Tuttlingen to Switzerland. Nevertheless, it is not now an important east–west connection. This is due to the low average speed due to its single track and the train crossings required as a result. So connections from Munich and Ulm to Freiburg are now much faster via Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. This has reduced the national character of the line. To make matters worse, the Kleber-Express, which had connected Freiburg and Munich since 1954 and had used the entire line from Tuttlingen to Inzigkofen, was discontinued by Deutsche Bahn in 2003.
History
Border problems and initial promotion of the construction of a railway
The situation between the then independent countries of Württemberg and Baden and the Province of Hohenzollern, which had belonged to Prussia since 1850, hampered the construction of the line, which repeatedly crosses the borders of that time. It was built by the Royal Württemberg State Railways, extending the Black Forest Railway from Offenburg to Singen, which had previously been built by the Baden State Railways. Prussia did not take part in the construction of the line, although some of it ran through Hohenzollern territory.